Sandeep and Den were best friends living on a small island off the coast of Maine. They weren't alike, but they were two peas in
a pod. Den was usually calm, logical, and level headed, while Sandeep often reacted based on his emotions. Still, they did everything together. They biked down to the general store to spend their allowance every Saturday afternoon, spent their summers at the same camp, and took the ferry every morning to the same school on the mainland. In fact, the two were inseparable.
That is until one beautiful summer day when Den came over to Sandeep's house for lunch.
"We're moving," Den said.
"Ha! Yeah, right. What do you mean you're moving?" Sandeep replied.
Den elaborated, "Mom and Dad say we're moving to the mainland. With my dad's new job, he says it's too hard to commute on the ferry for the night shifts he's doing."
Sandeep did not know what to do with this information. He stared down sadly at his grilled cheese sandwich, not knowing how to reply. He felt nauseous at the thought of losing his best friend.
"Well, aren't you going to say something?" Den asked, his face filled with concern about his friend's response.
Sandeep was angry and sad at the same time. He didn't know how to express his emotions, so instead, he lashed out at Den, "Fine! Go then. We were never really friends anyway."
Den was shocked at this response, "What do you mean? Of course we're friends. Best friends! You don't mean that."
Sandeep said nothing as tears slowly welled up in Den's eyes, and he stood up to leave. He wanted to tell Sandeep that they could still see each other, and they would still be going to the same school, but every time he opened his mouth to speak, Sandeep said he didn't want to hear it. He took one look back at Sandeep and walked out the door.
Almost immediately, Sandeep realized he had made an egregious mistake. He knew that he should have talked it out with his friend and that they could probably work it out together. After all, he didn't even know exactly where his friend was moving nor if he was changing schools. Sandeep jumped on his bicycle to try to catch up with him before it was too late.
By the time Sandeep reached Den, they were near the ferry landing on the western side of the island. The ferry bobbed slightly as its doors lowered to allow the cars off the boat and another line up of cars, which had accumulated since the last trip, on. Sandeep remembered how, one time, he and Den rode their bicycles to the ferry and crossed to the small mainland town on the other side. He yelled for Den to stop, "Hey, Den! I'm sorry, and I didn't mean it!" Den stopped and looked back him with eyes full of salty tears. Sandeep rode up to him and continued, "I'm really sorry about what I said to you there. I just don't know how to react to this. I mean, you're my best friend, and we do everything together."
Den's face softened as his tears began to dry while he spoke, "It's okay, Sandeep. I'm upset about it, too, but if you would have let me talk earlier, I could have told you that we are still going to be going to the same school every day. My family bought a cottage on the island, so we can vacation here every summer. We are just moving to the mainland on the other side because Dad wants to cut waiting for the ferry from his trip. We'll be just a short ferry ride away. Do you remember that time when we rode our bikes to the ferry? Well, we can do that again, and as we get older, we can probably just meet up on either side all the time. It won't be too bad."
At this news, a smile grew across Sandeep's face. "Well, why didn't you say so in the first place?" he laughed. Den began to laugh as well as the two boys looked across the water to the other side. "Well," Den said, "we'd better get moving." Sandeep looked confused. "Moving where?" he inquired with a worried look on his face. Den smirked as if he was about to tell a joke, "Back to your house to finish our lunch, of course!" The boys rode back to Sandeep's house side by side and as inseparable as always.
Select how the setting of the story changes from the beginning to the end.
A. At first, it is a nice summer day, and they are inside at lunchtime. Then, they are outside a little later in the afternoon.
B. At first, it is a nice summer day, and they are inside at lunchtime. Then, they are outside a little later in the nighttime.
C.At first, it is a nice summer day at lunchtime. Then, it is a cloudy summer day a little later in the evening.
D.At first, they are on an island on a sunny summer day. Then, they are on a ferry a little later in the afternoon.
