When did you start pretending to be Freja’s cat?
I guess it started when her family got a real cat. I was very jealous, because I’ve always wanted one! Her cat is actually GORGEOUS, and I just…yeah, I don’t know, animals are better at expressing their feelings, so I think of pretending to be a cat with Freja as a sign of affection! I jump into her lap. She likes it.
Aw, it’s like you were jealous of her cat attention-wise. Does she do anything like that to you, to show you affection?
She really likes to poke my nose.
To poke your nose??
Yeah! My nose is kind of, uh, what do you call it, an uppy nose…
Like a ski-jump nose?
Yeah, exactly. My nose is kind of special—round and puffy and pretty awesome to poke, I guess! [Laughs] So she loves to do it.
[Dying of cuteness] I was talking to Freja about the “trips” you guys have taken together. What’s been your favorite one?
Paris was amazing. We pretended to be French artists and painted the Eiffel Tower, then watched Amélie, which is the best movie.
If you could bring Freja on vacation anywhere for real, where would you take her?
I think Moscow! We like Russia—we like the culture. We read Crime and Punishment at the same time, and we thought it was very inspiring. So we’ll go there, even if we can’t go there for real.
When I talked to Freja, she said that, out of all the characters in the culture you two like, you’re most like Audrey Horne from Twin Peaks. Who would you say she’s most like, out of all the things you’re into together?
She’s definitely most like Hermione Granger.
That’s what she said! In what ways do you think they’re similar?
Freja can be a bit of a know-it-all! We both know that. She likes to correct people on their stupid grammar mistakes…as do I! [Laughs] We’re definitely both know-it-alls.
Does that ever lead to arguments?
You know, I think we’re both pretty eager not to fight. Even when we disagree about things, we do it in a good way and have discussions about it. But we really don’t even disagree that much!
In what ways are and Freja most similar, and in what ways are you most different?
Definitely our interests are similar—we both love books, and we’re both thinkers. Our style is really different. She likes colors a lot, and I wear a lot of black. Maybe that’s sort of a metaphor for our personalities, too! She’s more playful regarding some things, and I’m more shy. I’m always trying to be grown-up, even though I’m not. I care a bit more about my attitude—what I wear, and what people think of me. I care about how I look, and she doesn’t. We’re both introverts, but that’s why we like each other so much.
What’s one of your favorite memories of hanging out with Freja?
For most of my life, I didn’t think I liked to dance. But then we went to a Harry Potter Yule Ball, and I was wearing this long dress, but we didn’t stop dancing for the whole night. We were hanging out with all these other Harry Potter nerds, and Freja and I probably danced the most out of everyone. We just wouldn’t stop dancing; we had so much fun.
That’s so awesome. Do you want to finish up by telling me your absolute favorite thing about Freja?
She’s a bit weird, like me! Around other people, I sometimes feel like everyone cares so much about everything, like, what you wear, and how to behave, and what to say, and what other people think of them. Freja’s not like that, and that’s so nice. We can just be ourselves around each other.
Oh! That actually reminds me—Freja told me that you guys wrote each other letters when you first met. If you wrote her a letter about what your friendship is like now, what would you want to say to her?
I would just want to tell her how much she means to me, and that she’s a really awesome person. We should do that more for each other—show each other appreciation. ♦
(Interviews conducted by Amy Rose.)
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