Grace still remembered the first day she met Lucy.
It was a bright Monday afternoon in first grade. The school playground was buzzing with laughter, the metal swings creaking back and forth, and children running across the dusty ground like they had the whole world to chase.
Grace had only one mission that day.
She hurried toward Class 1-B during recess, her tiny shoes tapping quickly against the tiled corridor floor. She needed to find Theo.
Theo had been her best friend since Nursery. They had shared crayons, snacks, secrets, and even matching water bottles once. So obviously, she had to tell him something very important.
She finally spotted him near the big neem tree in the playground.
"Theo!" she called out, waving both her hands dramatically.
Theo turned around and grinned. "Grace! Why are you here?"
Grace didn't even wait. She grabbed his arm and started talking at full speed.
"There's this boy in my class," she whispered, even though it wasn't really a secret. "He's kind of sweet. He asked if I wanted to be friends! And my class teacher? She's literally the best teacher in the whole school."
Theo laughed. "Already making new friends, huh?"
That's when Grace noticed someone standing a little distance away.
A girl with neatly tied ponytails and curious eyes was watching them. She wasn't smiling, but she didn't look upset either. Just… observant.
Grace tilted her head.
Theo noticed too. "That's Lucy," he said. "She's in my class."
For a second, Grace hesitated. But Grace had always been bold in the simplest ways.
She walked up to Lucy.
"Hi," she said with a soft smile. "Do you want to be friends?"
Lucy blinked, surprised. Then a small smile appeared on her face.
"Okay."
And just like that, something important began.
They started talking immediately — about teachers, about classmates, about which subject they liked the most, and which one they absolutely hated. Grace told Lucy about the sweet boy from her class. Lucy told Grace about a girl who always borrowed her pencils but never returned them.
They laughed.
They compared lunchboxes.
They complained about homework.
And before they realized it, the loud school bell rang, cutting their conversation in half.
Recess was over.
"I have to go," Lucy said.
"Me too," Grace replied.
Before leaving, Grace quickly said, "Lucy, this is Theo. Theo, this is Lucy."
Theo smiled. Lucy waved.
It was small. Simple. Ordinary.
But from that day on, the three of them became inseparable.
They sat together during annual functions. They waited for each other after school. They shared secrets no one else knew. They promised they would always stay friends.
Always.
And in first grade, "always" feels like forever.