1)sighing, lauren stared down at the photograph in her lap. the portrait was encased in a glistening, pink frame with the words best friends scrawled in cursive script at the bottom. the past few weeks of lauren’s life had been a whirlwind of activity. it seemed like a hundred years since she had had a moment to sit and think.

2)lauren thought about the evening, four weeks ago, when her mother came home from work with news. lauren’s mom divulged that her business had launched a new branch in a different city, and they wanted her to head the new office—lauren had to move. after her mother broke the news, lauren could think of only one thing—her best friend claudia. claudia and lauren had been best friends since they were in preschool. lauren could barely comprehend living far away from her constant companion.

3)the day after her mother’s proclamation, lauren had to get to work. the family had two weeks to pack their things, say their goodbyes, and move miles away. that morning, lauren had called claudia and asked her to come over. claudia sensed something was wrong, so she hurried over to her friend’s house as quickly as possible. when lauren told her friend the news, they both started weeping. they never thought they would be in different schools, let alone different cities. claudia lauren cram boxes full of her clothes, trinkets, and shoes. as the shelves and dressers in the room grew barer, lauren grew more dejected.

4)in their final two weeks as neighbors, claudia and lauren were joined at the hip. they went to the mall and bought matching outfits. at the amusement park, they rode their favorite ride, the ring of fire, together. at carter’s lake, the friends hiked the trails, munched on fruit, and snapped photographs. for the most part, the girls avoided talking about the upcoming events; however, the day before lauren’s move, claudia came over to lauren’s house early in the morning. looking around at the almost-empty house, she sat down on a cardboard box and held her hand out to lauren. it contained a small box with a bow, which lauren took and carefully unwrapped. inside lauren found a photograph from their excursion to the lake with a frame that said best friends. lauren and claudia embraced each other and said goodbye.

5)that was the last time lauren had seen claudia since her move, and much had happened since then. lauren’s two weeks at her new home had stirred up a jumble of emotions. lauren liked her new school and she had already made some phenomenal friends; however, she still missed claudia and had trouble navigating the city. lauren did feel fortunate, though. even though she and claudia were miles apart, they chatted on the phone every night and remained best friends. suddenly, the telephone rang and lauren jumped up to answer—she knew it was an important call.

question: the story, "best friends," is accompanied by an illustration. in a short paragraph, describe how the illustration aids the comprehension and effect of the story. you may want to consider how the illustration the reader understand the story and also suggests what scene of the story is being depicted.