Member-only story
“The Alleged Dylan”
My best friend in grade school might have been a ghost…
Technically, Dylan Stricland and I met in 7th grade. I was loud and awkward, just back in the public school system for the first time since a failed stint in elementary school. He was one of the quietest people I had ever met, always absorbed in a book, even when walking single file past my class in the hallway. We both stuck out in these ways, and I kept feeling all that first semester that he seemed like my cup of tea. That we could be good friends.
But his class always filed right past mine, and he was always busy reading, so I left him alone. I wasn’t about to disturb someone from a good book.
The following semester found us sitting right next to each other for a Spanish elective, so that was a step closer. Out teeny, tiny, beloved Colmbian teacher started the course with several days of basic Latin, giving us the words for basic animals and seeing who could guess them. It would help us recognize the same words in other languages later.
“Here’s a hard one,” she began, after the terms had become increasingly more difficult. “I don’t think any student has ever guessed it before. Can anyone tell me what vulpis is?”
“Oh, yeah, that’s a fox.”
The whole class turned and stared. Dylan had suddenly looked up from his book and…
