When she sparks another debate

Spitting numbers and figures

Into my face

Raising her voice louder and louder to drown out mine

So devoted to her argument

To her voice

To what she believes

Wanting to be heard so badly 

She forgets our friendship

That time where we were thrown together

in orientation by chance

and that time that my roommate forced me to

sit down and introduce myself

That time we realized we both watched

the same television shows

and listened to the same music 

That time I nearly punched someone

who was twice my size and four times my strength for her

Because he told her to shut up

That time I stood up for her

In the face of my own role models

when they told me to stop hanging out with her 

She tosses me aside,

She tosses those moments aside

This one disagreement

Worth more than all of that

I want to argue back but 

I don’t forget those times.

I can't forget those times

That time she greeted me in the morning

when the rest of our suite had yet to arise from slumber

That time she carried on a conversation

so that my quieter self did not have to

That time we blasted country music

and that time our favorite couple on the show kissed

That time I was placed on an alternate list

with no backup plan for housing

and she volunteered to be my roommate 

That time she sat next to me on the bus

when another friend bailed on me

So I wouldn't catch a cold from the only other passenger 

without a bus buddy the day before my big meet

I remember

So I shut my mouth

Let her be heard with no resistance 

I may have lost the debate

But at least I didn’t lose her.