text: Sylvia woke up to the sound of her alarm. She got out of bed to turn it off. After getting dressed and having her coffee, she realized she had nothing to do. It was a Saturday, and she did not work on Saturdays. Normally, on a typical Saturday, she would be doing something with her best friend Wanda. Whether it was going to the movies, walking their dogs, or visiting some random town not far away that they’d never been to, they were always doing things together. Wanda had moved to another country a few months ago, though, and Sylvia was left all alone, not having been smart enough to make more than one friend in case something like this happened. Today, Sylvia decided that instead of resorting to what had become her usual Saturday routine since Wanda moved away -- going to several different stores buying things she didn’t need, then coming home and binge-watching some random show with her cat -- she would do something. She decided that today, she would find herself at least one new friend. ~~~ Lora was up at 7:00 AM on what was a normal Saturday for her. After getting up, getting ready, feeding her hamster, her bird, and her bunny, she went outside and got into her old, red car and began to drive to the soup kitchen where she volunteered every weekend. After helping out in the loud kitchen for a couple hours, she got back into her car and drove to the animal shelter where she volunteered twice a week. She walked in carrying some towels, toys, and dog food she had bought earlier this week to donate for the dogs at the shelter. She fed the dogs, helped to bathe them, then went over to the cats and fed them and played with them before going home. She came home with a smile on her face as she entered the small living room of her pastel-yellow house. Her smile faded as she turned her head towards the picture in the little blue and pink polka-dot frame that was standing on her coffee table. It was a picture of her with some of her friends a few summers ago, hiking in the Rocky Mountains. Lora had known those friends for a very long time - they weren’t around anymore, though. Two of her friends had moved to be closer to family; and one of her friends, the one who she probably knew the best, had died a year or two ago from an injury obtained from falling off a motorcycle. Lora was sad, looking at the picture. If her friends were still here, they and Lora would all probably be going hiking, swimming, biking, or rock-climbing right now. They usually did stuff like that on the weekends. Not anymore, thought Lora. She hadn’t really met any new friends since - at least not anyone who she actually enjoyed spending time with; she wished she would meet a person who she could be friends with. She decided to go to the grocery store and buy some stuff she needed, but then she got another idea. ~~~ Sylvia was trying to come up with how she would find a friend. She wasn’t the best at this; she had known Wanda for a long time, which is why they were such good friends. Sylvia didn’t even have to befriend Wanda - they had known each other since they were little girls, when their moms arranged playdates for them. So, Sylvia had never even really had experience trying to make a new friend. But she knew she somehow had to. Eventually, she decided she would write to all of her colleagues asking if maybe they wanted to do something today. What will I write? She thought. I barely know all these people - I only ever occasionally talk with them about work stuff - it will be so out of the blue to ask them to do something with me... Not to mention they all have their own communities of friends... It will be too weird if I ask them... Oh, who cares? It’s not like they adore me anyway. She finally summoned up the courage to text one of her colleagues, Emma. Emma’s nice enough, thought Sylvia and began to write: Hey Emma, I was wondering if you had any plans today? Maybe we could do something together. She pressed send. She then wrote texts and emails of similar content to the rest of her colleagues. I hope this works... She thought, nervously wringing her hands. ~~~ Lora jumped back in her car and went to the grocery store. Maybe, she thought, if I just ask around, I’ll find someone with the same interests as me. She arrived at the store and went inside. She looked around. Who should I ask first? She thought. She settled on a young woman with short, light brown hair who looked to be about the same age as her. Lora confidently walked over to her. “Hi!” said Lora. “Do you like sports?” The woman looked at Lora strangely. “Um, no... not really,” said the woman, and walked away. Lora kept attempting at small talk with the shoppers in the store. “Hi, I’m Lora! What’s your name?” “Margot... Why do you ask?” “Margot’s a lovely name! Are you into water skiing?” “No.” “Ok!” “Hi! What’s your favorite sport?” “Sleeping.” “I’m not sure that’s a sport...” “Leave me alone.” “Hello, I like your blouse!” “Well, I don’t. But it’s all I could afford, so. Who cares.” “Oh...kay?” “Hey! Do you like sports?” “Yes! I love all kinds of sports! Especially swimming! Last summer, me and my friends went on my friends boat... It was awesome! I also like to surf. Do you surf? It’s so awesome. I’m not sure if it’s a sport though... Oh, what’s your favorite color? Mine’s green! Green’s awesome! But not if it’s broccoli... I hate that stuff... disgusting... Oh! I remembered why I came here! I needed to buy apple juice and underwear! Thanks bro!” “Um...” ~~~ Sylvia was drinking tea when her phone dinged to indicate that she'd gotten her first response. Sylvia checked to see who it was. It was Emma: Sorry, I can’t today. Me and Lia are going to the mall. Lia was another one of Sylvia’s colleagues. Oh, well, thought Sylvia. She decided to check her inbox. She had gotten responses from most of the people she’d written to: Sorry, I’m busy today. Can’t, I have a thing. No, I’m hanging out with my friends today. Are you hitting on me? Sorry, I’m busy. I have a lot of work... Apologies. No, thanks. I’m sorry, I’m just very busy today - lots of errands. Well, thought Sylvia. I tried. ~~~ Lora was exhausted from trying to make friends at the store. She bought a few groceries, and headed home in her little, red car. She came home, parked her car, brought in her groceries, and decided to take a walk. ~~~ Sylvia closed her laptop, and quickly texted Emma: No problem! Then she took her dog and went outside to walk her dog. ~~~ Lora and Sylvia were both walking past the park when they saw each other. Lora, afraid she’d get a bad response again if she said anything, stayed silent. Sylvia, eager to talk to somebody, piped up. “Hi, I’m Sylvia. I like your shirt!” Lora looked down at her purple shirt with a silver paw print on the front. “Thanks! I’m Lora, it’s nice to meet you.” “Nice to meet you too!” “Your dog is so cute,” said Lora. “Thanks, this is Baxter. He’s a Border Collie.” “Cool! I actually volunteer at an animal shelter sometimes, and I work at a vet clinic,” Lora said. “Can I pet him?” She asked. “Of course,” answered Sylvia. Lora pet the dog, and they kept on talking as they walked down the street. They each had gotten what they wanted - Sylvia finally succeeded in making a new friend, and Lora finally found a friend with the same interests as her. They became best friends, and from that day they always spent their Saturdays together. ~~~THE END~~~