Friends

Date: 9/4/2022

Anna A tells me I have no friends. That I always find something wrong with each one and they last no more than a year. It's true. Maybe I'm just a loner. Perhaps I should try to be her friend. I follow her back to her dorm. It's very messy. I push up her fold-away bed so there's somewhere to sit. Do you have food? I can make her a light soup. Then she can see I'm a good friend. There is a basket of softening potatoes and I cut one up in a small bowl and add water. Do you have any onion? Her boyfriend opens the fridge. It's mostly empty. Here's one, he says, handing me a container with a thick slice of onion. I open it but it's actually an old slice of tomato. This is from the other day, I say I cut it. It's not too old. She laughs. No, that's from before. It's way old. I put the mystery vegetable in the soup. I will have to make more for her boyfriend and his friends. The stocky, goofy one wants to be my boyfriend. I don't like him much but he has a very warm blanket, and I am trying to be friendly. He introduces me to his mom and dad, and his nephew with autism who clings to me immediately. I like this kid. I will be his friend.