By Nia Rackley and Jess Romeo

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I smile and walk up to the waiting room. Even if I don’t get this job, at least I’ve got my friend back.

“Wait!” I gasp as I run to the elevator. I cannot be late today. I’m on the way to The Grimsby Gazette, the best newspaper in the whole city, to interview for a job as reporter. It’s the biggest opportunity I’ve had in months! Luckily, someone holds the elevator open for me. 

I thank the mysterious person as I catch my breath and wipe the sweat off my forehead. The elevator doors close behind me. That’s when I finally notice her, Jane Rodgers, my arch nemesis. We used to have a strong friendship. But now, she treats me like dirt.

“Tiffany, is that you?” Jane asks with a pinch of disgust in her voice. She says it almost like she’s confused. 

“Who else would it be?” I ask, already exhausted. 

“Do you know how many people could walk through this elevator? Sorry I didn’t immediately assume it was you,” says Jane.

Before I can respond, the elevator comes to an aggressive halt. I stumble backwards, almost rolling my ankle in my stupid heels. As I try to stop myself from falling, I hear something snap. I look down. My heel has broken off my shoe. As if my life isn’t already tragic enough.

“Shoot!” I scream as I scramble to the floor. 

“Oh my god!” Jane squeals, gripping the elevator handles.

I roll my eyes. “Stop being so dramatic!”

“I almost fell on this dirty floor! It looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in years!” 

“We’re stuck in an elevator, and you’re worried about falling on the floor?”

“Unlike you, I’m dressed in nice clothes.” Jane looks down at me as I desperately try to fix my shoe. I have on my nicest dress, which suddenly doesn’t look nice anymore. I found these heels on discount. I look like a mess.

“Okay, maybe I’m not dressed the best, but at least I’m smart,” I say. “You had to drop your AP class because you could barely get a D-.” 

I instantly know that was wrong to say. Jane looks shocked and hurt. “Wow, you haven’t changed.” She crosses her arms. “I don’t even know how we were friends. You’re so pathetic.”

Once upon a time, when Jane and I were friends, she told me how she struggled a lot with school. She has dyslexia, and hid it for years. Of course, it eventually got around our school. Jane assumed that I told everyone, even though I didn’t. Since then, she avoided me like the plague. 

I feel the urge to apologize, but I shove it down. Once she unfriended me, she fell in with the rich girl crowd, and became the new It Girl of Sherman Oaks High School. 

“I didn’t start the rumor about you having dyslexia, you know,” I blurt out. 

Jane looks at the ground. For the first time, she seems uncertain. “Well, Tiffany, who would’ve done it?” she asks. “You’re the only one who knew.” 

“Why would I spread that type of thing around the school? It doesn’t make sense.” Tears start to fall from my eyes. I would usually be embarrassed, but I don’t care anymore. 

After a moment, Jane reluctantly takes a seat on the floor next to me, pulling her knees up to her chest. 

“Tiffany, I’m so sorry,” she chokes out. 

I’m so shocked that I drop the heel of my shoe. It hits the floor with a clunk.

“Um…for what?” 

“For leaving you like that. I was a terrible friend.”

Am I alive right now? Jane Rodgers is apologizing to ME. 

“Jane, it’s not just your fault. We were both petty to each other.”

“Yeah, but your family was going through a lot with your mom losing her job, and I was so mean. I—”

“It’s fine, Jane. You don’t have to pity me.”

“Can we be friends again?” Jane asks as she wipes her cheeks. 

I pause. I’m not sure I’m ready to jump back into friendship. But I miss watching cheesy Netflix shows together. I miss walking around the town center and making jokes. And I miss spending time with someone who really knows me. “Yeah, let’s be friends again.”

As I say this, the elevator comes back to life. Magically, the doors open to the third floor. I breathe a sigh of relief. But then I look down at my broken shoe. There’s no way I can go to my interview like this. 

“I was supposed to have a job interview today,” I say. “But it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.” 

“Here.” I look up and see Jane holding her designer heels. They probably cost more than everything I own combined. 

“No, I could never take those! What would you wear?”

“I’ll be okay, Tiffany. Please just take them.”

I cautiously take Jane’s heels, and put them on my feet. They fit perfectly.

“You make me proud, Tiff!” Jane exclaims. She shapes her hands into a heart as the elevator closes. 

I smile and walk up to the waiting room. Even if I don’t get this job, at least I’ve got my friend back. 

Process

The inspiration for this short story was friendship, and how it grows. Friendship is such a big part of our lives, and I wanted to show case that throughout this short story.