Peter hurried to his lunch table in the corner of the cafeteria. It wasn't really his lunch table, but no one else sat there, so he considered it his. Peter was the only person in all of the 5th grade who didn't have anyone to sit with. He simply didn't have any friends. He went to St. Joseph's Catholic School, and it was a very small school, there was only about 350 students in total. Naturally, everyone was very close friends.

Except for Peter.

Peter didn't really know why the other kids didn't like him. Deep down, he thought he knew why, but he repressed those thoughts. He liked musicals and baking and was really not athletic at all. The other boys at school thought that he was too girly to hang out with them and the girls rejected him because he was still a boy and it was weird for a boy to like girl stuff. So he didn't really fit in anywhere.
It was sort of funny in the way that Catholics are taught to love everyone, but Peter knew no one loved him. Not the kids, not the teachers, not even his own parents. He really only had his little sister, but what kind of self-respecting 5th grader has his little sister for a best friend? Besides, he was sure once she got older she would realize how weird he was too and stop liking him.

Everyone had a best friend except for Peter. So he would sit at his lonely table in the corner of the cafeteria, eat his sandwich and read his book, and try not to let the other kids see him cry.


Peter looked up from packing his bags. "Come in," he called hesitantly to whoever was at the door. He really hoped it wasn't Father Mike or someone else who came to apologize, because he was sick of it. Apologies couldn't bring him back.

"Um, hi, Peter," Diane Lee stood at the door, wearing her infamous cat sweater. Peter relaxed.

"Hey, Diane," he turned around and went back to packing his bags.

"I called my mom, and she said that maybe if you wanted, you could come over and spend some time at my house this summer. She's ok with...you know. She said she'd be perfectly fine with that, coming to stay for a week or two or even more, if you wanted to," Diane offered. "We have a pool and everything."

Peter turned around to face Diane. "I'd like that."

Diane beamed. "Good. I'll tell my mom. Oh, and Peter?"

"Yeah?" Peter said.

Diane hugged Peter. "Don't tell my mom, but I think you might be my new best friend."

Peter's eyes filled with tears. "You're mine too," he whispered.

Life really was better with a very best friend.

A/N: If you haven't seen Bare at New World Stages, you have to, because it's simply amazing. If you have seen it, see it again.