Before I met Henry, I was shy and awkward. I was a shadow child, doing whatever I could to keep from getting noticed. I sat in the backs of classrooms, alone at lunch, and never raised my hand in class. For months, nobody even knew I existed.
I don't know how Henry found me. But one day, while I was crouched in the damp sand just after a rain storm, alone, drawing pictures with a stick in the sand, he did.
"Hi," he said to me. I didn't look up, I didn't say anything. I knew how to do this by now. If I just ignore them, pretend I can't hear them or pretend they're not there, they'll go away. The few people who have ventured to talk to me always do.
But Henry didn't. When I didn't say anything, he asked, "What are you drawing?"
I still didn't answer. Sometimes it took a minute. Sometimes it took until they asked a question for them to realize that I wasn't going to talk to them. But eventually, they'd go away. Always. That's just how it worked.
Henry still didn't go away though. He crouched down on the wet sand beside me, found a stick, and drew a leave for my cricket to sit on. I looked at him, curious as to why he hadn't left yet. When he looked at me, he just smiled and said, "I'm Henry."
Without even thinking about it, I introduced myself, "I'm Cricket."
The deal was sealed, right then and there. Henry and I became friends in that moment. Best friends, even. For the next months, we were nearly inseparable. I was a clingy friend, but he either didn't notice or didn't care, and often I forgot about my insecurities and nervousness around him. I forgot to worry whether or not he was getting tired of me. He drew me out of my shell. As long as I was with him, I could have conquered the world. Together, we could have conquered, rule, and changed the world. Whatever we wanted.
