I was a best friend.
Best friends were always there for each other. They knew each other better than anyone else on the planet. Best friends always were the first to know about everything. They're important in so many different ways. They are there for the good times, and the bad times. They share memories that are priceless. Even though best friends spend so much time together, and they may not always get along, they were still best friends.
I was lucky to have two of them.
Out of all these things, I never really thought about which quality of a best friend I liked best.
But when I turned around in that neon bowling alley with neon pink and lime green striking my eyes, I knew my favorite thing about best friends was that they could see things no one else could. They could see truth in something where everyone else was blind.
That was one thing I loved.
My two best friends, Miley and Oliver, were with me on the night where it all started. They were actually the start. I was picking out a bowling ball at Smiley Lane Bowl on that Friday night. I looked around the racks of endless multi-colored bowling balls, some ugly, others happy bright. None of them were perfect. I couldn't find one that fit my fingers or one that was the right weight. So I stepped onto the wood platform, my ugly striped bowling shoes tap tap tapping against it. I picked out a shiny orange eight-pound ball that (finally!) didn't squish my thumb. I looked down the lane at all nine of the bowling pins just sitting there, waiting patiently for someone to knock down every one.
At that moment I turned around and saw it.
My two best friends, both sitting in the two chairs by the computer. They were sitting right next to each other, reaching across one another and pressing the buttons to set us up with the game. They both had a smile on their face. Miley playfully pushed Oliver's hand out of her way. Oliver said something, brushed her shoulder, and shot her a flirty grin. Miley just laughed.
I knew it was more than a flirty grin and a laugh. I knew they liked each other, even if they didn't know it yet themselves. Besides, best friends are always the first ones to see it, right?
And that was what they needed.
Someone to see it first.
That someone was me.
The best friend.
