“Lost and Found Friends,” Friend, February 2023, 10–11
Lost and Found Friends
By Maryssa Dennis
Church Magazines
(Based on a true story)
Could Leah find another new friend?
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1. Rin, 8 years old, sitting at her desk on the first day of school. She has an anxious look on her face. 2. Rin and Anna jump roping together outside at recess. 3. Anna hanging out with new friends at school. Rin is being excluded. This can happen at lunch time or during recess. 4. Rin and Ellie in a sewing class together, wearing the same pair of glasses. 5. Rin praying on her knees. (Head bowed, eyes closed, arms crossed across chest) 6. Rin hugging Ellie on the first day of school, backpacks on. Ellie wearing glasses, Rin wearing no glasses.
Leah looked around the third-grade classroom. The desks were lined up in neat rows, and bright posters hung on the walls. Most of the other kids were talking with their friends.
Leah sat down at her desk. She didn’t really know anyone in this class. She hoped she’d be able to make a new friend at school this year.
“Hey.”
Leah looked up. A girl had sat down next to her.
“My name is Anna,” she said. “Want to be friends?”
Leah smiled. “Sure!”
Later Leah and Anna ate lunch together. During their break, they played four square and jumped rope. At the end of the day, Anna waved goodbye to Leah through the window of the bus. “See you tomorrow!” she said.
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1. Rin, 8 years old, sitting at her desk on the first day of school. She has an anxious look on her face. 2. Rin and Anna jump roping together outside at recess. 3. Anna hanging out with new friends at school. Rin is being excluded. This can happen at lunch time or during recess. 4. Rin and Ellie in a sewing class together, wearing the same pair of glasses. 5. Rin praying on her knees. (Head bowed, eyes closed, arms crossed across chest) 6. Rin hugging Ellie on the first day of school, backpacks on. Ellie wearing glasses, Rin wearing no glasses.
From then on, Leah and Anna were good friends. They played together every day. In the winter, they made long paths in the snow. When the snow had frozen over, they slid down the paths. One time they were partners for a science project about space. Leah had fun making a poster of the planets with Anna.
But one day Anna started acting kind of strange. She didn’t wave back to Leah in the morning. She joined a new group for math practice. And at lunch, she barely talked at all.
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1. Rin, 8 years old, sitting at her desk on the first day of school. She has an anxious look on her face. 2. Rin and Anna jump roping together outside at recess. 3. Anna hanging out with new friends at school. Rin is being excluded. This can happen at lunch time or during recess. 4. Rin and Ellie in a sewing class together, wearing the same pair of glasses. 5. Rin praying on her knees. (Head bowed, eyes closed, arms crossed across chest) 6. Rin hugging Ellie on the first day of school, backpacks on. Ellie wearing glasses, Rin wearing no glasses.
“Hey,” Leah asked, “what’s going on?”
Anna sighed. “Look, I don’t think we should hang out as much. My friend Audrey said you were weird.”
“Oh.” Leah frowned. She and Anna had fun together. Why would Anna care so much about what other kids thought?
Anna said they could still be friends, but after that, she never talked to Leah. Leah tried not to feel hurt, but it was hard to be by herself while Anna played with other kids.
Soon the school year ended, and their summer break began. Leah stayed busy with lots of fun activities. She went to ballet class and cooking class. She also took a sewing class with her best friend, Ellie.
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1. Rin, 8 years old, sitting at her desk on the first day of school. She has an anxious look on her face. 2. Rin and Anna jump roping together outside at recess. 3. Anna hanging out with new friends at school. Rin is being excluded. This can happen at lunch time or during recess. 4. Rin and Ellie in a sewing class together, wearing the same pair of glasses. 5. Rin praying on her knees. (Head bowed, eyes closed, arms crossed across chest) 6. Rin hugging Ellie on the first day of school, backpacks on. Ellie wearing glasses, Rin wearing no glasses.
Ellie and Leah had known each other since they were little. They went to the same school, but they’d never been in the same class. Sometimes Ellie came over to play at Leah’s house. Leah found a pair of fake glasses to wear that looked like Ellie’s. That made Ellie laugh.
“I can’t believe summer is almost over,” Ellie said. “I wish we got to see each other more.”
Leah smiled. “Me too.”
Another school year was coming up fast. Leah was excited for fourth grade, but she was a little nervous too. She was fine with being by herself most of the time. But a year was a long time to not have a friend in her class. She remembered how she felt when Anna stopped being her friend. She didn’t want to feel lonely.
Leah kept praying to Heavenly Father for peace. When summer ended, she felt hopeful. She knew things would turn out OK.
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1. Rin, 8 years old, sitting at her desk on the first day of school. She has an anxious look on her face. 2. Rin and Anna jump roping together outside at recess. 3. Anna hanging out with new friends at school. Rin is being excluded. This can happen at lunch time or during recess. 4. Rin and Ellie in a sewing class together, wearing the same pair of glasses. 5. Rin praying on her knees. (Head bowed, eyes closed, arms crossed across chest) 6. Rin hugging Ellie on the first day of school, backpacks on. Ellie wearing glasses, Rin wearing no glasses.
On the first day of school, Leah walked into her new classroom.
“Leah!”
She couldn’t believe it. Ellie was in her class!
Ellie ran to Leah and gave her a hug. “I’m so happy you’re here! This will be the best year ever!”
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1. Rin, 8 years old, sitting at her desk on the first day of school. She has an anxious look on her face. 2. Rin and Anna jump roping together outside at recess. 3. Anna hanging out with new friends at school. Rin is being excluded. This can happen at lunch time or during recess. 4. Rin and Ellie in a sewing class together, wearing the same pair of glasses. 5. Rin praying on her knees. (Head bowed, eyes closed, arms crossed across chest) 6. Rin hugging Ellie on the first day of school, backpacks on. Ellie wearing glasses, Rin wearing no glasses.
Leah smiled big. She knew Heavenly Father had been with her, even when it was hard. And Ellie was right—this year would be the best one yet!