Clara Fan & Kiana Mark

When sophomore Clara Fan couldn’t hobble on her broken ankle any longer, her best friend, sophomore Kiana Mark, carried her on her back and sprinted up to the MVHS field to watch the sunrise. Surrounded by the fruits, cupcakes and miso soup they had prepared, Fan, Mark and two of their other friends sat on cozy blankets as they watched the sun peek over the horizon. 

Although Fan and Mark knew of each other from a mutual friend early on, they attended different elementary schools and didn’t have the chance to meet until sixth grade at Kennedy Middle School, where they saw each other every day as they had the same classes. Fan and Mark bonded over squishies, got ready at each other’s houses for their volleyball games and drank boba together afterwards. Mark believes that their friendship began because they had compatible personalities and “just clicked.” 

Aside from being able to laugh together and confide in each other, both Fan and Mark are athletes — Mark plays volleyball and Fan plays soccer, basketball and track and field. They are both able to understand each other’s priorities, relate to each other’s busy schedules and rant about team drama. Although they have practice every day and can rarely see each other after school, they still find time to show their support by watching each other’s games.

“We can’t talk to a lot of people at our school about our sport …,” Fan said. 

“… because they just wouldn’t get it,” Mark said. “I share stuff about my team drama because [she isn’t] on the team and Clara can share stuff about soccer with me because I’m not on the team either.”

For Fan and Mark, arguments are not personal and don’t last “more than five minutes.” Communication is important to them and has played a key part in strengthening their friendship.

“If we disagree about something, usually we just don’t talk about it …,” Fan said.

“… or we just bicker back and forth,” Mark said.

“But it’s not an argument that’s personal …,” Fan said.

“… it’s just about silly stuff [and it’s] not a deep argument,” Mark said.

Even though they no longer talk about squishies, Fan and Mark now bond over things such as sports, clothes and social media. Although they don’t always share classes, they find time to talk during brunch, lunch and tutorial. Outside of school, they always text each other and FaceTime to do homework or discuss urgent topics.

“[We] just [value] each other,” Mark said. “All the experiences, the ups and everything [else that] I get to share with Clara is so much fun.”