A Falling Star By: Lauren Matus

I live by the quote, "Good friends are like stars. You don't always see them, but you know they're always there". I met Johnny Taylor 20 years ago as of today, September 17th, 2039. My name is Anna and here's our story:

It was 2019, and people were meeting on dating apps and social media. I wasn't really into Twitter or Instagram, not because I couldn't, but just because I wasn't really into that sort of thing. I preferred to read a good mystery novel, with a cup of tea in one hand, and a fuzzy blanket over my lap. I liked to go thrift shopping at the local stores in my town. The simple things in life were the things that made me happiest. My two friends Emma and Liz were the complete opposite. Anytime I would hang out with them, they would always be taking selfies and looking at pictures on Instagram. I loved them beyond words though. All three of us grew up in the little town of Stonebridge, California. We were like every group of high school friends chatting about boys or complaining about how tired we were from staying up so late doing homework. I guess the saying that opposites attract was 100% true when it came to our friendship.
One time we decided to have a sleepover and were playing truth or dare. I knew from the start this would not turn out well for me in the end, but I caved into the pressure and did it anyway. For a majority of the game, I choose truth for every turn because I knew I had nothing to hide. These questions consisted of "who do you like?" and "who's your favorite and least favorite teacher?". I know you're probably thinking to yourself about how these questions are so typical, but Liz would not let it stay like that for long. She kept saying it wasn't fair that her and Emma were doing all the dares, from rolling around the snow outside in shorts and prank calling restaurants. They dared me to give them my phone. I thought to myself, how bad could that be? Little did I know they were going to start a profile for me on Instagram and request to follow this jock named Johnny. He was the coolest guy in our school and everybody knew the name, Johnny Taylor. Emma and Liz did not stop there. They direct messaged him. I was so angry at the two of them for doing that on my phone, but this would be the start of something new; something I would have never imagined in a million years would ever be happening to somebody like me.
Johnny Taylor responded to me the following day. I had no idea he knew who I was because he was Mr. Popular and I was the average high school girl. He told me how we were in AP biology together last year which totally had not crossed my mind, but from there, I was impressed and wanted to know more. Ever since that night, Johnny and I grew closer. We chatted online for weeks on end, staying up until 5 a.m., calling each other and losing track of time. Johnny and I both lived in California, but it felt like we were on opposite sides of the world. He was only one call away, but I wanted more. I wanted to be able to see him,face to face, give him the biggest hugs, and have our conversations in person. I wanted to be able to show him off to all my friends and express how amazing of a person he was to everybody. Respectful. Loyal. Accepting. Encouraging. He was all of those things. I know there's no such thing as the perfect person, but Johnny was pretty close to it. I got to know so much about him. He always talked about how much he loved nature and taking pictures of it with his camera. He was really into photography and was good at it too. His landscapes and close up pictures of waterfalls, birds, and everything mother nature had to offer were exquisite. He loved watching old films and spending time with his little sister. Not to mention he was a varsity athlete in soccer and track. He was such a genuine, well rounded, good person, and nothing would make me think differently.
Now you're probably wondering why we couldn't see each other. We were from two different cliques. Nobody knew about our conversations, not even Emma and Liz. We didn't want rumors spreading or people to be talking about us. As much as I wanted to tell my best friends since I knew they would never be like that, I just couldn't bring my self to do it.
The conversations between Johnny and I lasted months and it was now the spring season. Track was just starting, which was so important to Johnny since he had D1 scholarships lined up one after another, after another, but one day that all changed. Johnny was feeling a pain in his leg one day after track practice, and thinking it was nothing he shrugged it off. He kept on practicing thinking nothing of the pain he was enduring. He kept pushing, constantly striving for success. Weeks later during a track meet, he collapsed after finishing the 400m. He was immediately rushed to the hospital to be treated.
I had no idea any of this was happening. The last I heard of Johnny was from the night before when we were on our call. It was now Friday and I didn't hear anything back. We called every night so this was a little bit strange. I thought maybe something happened to his phone; maybe his parents took it or maybe he was getting it repaired at the Apple Store. I was trying to not worry just yet and I did just that. Two days went by so it was now the end of the weekend and I still didn't hear one word from Johnny; no good morning, no how was your day, and not even a hello. I was in a full-blown panic, but what could I do, except wait. Waiting by definition is to stay where one is until a particular time or until something else happens. That's exactly what I did. It was torture. Sitting helplessly and not hearing from the person you care about is terrifying. Later on that night, I finally got a call from Johnny at 11:00 p.m. and that's when he explained everything that would change my life and his life forever.
Johnny called me in tears. My heart was racing 100 miles per hour with anticipation of what happened to him. Why hadn't we talked this entire weekend? He explained what happened at the track meet on Friday and how the doctors performed a CT scan to check for any potential problems in his leg. The doctors ended up finding that he had a tumor in his leg and it wasn't caused by one specific event, however, since he didn't come to them sooner, the surgery they would have to do to remove it would be very invasive. I was beyond shocked, but I couldn't imagine the mixed emotions Johnny was feeling. He probably had the same questions going through his head of "What's going to happen next, What does this mean for track and soccer, and what's happening to me"?
Johnny and I sat in silence and I honestly lost track of how long. Finally, Johnny stated, "that's not even the worst part. My parents want to fly to New York City because they have some of the best doctors and surgeons down there. They said it would be so expensive to keep flying back and forth from California to New York all the time, so next week we're going to go look at apartments in the city. I have been dreading telling you this all weekend because once I move we will actually be on opposite sides of the country and it kills me to say that."
After Johnny told me this, I was discouraged for weeks on end. I kept my head down at school and Emma and Liz started to take notice right away and that's when I told them everything from the very beginning. They supported me through this and were the most amazing best friends I could ever ask for.
****
Today is September 17th, 2039 and it's been exactly 20 years since Johnny and I met and it's been exactly 15 years since I received this note from his parents:
Dear Anna,
My husband and I wanted to personally write to you and tell you the tragic news of Johnny's passing. As you know Johnnys surgery went better than the doctors expected. After the surgery, he had a slow recovery, but we thought everything would be okay. For the next few months, things took a turn for the worst. Through it all, Johnny always had the biggest smile on his face and that never changed. He always talked about how much he missed you too, but one day he just didn't wake up.
I had no idea this was the last time I would ever see my little boy. Anna, I wanted you to hear this from us since you meant the world to Johnny and this is what he would've wanted. Again, I am so sorry to have to tell you this news.
With love,
Mr and Mrs Taylor

I live by the quote, "Good friends are like stars. You don't always see them, but you know they're always there". Johnny meant everything to me. He was my best friend, but I know that I'll always see him in the stars.