They'll Never Hear a Word We Say: Part Four

The students of Miss Valstak's second grade class of course got a new teacher. She wasn't the best, though. She was quite boring, and the pets did have to admit that they missed the liveliness of Miss Valstak's class every once in a while. The second grade year quickly went by after Miss Valstak quit. And being in Miss Valstak's class sure had been an experience Mel and Sam would never forget.

    When the Month of Gathering rolled around that year, and Sam and Mel got their letters in the mail that told them which teacher they were going to have for third grade, they were quite pleased that they had ended up in the same classroom once again. They were also glad that this year they had a very nice teacher, who was named Mrs. Cheen.

    Sam and Mel's time spent together was doubled that year. Every single day after school and on the weekends, they would play together in the snow or draw pictures together, maybe even play a game of hide-and-go-seek outside in the snowy woods every once in a while. The bond that they had created was as strong as it had ever been.

    "I can't believe we've already been best friends for two years now," Sam said to Mel one day at recess. They were sitting under their favorite tree, the tree that they now sat under during every single recess. They would talk the whole time under that tree together, about life and friendship and the future.

    "Neither can I," Mel replied. She was playing in the snow with her hands, digging holes and filling them back up again. "I mean, we've been through so much together already. Imagine what is to come in the next few years. You do think we'll still be friends then, don't you?"

    "There's not a doubt in my mind, Mel. And even if we aren't still best friends in a few years, I think that there will still be this thread of friendship that will keep us connected. I can't imagine never talking to you again, never seeing you again. I think that we'll always be friends. I can almost feel it. We're connected. It's weird, but I just have this crazy feeling that we are going to be friends for the rest of our lives. The ties that bind us together now... they're as strong as ever. I can't imagine them ever breaking."

    "Yeah... I guess you're right. But I mean, what if something happens? Like, if we get in a fight or something, and then we never talk to each other again? Or what if we make friends with other pets, what then? We certainly won't be as good of friends as we are now if that happens. We'll be hanging out with them instead of each other. I just can't help but think that something bad might happen," Mel said to the blue Uni.

    "Nothing bad is going to happen. I promise. We are going to be friends until the end of Neopia. And nothing, not even another friend, could tear us apart. Being in separate classes won't rip away our friendship, either. We hang out after school too, don't we? And even if we do end up in different classes next year, or the year after or something, we can always hang out at recess. You worry too much." Sam smiled and laughed softly.

    Mel nodded. She did have a tendency to worry. But Sam was her first real friend ever. The best friend she had ever had. They had so much in common, and shared so many times together, that life without Sam would be horrible for Mel. The Usul stopped thinking about it, and resumed digging her hole in the snow.

    "We should name this tree," Sam suddenly said.

    Mel looked up at her. "What?"

    "Well, we come here every single recess. And instead of calling it 'The Tree' all the time, I think we should name it something! Don't you?" Sam asked.

    "Yeah, okay. But what should we name it?" Mel pondered. She looked around the playground and was glad that the tree was shielding her from the snow that was falling so hard.

    "Hmm... How about... Samel?" suggested Sam. She and Mel smiled at each other. "It's our names put together. I like it."

    "Yes. So do I. Let's call this tree Samel."

    "All right," Sam giggled. "Samel it is."

Fourth Grade

    The third grade year passed alarmingly fast. It was also quite boring, so Mel and Sam's days with Samel stole the memory spotlight that year. But they did end up sitting down and talking under Samel nearly every single day at recess. They also found it funny when they talked about Samel in class, and the other students wondered what exactly they were talking about, since they had never heard of anyone named Samel.

    Sam and her family went vacationing in Mystery Island for the majority of the summer, so she and Mel couldn't hang out much for two whole months. But just before school started, they soaked up the last days of summer together with a weeklong slumber party.

    Sam and Mel got their letters that told them which teacher they had for fourth grade on the same day. They decided not to open them until they hung out again, so that way, they could be together when they found out what classes they would be in. So that night, when Sam arrived at Mel's house, they rushed into the family room and jumped on the big red couch. Sam was shaking as she opened her envelope. She threw the papers that her owner was supposed to read on the floor, and dug around for the teacher note. She slowly unfolded the piece of paper.

    "I got... Mrs. Vasen," Sam sighed, stuffing the scrap of paper into the envelope. "You go, now."

    Mel nodded, and tore open the envelope. She grabbed the little folded strip of paper that had her fourth grade teacher's name on it. She opened it slowly. The yellow Usul could feel sweat forming on her forehead. Sam's eyes were glued to the piece of paper, waiting for her friend to open it all the way. Mel unfolded it and glanced at it for a moment.

    "Oh... I got Mrs. Hedbird," she said solemnly, looking up at Sam, whose eyes had instantly filled up with tears. Her lips quivered, and she blinked her eyes rapidly, trying not to let any tears fall out.

    "W-What?" Sam said in a shaky voice. She grabbed the paper from Mel. It was true. They had ended up with different teachers, for the first time in three years. All of a sudden, the tears that had been building up in the blue Uni's eyes were released, and they ran down her cheeks like a waterfall. At the sight of her best friend crying, Mel started to sob too. They sat there, crying together, until they had no tears left inside of them to cry.

    Melanie went to school the following week in a glum mood. She did not want to go, and didn't think that anything in the world could make her want to go, but of course, she went anyway. She always reminded herself that she had something to look forward to everyday anyway, and that was recess.

    Her new teacher was a yellow Lenny, a very friendly and funny one at that. Mrs. Hedbird could always make her students laugh, and that was why they loved her so much. The teacher cheered up Mel a bit, despite her horrible mood, when she noticed that Mel wasn't feeling good and gave her a piece of chocolate. The other pets in the class frowned and complained that they didn't get candy, which made Melanie feel special.

    After what seemed like one hundred years, recess finally arrived, and Mel was the first one out of the door. She bounded down the snowy pathway towards the playground, looking around for Sam. She couldn't see her anywhere though. Soon she started to get worried. Did Sam's class even have recess? No, no, of course they did. But where could she be? She had never had to find Sam out at recess before. They had always walked out to the playground together.

    "Mel!" It was Sam. The yellow Usul spun around and saw the blue Uni running towards her. "Hey!"

    "Hey." Mel beamed. "I have a pretty cool teacher, I guess. She gave me candy!"

    "I have a nice teacher too! She's really artsy, which is good I guess, since I kind of like art. But anyways, we're wasting time just standing here. Let's go to Samel," Sam said, and the two of them went off to sit under their favorite pine tree.

    "I don't really like fourth grade. Actually, I don't like it at all. I miss you. It's so boring in my class. The only person I know in there is Garret, and... Well, he's Garret," Mel explained, as she sighed and leaned against the trunk of Samel.

    "I miss you too... I guess you could say my class is fun, though. I mean, there's Chad and Mikey, always goofing off, and the teacher basically lets us do whatever we want. So it's okay. You don't know how much I wish we were in the same class, though. But remember what I said last year? That day we named Samel? Not being in the same class is never going to harm our friendship." Sam smiled.

    "Really?"

    "Yes. There's no way it will. I won't let it happen."

To be continued...