jo*angel

Death of a friend

On Saturday, June 2nd at 5:20 p.m., Heather Marie
Drinkwine, was pronounced dead due to a accident when her
car slammed into a telephone pole. Heather was 18, and was
supposed to graduate on Sunday from Northridge High School.
She was a varsity cheerleader and a special friend to me. I
cheered with Heather for only one year, but I got to know
her and love her personality.
I was at an open house when someone came in and said
there had been an accident, but they didn't know any other
details. When we got home, a lady from my chruch called and
said she lived near the accident and had heard a car hit a
telephone pole. Then she told my mom (who was on the phone
with her) that Heather did not survive. Somehow I knew it
was coming before my mom even told me. I decided I needed
to get out of the house. I still had one other open house
to go to, and he lived a couple houses down. When I got
there, he gave me a hug, and I realized that he already
knew. He said a bunch of students had gone to the hospital
and there were so many that they had to moved to the school
library. So I went with him there. There were so many
students at the school, it was packed! Ministers and
teachers, and counsulors were called in, and everyone just
sat and cried. There wasn't on person in the library that
wasn't effected. After a while people started heading out
and everybody had left around 11:30 p.m.
At graduation, her photo was placed on the piano and
all the senoirs put their flowers on Heather's chair, which
was left there for her rememberance. Heather's parents
accepted her diploma and there was a standing ovation for
them. I remember learning about the stages of death that
you go through. And you really do go through them. It's so
hard. You expect it to be a dream, and when you wake up
everything will just be nightmare. But this nightmare came
true. Heather will forever be in our hearts. Her spirit of
life will go on, and so must we.

Kelly