My first thought when I saw her was, “Wow. What a stuck-up brat!” I had never interacted with her and we were in completely different classes. She was the new student, and I judged her based on her looks. I had no idea that a year later, I would be sitting with her at the same table in homeroom. It didn’t take long for us to form an unbreakable friendship. Since 6th grade, Emily and I told each other everything and spent countless nights hanging out and sleeping over at each other’s houses. We didn’t get to take the same classes in high school, but when we did, we were inseparable. Our 11th and 12th grade speech classes, all our English honors classes, our Advanced Placement Government and Politics class, Art Club, Reading Competitions, the television station, and more were all classes/clubs we shared. We were inseparable and were loved by many teachers. We raised hell and made our presence known in a good way throughout our time in school. The art teacher could do nothing but shake her head, laugh, and smile as we made jokes and worked on projects in Graphic Design. We ran for office and won in Art Club, bringing forth new ideas and projects for our fellow club members to make. We sorted books for countless hours in the library, while the librarian would converse with us and tell us stories as well as listen to us tell her our stories. Every morning of our senior year was spent sitting in the television studio behind the cameras running different programs. We made countdowns and made our senior year memorable for more than just our friend group. All these memories and bonds we created still didn’t top our senior year course of Forensic Science.
It was a brand-new class that year at the school, and it was amazing. Emily and I signed up along with the rest of our friends. Emily had a fascination with serial killers, reading up on them as well as watching numerous documentaries. I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to boost my GPA as well as learn some interesting Forensic Science facts. Little did Emily and I know, the teacher had no idea what she was doing. She was thrown into teaching the class and the textbooks wouldn’t arrive for at least a few months after school started. We thought of the perfect opportunity to get our own grades boosted as well as make our presence known in the class. With the teachers blessing, Emily and I taught the class. We helped the teacher create tests, projects for the class to work on, and even made diagrams for her to use in the room. We presented projects on serial killers such as Edmund Kemper, H.H. Holmes, and “The Shoe Fetish Slayer”. We had a few projects that blew the teacher away. Our first was a book, upon the teacher’s request, of ways to get away with murder. We researched facts as well as included information from documentaries and novels to create a list of ways to get away with murder. I know the teacher is still using this simple book to teach her class about forensic science and how killers covered their tracks.
Our second project involved the serial killer David Parker Ray, a.k.a. “The Toy Box Killer”. We created a PowerPoint presentation detailing the crimes and victims of this ruthless killer, but that was not the best part. We decided to blow the teacher away by creating a replica of “The toy Box”, where David Parker Ray tortured and murdered his victims. I spent the night at Emily’s house, and we used an old beer case as the ‘trailer’. We made clay models of the devices he would use on the ladies as well as printed out little posters that were found in his “Toy Box”. We attached matchbox cars to the bottom with hot glue to make the “Toy Box” move. When it was time to present to the class, we placed “The Toy Box” outside the classroom. It was tied to a remote-control car. When we introduced the torture chamber, we turned on the lights and drove “The Toy Box” into the classroom. The teacher was amazed. She could not stop talking about the detail we added to the project as well as the hard work and research we conducted to complete this project. I still have “The Toy Box” replica sitting in my bedroom at home.
Our final project took the most time. We acquired an old map of the United States from a retired teacher. She was a personal friend of mine and was excited that her old classroom materials were going to be used to brighten another classroom. We purchased sewing pins and created a detailed map of a notorious serial killer’s victims. Samuel Little killed more than 50 people across the United States. Florida, Maryland, Ohio, and Georgia were a few of the places Samuel Little took his killing spree. We placed pins along with the victim number and year they were killed on the map, detailing just how many people he killed and how far his travels took him. One side of the country one year, and another just a few months later. We spent days sitting in the back room of the Forensic Science classroom working on this map of Samuel Little’s victims. We hung the board in the back of the teacher’s classroom where it still hangs to this day. The teacher was in awe with our dedication and enthusiasm towards the class. Most of the students sat on their phones and didn’t bother paying attention to the class as the teacher tried desperately to keep their attention. The rest of the class figured this class would be an easy A and the teacher made sure to give credit to those who deserved it. We made sure that her first year teaching the Forensic Science course would be memorable. We provided this teacher, who was given very little support and supplies from the district, with project ideas, tests, assignments, and homemade posters and diagrams she can use for years to come.
My best friend Emily and I have so many good memories together. I wouldn’t trade the world for the memories I share with this wonderful, kind, and politically charged individual. I wish her nothing but luck as she attends Hofstra University for Political Science and hope we will remain friends for years to come. She is an amazing individual and we are still in contact with each other, spending hours on the phone catching up with each other. Someone once said, “Friendship isn’t about who you’ve known the longest. It’s about who walked into your life, said ‘I’m here for you’ and proved it. I feel that Emily fits this perfectly. Best friends are hard to come by, but once you’ve found the right one, they are your friend for life.