Friends Forever?

Friday afternoon. Thank God the weekend had arrived.

As I was walking out of the no-cell-service area of Brock Hall, my phone started twittering. "1 Voice Message."

I assumed it was someone calling about a practice time for one of the three bands I'm playing with this weekend. Dutifully, I called my voicemail.

"You have one unplayed message."

I know, I know. Shutup and play it already!

"*beep* Hey, hope everything is going well..."

Huh? That's a girl's voice. And it's not Katie, so it can't be about band practice. And it's not my sister, so it probably isn't about a computer problem. And it's not Amy, Abby, Lisa, Melanie, Mandy, or Natasha, so it can't be... well, yeah, it can't be any of them. Not that I would mind talking to them, or anything. But who is this girl, anyway?

"... I was actually going to call and get some advice from you... "

Advice? Hmm. Whoever she is, I bet she's buying a musical instrument or having troubles with her computer. I seem to attract damsels in technological distress. Well, not really "attract" per se, but you know.

"This is Jill, and in case you don't have it, my phone number is..."

Jill. Jill!

::

Jill has a storybook life. She's twenty. Gorgeous. Ridiculously charming. Insanely talented. From a wealthy and close-knit family. Lead singer of a nationally touring band with interest from several labels. By all outside measurements, she has all the advantages anyone could possibly want in life. If accomplishments, possessions, and power bring happiness, then she, more than anyone else I know, should be happy.

Jill and I grew up together in a small town in North Georgia. For a few years in our early teens, we were very close -- perhaps not exactly dating, but... well, you know the drill in undefined relationships. Eventually, she met and started dating another guy, and I was crushed. We lost contact for four or five years. We ran into each other at a mutual friend's wedding earlier this summer and exchanged some awkward conversation, but other than that, we didn't talk for years.

So why would she be calling me? I couldn't fathom any possible reason, unless she needed some web site advice or something. But even that doesn't seem like the kind of thing for which she'd call me. They have managers and agents and those kinds of people to deal with those kinds of problems.

To be continued...