Friendship and Mountain Mahogany Community

Important In 8th grade, I went to a tiny school called Mountain Mahogany Community School. I had 3 best friends. One was a girl, Seaonna, and the other two were boys, Jordan and Josh. Jordan was never really one to open up. He was one of the most closed books I have ever encountered. It was hard to tell if he was sad, happy, angry, or just being a pain, unless you really got to know him. If I had to sum him up in one word, it would be difficult. He had this brooding aura about him. I didn’t really like him right away, but I wanted to be his friend because I like to help people, I guess. Or maybe I just attract people with bigger problems than most people, or it could even be the other way around. It took a while, but eventually he let me in.
We were friends quickly, but he had always kept me at a distance. I never really knew why, and I wasn’t about to push him into telling me. Until one day, while I was having lunch with Seaonna, he pulled me aside and told me something I’m never supposed to tell anyone. It was the first time I had seen him show any real emotion, other than anger or depression. I don’t know why he told me, but I’m glad he did. He cried while he told me, and I held him. We sat like that for at least 10 minutes, him crying, me doing my best to comfort him. When he was done, he cursed.
I asked him why he thought he shouldn’t be crying, and he told me, “Tears are a sign of weakness, and I am not weak.” There was a long pause, and then I asked him a question. It was a simple enough question, but the answer meant a lot to me.
“So, I’m weak? I cry often enough, does that make me weak? ” As soon as I’d said it, he looked at me like I’d sprouted a second head. “Of course not! You’re a girl, you’re allowed to cry.”
“But boys aren’t? Why aren’t boys allowed to cry?” I challenged.
“We just aren’t,” he countered, weakly
He made me swear on something that would always matter to me that I wouldn’t ever tell anyone what he had said. So, I swore on