Meg

I met Megan on the first day of school in my grade twelve year. I walked into my Tourism class and there was just one other person in the room. She was a lovely blond girl that I recognized from around the school.

The room was scattered with tables and each table sat 4 students. She was sitting alone at a table in the middle of the room, writing in her notebook. Because I recognized her and because she looked nice, I went and sat down directly beside her.

Here's is some information that would be helpful and interesting to know now. It was actually Meg's first day at this school. I was completely mistaken in thinking I recognized her. She'd only moved to town days earlier. She had moved from a small northern town and while she was wild, in the way that small town girls are, she was also shy and quiet and sweet.

Meanwhile, I was fully in my 'alternative' phase and was decked out in fishnets, army boots and a black leather jacket complete with safety pins, buttons and a small stuffed cow wearing the same leather jacket. My hair was long and black with bright red tips and my makeup was extreme. Black eyes and bright red lips.

What I learned later, was that she had been writing a letter to her best friend up in that small northern town and when I walked into the room, she glanced up at me and started writing about the 'real-life punk girl' who just walked into the room and "oh my god, she is sitting down right beside me!"

We didn't talk and probably only stole glances at each other out of the corners of our eyes. The rest of the students trickled in as well as the teacher and we got started. First things first we had to partner up and get to know the other person, after which we would introduce them to the rest of the class.

We turned to finally look directly at one another and shrugged and nodded an agreement to be partners.

We introduced ourselves to each other and she asked me if I liked The Doors. I didn't. Neither did she. It is the only question I can specifically remember but I am sure I learned about how she had recently moved here and where she was from and how she felt being here. I probably confessed to thinking I recognized her. At some point we brought up Saturday Night Live and that was it. These were the times of Chris Farley, Adam Sandler and David Spade. We had found our common ground.

After class, we would head in the same direction to the end of the hall. We would walk together and say goodbye as we parted at the stairwell. As the weeks went on, we would walk slower and linger longer at the stairs. We had so much to say to each other but we both felt shy about exchanging numbers and calling each other. Part of this had to do with the fact that she had told me that she didn't like talking on the phone. I couldn't call her after she told me that.

Eventually though, we did exchange numbers and began our friendship outside of school. Our closeness happened slowly but it grew steadily. By the end of the school year we were inseparable. We were know as one entity in our circle of friends KarliandMegan/MeganandKarli.

We spent hours talking on the phone only to hang up and get together for beef dips at Boston Pizza, shopping at Guildford, driving around and singing. We would drive out to Coquitlam and sing at the top of our lungs just for the sake of doing it. We went to parties. We took road trips. We picked out Emerson at the SPCA. We drove across the line for gas and Mexican food. We went to Las Vegas. We hung out nearly every Thursday at the Ozone and danced til 2 in the morning. On Mondays we would go to Red Robin and drink double margaritas and then walk around the mall until we sobered up. "BLTA - hold the t & a". We would play catch at the park. We went to drive ins, Palm Springs, Vernon, movies, concerts (Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi - lol), luvafair. We had our portrait taken together at Sears (that was one of the times we were wandering around to sober up).

We had a million and one inside jokes and laughed until our sides hurt. Her family, to this day calls me family and her mom has my grade 12 school picture in her laundry room...it ended up there one day (probably the day I gave it to Meg) and has stayed there ever since. Even through a move into the big city.

She was there for me through my first broken heart. She was there when my parents split up and there for me when my grandma died. She knows more about me and how I work than most other people in my life.

While we live in different cities now and have suffered the waves of growing up and growing apart at times...I believe that we have grown together and our friendship now is stronger than ever. I can't imagine my life without her. We fill in the gaps of each other's memories...she remembers things that we've done and things I've said that I have nearly no recollection of until she reminds me.

We still get together and laugh until our sides hurt, in fact we are spending the day together tomorrow and I, for one, can't wait.

Happy Birthday Meg,
I love you!
Kar kar