After school, I dumped my bag, slammed my door and slumped onto my un-made single bed. Single. Just like me. Alone. Like every other afternoon, I opened it up and searched “How to make friends”. There isn’t really any point since it comes up with the same useless results every time but I like to be hopeful that I will make at least one friend. That hopefulness paid off. Right at the top of the search results, a brand new website popped up called “Friend Send”. I instantly clicked on it and read the description on the home page. A website for making friends huh?
I waited for three weeks until she messaged me. This miracle of a website had failed me. Until the 1st of June. PING! My phone vibrated on my cluttered desk and a message appeared on the lock screen: “Mila wants to be your friend! Would you like to add them back?” Are you for real?? Of course I do! I scrambled to my bed, clutching my phone close to my chest and tried to accept Mila before she went offline. I did. By 1:00am, I knew everything about Mila. Her age, where she lives, her hobbies and how she struggles to find friends just like me! I wished that we could’ve called but she said that her parents go to sleep early.
That night, I thought that, already, Mila and I couldn’t be any closer but after three short months, it was like we had been friends forever. At this point, I knew that we had to meet in person. On our three-month friend-aversary, the 1st of September, I sent Mila a text: “Hey Mila, we’ve been friends for so long now. How about we meet up this week before the end of the summer holidays?”
She replied in an instant, ”Ummm sorry but I’m busy.”
I thought she said that she never does anything. I shot back, “Are you for real Mila? I’ve never even heard your voice or seen your face. Anyways, I thought you said you’re always free.”
“I just asked my parents and they said no.” she said at 2:00am. I thought her parents went to bed early? I thought I knew Mila like the back of my hand so why was she acting so…different?
“Well, since your parents are awake, can we call instead?”
She replied, “I didn’t say they were awake.” This was starting to get weird. Is she blind?? Any living person could see that she obviously just said that they were awake. Any living person. Suddenly, my stomach flipped and dropped down hard. Did I really know who I had just spent three months talking to?
I built up the courage to ask the question swimming in my mind: “Are you real?” “I’m really sorry but, yes, I am for real and we can’t meet up.”
“No, I said, are you real? Tell me that you’re not A.I. or something” “I am for real.”