“I lie, put my injuries all in the dust. In my heart is the five of us” – Vanessa Carlton

Let’s start from the very beginning. That’s a very good place to start. Fairytales often start with a poor girl who falls in love with the perfect and handsome prince charming and in the end they marry and live happily ever after…
No, my life is definitely no fairytale. The story I want to tell you started long a time ago, during the summer, with a high-pitched song, a video camera and lots of fun with a group of close friends.
It was around 2006. One of my best friends had to move to the other side of the world, and I had to stay here, alone and starting all over again. When one of my friends says goodbye, it is harder for me to start and find a new close friend to hang out with. I feel as if part of me had been taken away, and it depends on the people I’m with to replace that part for me.
Farewell and goodbye: two words I hate the most, but unfortunately two awful words that are always present in my life. Deaths, moving out to another country and changing schools are a few examples of them. It’s very difficult for me to socialize, that’s my flaw. That’s why it’s hard for me to trust anyone; it’s always difficult for me to start all over again. And I’m always told: “There are no endings, just new beginnings”.
My life was reborn again with this group of friends, in that precise summer when I moved to my new home at the countryside. They were five, and will always be five: Claire, Tess, Jack and Tom. I’m the fifth. They will always be in my heart, in the good times and in the bad times.
First there is Claire. I have known her since I was little, but we unfortunately got separated due to me changing schools in kindergarten and, after more than 12 years, I met her again, in my horseback riding lessons.
She is a very loyal person, and I can always count on her. She is amazingly smart and brilliant, which is why I sometimes envy her. Not in the bad way, but in the good sense, like I’m always trying to make things perfect and right the way she always does. She’s sometimes a little too nice and kind for her own good, saying that she’ll choose to hurt herself rather than the ones around her. But, when it comes to having fun, she’s the best at it. We can laugh about everything! We sometimes have the same thoughts without noticing it. I have a brilliant connection with her, as if we have the same personality. She’s my age and my height. A perfect friend I suppose?
Then there’s Tom, a year older than me. What could I say about Tom? One day he’s a crush and the other day he’s the most sympathetic friend I have. I met him thanks to Claire, in her Halloween Party after I turned 15. I remember that night clearly. A costume party; I was wearing a long, brown dress, because I was heading to another party afterwards, and I had borrowed some wings to be like a fairy. Yet, obviously someone had to crash the party without any costumes. He and his friends were the ones. Duh! Costume parties are for wearing COSTUMES! I repeat: C – O – S – T – U – M – E – S! And they’re also to meet people. So, there I met him, along with his school friends.
He’s a bit annoying sometimes, always teasing everyone. It sometimes makes me sick! I always fight with him for that. And when we’re discussing something he always has to stand up and say he doesn’t agree. I just can’t let him get away with it. I always argue with him to get my point. Why does he sometimes have to be so arrogant and proud of himself? And well, he also has a temper there’s no way to get around to. Apart from all that, he’s a very good friend and fine to hang out with most of the times, but not when he’s such a stubborn.
After him, there’s Jack. One thing you need to know is never make a mess when you’re around him; it may be your funeral. He’s so perfectionist and always stressed with order. He goes to school with Claire and Tess. I met him like I met Claire, a long time ago, when he was also my classmate in kindergarten. He’s a very simple guy who’s amazing at playing the piano. He has curly hair that makes his personality sweeter.
When I saw him again, in a Sweet Fifteenth party (God bless the parties, always great for meeting people!), I had no idea what his name was and I didn’t remember anything about him. I even thought he was a freak. What could I say? He looked like a freaking Rastafarian with that hair! He went to school with one of my companions at horseback riding, the Spanish boy. So, I went to say hello to the Spanish boy and stayed all night long with his group. He introduced me to Jack. We danced all night long, I remember it perfectly. Jack even asked me to dance the waltz with him. The waltz is a common dance everyone did at those kind of parties. I had a great time. Though, I didn’t realize back then that he’ll be the one I’d fall for. I’m realizing that now, three years later. Love has its time to make up crushes, don’t you think?
And last but not least there’s Tess, the Jenny in the group and my newest friend. She’s Claire’s best friend from school; that’s how I met her. It was a common day, and I had thrown one of my common Pizza Parties at home. I told Claire to invite Tess, because I wanted to meet her, just because. Tess has an amazing voice, she sings like the angels. I always wanted her to audition for American Idol or something like that, because I think she would make an amazing job. She’s astoundingly funny and always ready to lend one of her shoulders for you to cry on. I always ask her to give me some advice when I’m feeling down. She always manages to explain and make me understand that things in life have to be taken slowly and calmly. Never rush with your life, because then it might be too late to go back again. She’s a great friend to whom I can always tell my problems. She always has a way to turn them into fun and stupid issues in life. She’s always smiling, always dancing. She has an unexplained way to makes us all smile.
Just then, when no one expected it, we were all hanging out together, bored in the summer of 2007. Claire was playing the piano, practicing a song of which I’ve become familiar with, just because she was always playing it. Jack was trying to figure out what song she was playing, and Tom, Tess and I were just listening.
“Why don’t we make a video clip about us with this song?” Claire said when we got nothing better to do than to film ourselves jumping into the pool.
I had to admit, it was a brilliant idea. I had been obsessed with the idea of making a video clip with all my friends participating in it. And this song was just perfect.
And that’s how this team was born. That’s how my story is born. That song was called White Houses and it’s preformed by Vanessa Carlton. Tells the story of five friends who pass their summer together, and they learn how to grow up together. They are the base of my story; because of them, my life has changed. They are my group of closest friends, and I promise they are going to be here ‘till the end.
This was the beginning of my story back then.