For me, new school in ninth grade,
dropped from urban life into a village.
She landed there in sixth grade, was still
a newby in a town that measured
belonging in generations.

Gravity quickly drew us together.
We were the smart girls, relentlessly
pursuing A’s. Good girls, singing
side by side in church choir. We let
our wild imaginations out in drama club

and writing for the literary journal.
Of course we became best friends.
Neither popular nor pariahs
we carved a path through high school,
protected by our partnership.