When You Were Everything

“There’s a line in The Tempest about the past being prologue to everything that comes after, and I can’t help but remember it as memories of Layla fill my head. The thing I didn’t realize about having a best friend while I still had one is just how wrapped up she is in everything I do. […] Losing someone can leave you haunted. I look up, through the lens of still-falling snow, feeling the familiar burn of tears forcing their way to the surface.”

Initially, Cleo Baker defines herself according to her friendship with Layla Hassan, and when the girls’ friendship begins to fall apart, Cleo feels that her whole world is being dismantled. The way she responds to their falling-out and her memories therefore incites the narrative conflict and foreshadows the lessons that Cleo will learn about letting go of an old friendship and building new relationships.

“I bit my lip, feeling bad that I’d teased her. ‘But, I mean, you know you’re a shoo-in for chorus. And how could they not like you?’ Layla didn’t answer, but I knew she was thinking more about the way she spoke than the way she sang. I stepped in front of her so she had to look at me. ‘Lay. Everyone loves you. And if they don’t, screw them,’ I said. Then I texted her Y.O.E. It was a code we’d had since middle school that we’d say to each other all the time. You Over Everyone.”

Cleo and Layla have developed a mutual bond through which they support one another, and this scene demonstrates Cleo’s determination to encourage Layla when she feels afraid and self-conscious. Cleo wants to put Layla’s friendship ahead of all her other relationships because this is the dynamic that the two have always followed. The passage therefore captures the significance of the girls’ friendship while also foreshadowing the ways in which it will change.

“I’m just not sure this is the best way to go about things, Cleo. I understand that you’re sad, but new memories don’t just make old ones go away. You were friends with Layla for a long time, and now you just aren’t anymore.”

In this passage, Cleo’s father challenges her to think about her friendships and memories differently. He understands why Cleo is trying to erase and remake her memories surrounding Layla but advises her to reconsider this tactic. His words foreshadow the lessons Cleo will learn about The Role of Memory in Shaping Relationships.