BUDS by Branden Wang

         Friends, we all have them. Jocks have many friends, while the nerds acquire a few. I have a friend, guess his name...it starts with an A for Awesome and ends with a N for Neat: Ashton.

        Ashton is a regular Woodside resident. He is a citizen; he goes to school; he plays video games; and he does whatever an average 10 years old would do. Ash, as we call him, plays Tanki, a futuristic new game, and Clash of Clans, a barbaric overrated game.  Ash is 4 feet 9 inches and has tan skin color; his family is from Asia. Ash is a cool guy who thinks the odd, the unexpected. For example, the “pesticided” Thanksgiving turkeys. This is unusual because in 2012, an average person eats 16 pounds of turkey with pesticide, possibly making one ill. Ash’s talent is to be different, even if the odds are against him. Once he asked a few classmates whether they like pickles, they all responded yes, but Ash didn’t waver his no. Ash stood his ground.

         I am a regular Queens boy, too. I am a citizen; I go to school; I play video games; and I do whatever an average 10 year old would do. I play games such as Minecraft, super old, 2 years old. I am about 4 feet 7 inches and have peach skin color; my family is from Taiwan, a small island off the coast of China. Not to brag, but I am a pretty good writer. One of my other talents is drawing. I know this because one of the best drawers, my friend Malem, admits that I draw pretty well, too. Therefore, if you need anything drawn or need to read an out-of-this-universe story, you know whom to call. Me.

        Ashton and I are scholars who don’t seem similar, but we are. We both like the scrumptious, juicy, delicious, yellow, white, baked, fried, crunchy, dirty, potato! When the potato is eaten, it gives a punch to your taste buds causing them to send messages to the brain at express mail, via outlook, telling the brain that a potato has just landed onto the tongue and that it is totally delicious. Besides liking the universe’s best food, the potato, we both like the show Gravity Falls. Gravity Falls is a show where the Pines twins, Dipper and Mable, are spending their summer vacationing at their great uncle, Gurnkle Stan’s house, the Mystery Shack, which is located at Gravity Falls, Oregon, which was founded by the 8^th and a ½ president, Quintin Trebly. This town has many secrets that should never be uncovered, but the Pines twins are revealing them. Our families would never guess our unusual similarities.

         Ashton and I are different in three ways. One, I don’t read the Artemis Fowl series. The Artemis Fowl series to me is about these kids who are on a quest for something, like the Percy Jackson series. Two, I don’t get my head stuck in the popular games like Yukio, Club Penguin, Animal Jam, Transformice, Clash of Clans, Tank, or maybe Poptropcica. Many of these games have become boring; I never set up accounts for these games. Three, I don’t complain as much as Ashton; for example, I don’t complain when there are small “mystery” stains on the lunch room table which happens 3 times a week. Despite our differences, we are best friends.

      What is a friend? Ignore the dictionary’s definition; the dictionary knows nothing about friends. A friend is someone who plays tag with you, a person who helps each other achieve his goal, or a person who talks about how the disgusting lunch ladies make their cardboard cheese. When do you know you have a friend? Well, I shouldn’t have tell you, you will know when you’ve made a friend.