The Early Chapters

Answer side by side

How quickly did this friendship go deep — and why do you think it could?

The question sits across the top; you each answer on your own page. Whoever writes second reads the first answer before writing — agree, argue, or correct the record.

Why this question

Some friendships take a decade to get where we got in months. Some take months to get where we got in a decade.

And once you’ve both answered

What did each of us bring that made the pace possible?

Answering it honestly

  • Whoever writes second reads the first answer before writing — properly, not a skim. Your page can agree, argue, or correct the record.
  • Be specific. Dates, places, what was playing, who else was there. Wrong details are welcome; they're evidence.
  • Don't negotiate a joint version. Two accounts that refuse to match are worth more than one polished one.

And the house rule, whatever the mode: leave a blank rather than write a lie. A blank can be filled later; a lie sits in the archive forever, and you both have to live with the paperwork.

More from The Early Chapters

What was the first test this friendship passed?

What did your family — or whoever you were with at the time — make of the new friend?

Describe the era we became friends in — ours, specifically.