Second Grade was the first time I met my best friend Jasmine. We did everything together from going out and playing in the park to sleeping over at one another’s house twice a week. She was always there for me when times got rough, and I loved her for that. At that point in time we didn’t classify ourselves as best friends anymore. We were more like sisters because nothing could separate us. At least that is what I thought until eight grade graduation came upon us. Nothing was the same after that.
Jasmine and I had so many plans for high school. We made it our goal to attend the same high school and get only the grades of an A or B, so we could both get into a really good college. Jasmine and I attended the same high school for about one month and everything was going as planned, but then her mom got a job on the other side of the city and they had to move. Because they had to move Jasmine’s mom, Pam, thought it would be best for her to attend a high school closer to their new home. I thought nothing would change except we wouldn’t see each other as much, but it went from not seeing each other to barely speaking to each other on the phone anymore.
I had made friends at my new high school and so did Jasmine, but the difference was Jasmine’s crowd of friends were bad news, and she seemed as though she didn’t even realize it. I found out from Pam that Jasmine’s friends were heavy smokers and drinkers and with her being concerned about her daughter she wanted me to talk to her. I went over to Jasmine’s house and tried to remind her of our goals and how she was getting off track, but Jasmine wasn’t listening. She told me “it’s just weed; it makes you feel good no harm in that. Want some?’ At that point I knew there was no turning back for her, so I just left.
About a month later I got a call from Jasmine in the middle of the night and she was crying, she said her mom kicked her out because she found drugs hidden in the house. Instantly I got out of bed and told my mother what was going on. She insisted that Jasmine came and stayed with us for a while until she got the situation straightened out. She was staying with me for about three months and I thought she had changed and I could finally get my best friend back, but then I found out she was still selling drugs. I had found them in her bag so I confronted her about it and all she said was “I have to get money somehow everyone has something their good at and I am good at this”. I informed her that she was doing something illegal and that she was not only putting me in danger but my entire family as well. She just said “whatever if you can’t accept me for who I am then you are not a real friend” then she left. I had not heard from her for three days so I called Pam and she said she thinks Jasmine is ready to come back home so she is staying with her. I wanted to inform her that Jasmine was still selling drugs but at the time I felt like it would be betrayal to my friend, so I said nothing.
Just weeks later I got a call that Pam had gotten seriously beaten up and she was in the hospital. My mom and I went to visit her at the hospital and she wasn’t doing do well. She had a broken arm, leg, and hip, her eye was black and closed shut and her lip was split open. The doctors said someone reported her getting beat up by three young males with bats. The doctor also stated that she should consider herself lucky because it could have been worse. I began to wonder why anyone would want to beat up Pam; she is such a nice lady and never gets into trouble. Then I thought about it and I realized Jasmine was no where to be found. I called Jasmine at least five times before she answered I asked her if she knew anything about her mothers beating and she said yes, she had arranged for it to happen because her mother found more drugs and threw them all away so that meant less money for Jasmine. I could not believe what I was hearing; I could not understand how anyone could have their mother beaten up because of money especially not the young innocent girl who I thought I knew. That just helped me realize Jasmine’s mind was to far gone and she was no longer my best friend, she was a monster who I could no longer even look at.
A year had passed and I still had not talked to jasmine. I heard about her every now and then but I still could not forgive her for what she had done. Her mother Pam was doing good but she was no longer involved in Jasmine’s life either. Jasmine had lost everything she loved because she let the streets get the best of her. That was jus a lesson to be learned in her life. Did she learn from it? I don’t know because I haven’t heard from her in a long time, I just could not continue to let someone’s bad decision making effect my life any longer. This event also changed my way of thinking. It made me realize that nothing was more important than my education and my family.
