friendship bonds
— On the last day of eighth grade, seven best friends release a balloon with a wish to stay friends forever, as they face separation for high school.
— Two childhood friends are separated when their families move to different states, then reunite by chance years later at college in Chicago.
— In 1947 Roswell, a rancher finds mysterious metal debris and strange beings in his pasture, leading to government intervention and lifelong consequences for those who touched the fragments.
— Kate struggles with jealousy when her friend Madison excels at everything, leading to a painful confrontation and eventual reconciliation about their differences.
— When Leo announces he's moving to New York City, his best friend Anabeth gives him a drawing of them biking by Seneca Lake, which he keeps for nine years.
— When her best friend moves away, a girl who loves marine biology finds unexpected comfort in yellow daffodils floating in the ocean.
— A girl reluctantly follows her friend out her bedroom window at midnight to explore a moonlit field, discovering freedom and wonder in the darkness she once feared.
— A small new kid at school finds belonging when his unlikely friend, a football player, invites him to join the game and helps him up after a hard tackle.
— A poem captures the last night before a friend moves to Ireland, from joyful evening to tearful goodbye as she disappears in the rain.
— A boy spends his summer earning money for a BMX bike, falling just short until his best friend arrives with the final dollar he needs.