A Picture of your friends

I have been neglecting Blogger all week! Its just been so busy that I have not updated and have not read anyone else's blogs either.
So, this is supposed to be a picture of your friends but I wasn't going to do that. I was going to tell a story about two of my friends from highschool that I'm still close with.
You may remember but in my first love post I mentioned that I had a few problems in Middle School, well, I had lots of problems. Which is why I wanted to go to a highschool in a different city. On my first day at Lyman Hall High, I had 5 out of 7 classes with this kid named Tony. My biggest hope was that he wouldn't be a problem because I'd have to face him all day, everyday. It was the complete opposite. On my second day in Science we had to partner up with someone and he came over to my desk and said "okay, its me and you". I would never go up to anyone, I was extremely shy and a bit of a shut in. Later he would tell me that he came over because "you looked so pathetic all the time and I couldn't stand having to look at that all day for a year".
Anthony and I are still close friends and so are our daughters.
The other person I was going to talk about I also mentioned in that first love post. The Puerto Rican girl who sat with me on the bus and talked like we had always been friends. Her name is Raquel and her and Tony together really helped bolster my confidence. I always walked into school with Raquel, we'd stop at her locker then head to the cafeteria for breakfast. Looking back it was a bit sad, I kinda followed her like a puppy, but that's how I was lol. She was a year ahead of Tony and I but we almost always sat at breakfast together. This was a routine for my freshman and sophmore years, and I finally felt more confident and soon was more popular than I ever was in Middle School. They both made me comfortable being myself. Highschool didn't have the cliques like Middle did, and people didn't care if you didn't have the newest pair of Nike's. At least Tony and Raquel didn't care and a few others that I'd pal around with.
I am still friends with Raquel also. We lost touch for about 10 years but we reconnected on FB a few years ago and picked back up again like that 10 years never happened. She has two kids now also.
So, those are two of my closest friends. If it hadn't been for them seeking me out I may have remained a shut in and not have ever asked Heather, my future wife out. Then I wouldn't have any stories to write on here.