Can one really define what friendship is? I have talked to many people who hold conflicting opinions. Although I don't know the definition of friendship, I do have the memories of my friends and the times we have spent together. One memory that conjures up one of the most memorable events was the time I helped cook dinner at my friend Blair's house. Blair and Elyse, two of my good friends, had decided to throw a dinner party. They had me come over to help them prepare that evening's meal.
       That warm Friday afternoon, we made a trip to the grocery store. With only seventy dollars to spend on groceries for 15 people, all three of us were running throughout Wal-mart trying to find the needed ingredients. Not knowing what to buy or how much, we ended up getting half of what we needed or twice as much. As soon as we thought we had gotten all the necessary items, we headed toward the checkout lines.
       The dreaded moment had come. Did we have enough money? The money went fast, $54.39, $58.28, $63.92, $68.15, $71.60. Our worst nightmare had come to life; we had exceeded out limit by $1.60. I could see Elyse's face lose color. She was astonished as I was. What were we to do? How must we proceed from here? Thoughts raced through our minds. I finally drew up the breath to say a few words, "Blair, the ice cream must go."
       "No!" She screamed in agony, "Take the cheese, we have tons!"
       "What's a Mexican fiesta without cheese? We can't get rid of the cheese!", Elyse replied.
       "But Elyse, aren't you lactose-intolerant?" Blair and I said simultaneously. While we were trying to settle our petty dispute the cashier was getting quite agitated.
       "Do you guys need more time?" she said in loud, stern voice. We decided to take the ice cream back, with Blair's consent of course. I raced back to the frozen section with the ice cream in my arms, and returned to Blair and Elyse in the nick of time to see them pushing our buggy out of Wal-mart. Closing the doors to the blue 4Runner we sighed with relied. The hard part was over.
       We headed to Blair's home to begin our journey through the world of cookbooks and recipes. Things went smoothly. The scent of my famous Mexican rice wafted into the room.Cutting and dicing, we had Outkast blaring. Things were going good. Then we got to the onions. Tears began to well up in our eyes. To get our minds off the onions, we started, as we always do, to discuss our most cherished memories. All of a sudden Elyse begins screaming in pain, "I have pepper in my eye!" Remembering how she was playing with the pepper grinder, I helplessly begin roaring with laughter along with Blair. "Oh God, I have pepper in my eye, help!" However we were unable to help her from laughing so hard. To this day she says she can still feel the grains of black pepper irritating her eye, and to this day I can't ask Elyse to pass the pepper without rolling on the floor laughing first. I am almost sure that she still holds a grudge against Blair and me for not helping her. After that, things quieted down, and we prepared for our soon-to-arrive guests.
       I value all the Blair and Elyse give me, especially their friendship. Together we have created memories that will always exist in our minds, whether in the darkness or the light. The memories I have with them will hopefully be cherished forever. That night was one of the funniest memories we have ever had. Elyse calls it the Night of Too Little and Too Much, Blair calls it The Mexican Fiesta Gone Funny, but I personally call it The Night of True Friends.