The story of the inadvertent cease-fire

Yesterday I got back from the last speech tournament of the year. I have a duo with a guy named Sam, on The Taming Of The Shrew. (If you don't know what that is don't you DARE comment asking. Go and Google it you uncultured swine!) We didn't do as well as we had hoped, but it didn't matter as much as I expected. True, I felt like crying when they announced "breaks" (who was advancing  to the final round) and our names were not called, but I managed not to for a few minutes and then I didn't feel like it anymore because Sam is hilarious and he cheered me up. 

The trip was really quite wonderful even if the actual tournament wasn't. We met a whole bunch of really cool Oregonians, and got to know two other Californians much better than we used to. Plus we had some really good conversations. We tend to talk about really random, weird stuff (for example: "If you take a bite of someone and they taste gross that is still cannibalistic. But if you just smell them and think they would taste gross, that isn't." Yes, that conversation actually occurred.) But we also talked about how we really became Christians and how we found our churches (he's Catholic and I'm Episcopalian.) And the last night of the trip we stayed up 'till around 2:00am, sitting outside, talking about...well everything. (That's when the "cannibalistic/not cannibalistic" conversation happened.) 

We've known each other for about five years, but - of course - weren't friends when we were younger. In fact I wouldn't say that we were really friends until sometime this year, I can't peg exactly when we became friends...it just happened. 

The foundation was kind of laid last year, when Sam joined our speech and debate club, doing only debate, and a cease-fire was inadvertently called. I was doing a duo with another friend who lived about an hour away. We had tons of fun, but it was hard on our moms seeing as neither of us drove, so this year mummy said "no duos with anyone on the 80 corridor" (my friend lives near highway 80) "but why not Sam?"  Sam on the other hand lives about five minutes away. My response was "Mum, you are thinking geographically, but not realistically." And she was...but then..."Well, actually! Why not? That could work!" I thought about it a few minutes and then, slowly..."Yes...it could! I'll call him." I think it kind of freaked him out when I called, but he agreed "That could be fun! I'll do it." I had an idea to do a section of a Dickens, but we decided against it. Instead we decided to 'play to our strengths'. What were our strengths? Why, pretending to hate each other of course! So The Taming Of The Shrew was chosen. We started working and somewhere in the middle of writing, practicing and brainstorming we found that we were friends. 

He is now, the only person who has ever been allowed to see the inside of my journal, one of the only people who has seen me cry because I'm sad, the only person I told about the extent of a certain crush I had, and one of the only people who I am absolutely completely comfortable with. We can say literally anything to each other, and it's not awkward because we pretty much always know what the other one means. It's really great. Plus, I beat him twice in a row at air hockey and once at bowling =D.

On the drive home from the tournament (it was in Medford) we made up an island called Zebora, and drew a map. It's awesome. 

One of my favorite things about it are the "petrichorian elephants". They are like normal elephants, only smaller (they are usually only about five-six feet tall, but the big ones are about 7) and reddish. Plus they are very gentle and obedient. In other words, the perfect pet =D.

This is an illustration by your's truly =)