“Hey I Know Her!!”
I met Vaughn Jr. in the summer of 2014, the months leading up to my last year of elementary school. I had just joined a summer swim team at a country club called The Ranch, and it just so happened that Vaughn was on the team as well. He was my age, so we always practiced at the same time. However, despite the fact that we should have gotten to know each other relatively well throughout the few months of time that we spent in near vicinity to each other, we never really became friends, much less interacted. This was most likely because of the fact that at that point in my life, I was very shy, and didn’t necessarily see the point in talking to someone I didn’t already know. Nevertheless, I knew who he was, though I didn’t necessarily expect that he knew who I was in return.
After summer swim ended, I assumed, if not subconsciously, that I would not see Vaughn again until the following year. It probably goes without saying that I was wrong. My mom had received an email from another parent on the swim team, advertising water polo as a great sport to keep a summer swimmer such as myself in shape during the school year. I decided to give it a try. My first day of water polo practice came, and I was excited yet understandably nervous. When I had first joined the swim team, my best friend at the time had joined for the first time with me, so I knew I could always count on someone to talk to. Water polo, however, was different. I walked into Blue Dolphin Swim School for the first time in the fall of 2014 not expecting to know anyone.
My coach introduced me to the few people that were in the pool on my first day of practice (water polo in Colorado has grown so much since that day, almost six years ago). I scanned their faces, most likely looking terrified out of my mind. I was met with a chorus of disinterested “hi”s from the group of preteens in the water, most of them not bothering to act excited or happy to have a new teammate. There was one exception, which I still remember to this day. A little ten-year-old boy with the goofiest smile said the four words that began four years of friendship:
“Hey, I know her!!”
It was with these words that I realized that maybe I hadn’t been as invisible as previously assumed. What I also knew when I heard him welcome me to the team was that I had a friend after all, the best feeling in the world. After this incident, I decided I wanted to join water polo, and Vaughn and I began to carpool. From this, we developed a friendship unlike any I had had before. I still have memories of a lovable and hilarious boy who could almost always make my day brighter. I remember swimming with him at his pool, going bowling and him having to use the bumpers (giving him the highly unoriginal nickname of “bumper” within the water polo team). I remember just hanging out and laughing at tournaments. I remember having swimming competitions with him, with smoothies and milkshakes being the prizes for winning. I remember playing pool with him at Christmas. I remember how passionate he was about the bike park and his go-cart. I remember him for the type of person he was: reliable, welcoming, happy, loyal, kind, and funny. But most of all I remember him for what he was to me: a best friend.
Happy birthday Vaughn, I’ll miss you always.
Written by Codi Vasquez Ortiz
