Oh, Tor.

Once upon a time, in Mr. Saxton's 11th grade english class, I got sat next to Tori. I had ALWAYS seen her as the really popular cheerleader girl who I found really annoying. But... I had never really talked to her.

At first, it was excruciating to come in from lunch every other day to "Oh my gosh, Hi Reille!" And her never ending enthusiasm and perkiness. But I think it only took her about a week or maybe two for her to wiggle her way into my heart.

She was one of the first people to just give me a nickname and always call me that. She's one of the few people to call me 'Rei' and she always calls me 'Reille K!' always said in exclamation. She unconditionally loves me and I still am baffled that we are friends. I was such a beast to her. Almost always.

All through high school, I suppressed just how much I liked her. I suppressed the urge to hang out with her and be actual friends rather than just the friends that were friends in that one class and occasionally greeted each other in the hallways. BECAUSE. Of Chelsea. Chelsea didn't like Tori, she never gave her a chance, she thought she was an idiot cheerleader, blah blah blah. And I still kind of hate myself for not standing up for Tori when Chelsea would put her down. I just went along with it, because I thought that Chelsea and I would be friends forever. And I hate that I let her dictate my choice in friends even without her saying anything specific...

But then... I changed.

I "broke up" with Chelsea and moved on with my life, and I took a chance and wrote Tori a letter. And I told her all about this. And she wrote back and wasn't offended or weirded out or anything. She was excited! (obviously, it's Tori :]) And now we're pen pals and I just LOVE it. I love being friends with her. I love hearing about her life. I love her wanting to hear about mine. It feels like a real friendship. And I just love it.

She has been such a blessing.

A blessing in disguise.

A letter from her always brightens my whole week.

I love this girl. So so much.