Cracked Like Broken Glass
09June09
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"Friendship is delicate as a glass once broken it can be fixed but there will always be cracks."
-
You remember the first time you had a fight with Tess. You were twelve years old and Tess had taken your hairbrush again. She insisted she need to brush her oh so bright blonde hair three times a day. Your hairbrush was the first one she saw. The thing is, when Tess borrows' something, you don't normally get it back.
You stopped talking to her. It lasted four days. You sat alone during breakfast, lunch and dinner during those four days. You snuck glances at Tess when she wasn't looking, hoping she looked as miserable as you felt. But her face was always cold, stone cold. You start to wonder if she's putting it on. Because every time you can feel Tess's eyes on you, your face turns the same.
It's a relief when you finally make up. You think about how stupid it was to fight over a hairbrush, a shiny pink hairbrush; you could see why Tess liked using it.
You promise to never fight again.
You give the hairbrush to Tess.
-
It's the day before your fourteenth birthday when Tess tells you that she's in love with Shane Gray.
Shane Gray who had shown up to Camp Rock during the summer. Shane Gray with the sparkling brown eyes and dark hair that had you completely smitten.
You uninvited Tess to your Birthday Party without and explanation and ignore her when she calls on the day you turn fourteen.
At school you sit beside people you vaguely know just so you wouldn't have to see Tess.
Because when she told you she loved Shane Gray it hurt.
Its nine days since you stopped talking to her, when Tess confronts you. She demands to know what she did wrong.
That is when you realise that Tess Tyler had done nothing wrong.
She had fallen under Shane Gray's spell. She had no idea that you had fallen under the same spell. Tess had no idea that you were in love with Shane Gray also.
So you tell her everything
When you go back to Camp next summer Tess ignores Shane Gray.
-
A week before returning to Camp Rock you decide to straighten your hair for the first time in your life. It's hard to get a grip on it at first but pretty soon you get the hang of it.
You show up at school the next day and all eyes are on the fifteen year old girl gliding through the halls.
You.
Tess says she loves it. But you know she doesn't really, she's only pretending. You don't understand why though. Shouldn't she be happy for you? Shouldn't she feel thrilled that for the first time in your life you feel truly beautiful?
Because you do.
But Tess likes being the centre of attention and you have taken it away from her. This is something she admits to you.
You and Tess don't speak to each other until Nate forces you both into a cabin and locks the door during the second week of camp.
It takes two hours of sitting on opposite ends of the room, silently fidgeting until Tess finally speaks.
She says she's sorry. She says that she was being stuck up and arrogant and very very self centred.
You agree with her and she laughs.
You promise to never straighten your hair again.
-
Your sixteen when the end finally comes.
Tess becomes withdrawn, quiet.
You notice how she clings onto the new girl, Mitchie. You notice how wherever Mitchie goes Shane goes, and wherever Shane goes Ella goes.
You begin to realise that Tess has made new friends.
You try and talk to her but she ignores you. She moves out of the cabin into Mitchie's. She doesn't respond to your text messages or your phone calls.
And you did nothing wrong.
All your past fights come back to you and you begin to realise that your friendship was broken long before Tess met Mitchie.
Your friendship was like a glass vase. It had been broken many times before and you two had always seemed to glue it back together.
But the cracks are still visible.
Eventually the vase was going to collapse. How could it possible crack anymore?
Today was the day the vase collapsed.
But that didn't stop you from missing your friend.