From softball practices to pep fests, Jenna and Victoria were an inseparable twosome. They had been best friends since kindergarten, and the friendship stood stronger than ever as their senior year of high school rolled around. They went out of their way to see each other in the school hallways, and their classmates joked that they were attached at the hip. The girls spent every weekend together whether they had essays to write or parties to attend, and after school study sessions were common throughout the week. Although the girls were often seen as one entity, they were two very different individuals. Jenna was tall and lanky, with long brown hair and a shy, timid demeanor-she expected to blend in with her surroundings. Meanwhile, Victoria was outspoken and opinionated, with a vibrant laugh that radiated from deep inside her. She stood an entire head shorter than Jenna, and her choppy, platinum blonde hair had a rebellious streak of purple hiding underneath her bangs. Athletic and aggressive, Victoria could seem intimidating while Jenna seemed apprehensive and coy. Somehow these conflicting personalities brought the girls closer every day, and their opposite winds created an unstoppable hurricane of friendship that would undoubtedly continue through college and the rest of their lives.
Jenna found it hard to become close to people, so she felt endlessly blessed to have Victoria in her life. Every decision Jenna made involved taking Vicki into account, and she truly had an immeasurable amount of love for her best friend. She had learned so much from Victoria over the years, and she wouldn’t hesitate to catch a bullet for her. She appreciated the steady pattern of day to day life, and change was not easy for her. Jenna was dreading their separation for college in the fall, and needless to say, she fully planned on spending every summer day with her best friend.
As the year flew by and graduation became a memory instead of a goal, the girls remained faithfully at each other’s side. The summer before college was crammed with days at the beach and nights on the town. Afternoon visits to the mall and nighttime road trips to the drive-in were carefree and fun as the girls soaked in their last season together.
Eight days before both girls planned on boarding separate airplanes to attend separate schools for the first time in their lives, Jenna woke up to the morning sun slipping through her window and her phone ringing endlessly. Recognizing the number as Vicki’s home phone, Jenna swiftly grabbed her blackberry and brought it up to her ear.
“Victoria had another seizure,” Vicki’s mom was blunt and direct. Jenna’s stomach plummeted and the room spun around her as those harsh words set in. Having her first violent seizure at age four, Victoria was deemed Epileptic before she entered kindergarten. Now she was 18 and thanks to surgeries, medication, and almost a decade of extensive therapy, it had been five years since even the most minor episode. She was cleared to get a driver’s license and move out of state for college, and everyone gratefully assumed that she had found a way to keep her disease under control.
“But she’s okay, right?” Jenna assumed. “Now you should just go back to the doctor and get her medication changed or something before this happens again.”
“She hit her head on a table, so I called an ambulance. I haven’t seen her since it happened late last night, but the doctors say she’s at a risk for serious blood loss.” The voice on the phone continued. “She could also have brain damage because of where the table hit her skull. I think you should come to the hospital. Vicki would want you here.”
Lunging out of bed, Jenna didn’t bother to change out of her pajamas before grabbing her keys and flying out her front door. Sprinting onto the driveway where she had parked her little silver car, Jenna couldn’t even cry; she was too numb. Had Victoria’s mom insinuated that her daughter was on the verge of death? Would she be in a coma?
Speeding out of her neighborhood, Jenna tried to imagine what life would be like without Victoria. She could barely see herself surviving the next four years without Vicki by her side, let alone the next 80. Not wanting to waste any time, the trembling brunette forced her gas petal down even further and prayed that everything would be fine. Clutching the steering wheel, Jenna begged herself to remain composed as the urge to sob grew even stronger. As she neared the hospital, her heart hammered inside her chest and the tears finally made their appearance. She was almost at her best friend’s side-the only place in the world she wanted to be.
It was a 2006 Pick-Up Truck that plowed into the side of Jenna’s car and killed her instantly. The collision left both vehicles mangled and destroyed, giving the other driver a slim chance at survival as well. Luckily the ambulance was quick in getting him to the emergency room 2 blocks away. This solemn and heart-wrenching scene could be viewed from Victoria’s 6th floor hospital room as she lay unconscious in the pure white bed. Staring out the window with one hand on the foot of the bed, Vicki’s mom looked on in horror. Turning her back to the window, she was just in time to greet the smiling doctor who had just entered the room.
“I have good news.” He said genuinely. “Victoria’s X-rays showed no brain damage at all, and her body was able to replenish her blood supply-she didn’t lose as much as we originally thought. Your daughter is going to be just fine.”
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