, Metro.co.uk\u2019s weekly friendship series, where friends share the stories of how they met.<\/strong><\/p>\n\u2018We have an unconditional friendship,\u2019 says Salma Bedair, 36, of her best friend, Rosie Hardy, 37. \u2018There\u2019s nothing she could do that would change the way I feel about her.\u2019<\/p>\n
The school bus and matching trainers brought the then school girls together \u2013 but they\u2019ve gone on to forge a 25 year long (so far) bond that they both agree is more comparable to that of a married couple. <\/p>\n
They met, aged just 11 years old, on their first day of high school in Dublin, Ireland.<\/p>\n
Salma says the pair were \u2018different\u2019 from other girls in their year. Salma was born in Cairo, Egypt, and her family emigrated to the Emerald Isle when she was four. She was one of the few Muslim pupils in an all-girls Catholic school in Ireland in the late 90s.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Rosie says she had a \u2018difficult\u2019 childhood. Her mum passed away from cancer when she was just six-years-old. Separated from her sister \u2013 who had a different dad \u2013 Rosie went to live with an aunt in what she describes as \u2018the rough part\u2019 of Dublin. \u2018I was pretty unloved as a child,\u2019 she puts it, matter-of-factly. <\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/themes\/metro-parent\/img\/fallback.png\")
<\/p>\n
Aged 11, a \u2018really shy, really awkward\u2019 Rosie was nervous about starting high school. <\/p>\n
On that first day, she remembers all the girls filing into a big room, where they were assigned to their classes.<\/p>\n
\u2018I just remember Salma bounding up to me, and telling me that I took the same bus as her. \u201cI\u2019ll save you a seat,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u2018She was oozing confidence. I was just delighted that someone wanted to talk to me!\u2019<\/p>\n
For Salma, the draw to Rosie was simple: \u2018We had the same pair of white Reebok Classics with blue stripes,\u2019 she laughs. \u2018That\u2019s why I noticed her!\u2019<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rosie and Salma both say they were opposites in many ways. Salma says: \u2018Anything I liked, she didn\u2019t like. I loved basketball, played piano and was mad into musicals, but she had none of those interests or hobbies.\u2019<\/p>\n
Rosie adds: \u2018Salma grew up with a lot of privilege. Back then, I think she felt a pull to take me under my wing because I was less fortunate than her \u2013 I used to think it was pity, but now I know she\u2019s just really self-aware.\u2019<\/p>\n
From the moment they met, the girls were inseparable. \u2018We\u2019d sit together on the bus to school every day,\u2019 says Salma. \u2018We were obsessed with trying to get people to think we were funny \u2013 we\u2019d had a good day at school if we\u2019d got the whole class laughing.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019d make up silly songs and dances. I used to try and sneak into her classes and the teacher would kick me out. Rosie was terrified of banana peels so I\u2019d tape them to her chair and she\u2019d end up screaming. Or I\u2019d duct tape her to her chair so when class was over she wouldn\u2019t be able to leave. <\/p>\n
\u2018It sounds like bullying, but it was mutual! We looked quite comical too, I was small and round and she was tall and lanky!\u2019<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And Salma\u2019s family soon became a surrogate family to Rosie. \u2018There was one point when I was doing my A-levels when I was having trouble at home, and I nearly moved in with them,\u2019 she explains.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019d spend pretty much every weekend together. We loved going to the cinema together \u2013 I like butter on my popcorn and halfway through the movie Salma used to go out and add more butter for me. <\/p>\n
\u2018My favourite memories are just being in her house, eating roast dinners with her family. I still send a Mothers\u2019 Day card to Salma\u2019s mum every year.\u2019<\/p>\n
Salma adds: \u2018As we got older, we\u2019d spend hungover Sundays at mine, watching Lost and eating Chinese food.\u2019<\/p>\n
The pair say their friendship has shaped each other. Salma says: \u2018Rosie was really emotionally intelligent from a young age and she\u2019s helped me develop those skills over the years. She\u2019s been really good at explaining things to me and making sure I see the other side.\u2019<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Rosie says Salma brought her out of her shell. \u2018I\u2019m a confident person now and that\u2019s partly down to her.<\/p>\n
\u2018I feel like Salma and her family broadened my mind a bit too \u2013 her family also had a house in Palma, Spain, and her dad\u2019s Egyptian. I\u2019d never met people from other cultures before.\u2019<\/p>\n
After school, life took them in different directions \u2013 and to opposite sides of the globe (although they did make a return to their high school for a reunion, where they wore their old uniforms) \u2013 but their bond has only strengthened. Salma has travelled the world with the Irish army and now lives in Egypt, while Rosie is in the UK, where she reconnected with her sister.<\/p>\n
Rosie says: \u2018I think living far apart has actually made our friendship even more intense. It means we have to make time for each other and prioritise each other.<\/p>\n
\u2018I could easily talk to her for hours on the phone every day, but also, if we don\u2019t speak for a week, that\u2019s fine too.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019m really close to my sister and my family now, but Salma\u2019s family are still a big part of my life. I\u2019m her nephew\u2019s godmother.\u2019<\/p>\n
The pair joke that it\u2019s their shared love of food that\u2019s meant they\u2019ve now been friends for nearly three decades.<\/p>\n
\u2018She\u2019s my favourite person to eat with,\u2019 says Salma. \u2018I can\u2019t eat a meal without sending her pictures of it first!<\/p>\n
\u2018But she\u2019s also one of the few people in my life that I know I can talk to without any judgement. She\u2019s amazing at giving advice \u2013 although she doesn\u2019t always take it herself! I trust her completely.\u2019<\/p>\n
Looking to the future, there\u2019s no doubt they\u2019ll be in each other\u2019s lives forever. \u2018I want Salma to get married, have a baby, and then build an annex for me in her house,\u2019 laughs Rosie. <\/p>\n
Salma adds: \u2018We have the same values, so that will always keep us together. We\u2019ve always been each others biggest fans, and biggest cheerleaders.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018I do think we\u2019re in a love a bit,\u2019 says Rosie. \u2018We\u2019re very lucky,\u2019 adds Salma.<\/p>\n
Do you have a story to share?<\/strong><\/p>\nGet in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.<\/strong><\/p>\nSource: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome to\u00a0Soul Mates, Metro.co.uk\u2019s weekly friendship series, where friends share the stories of how they met. \u2018We have an unconditional friendship,\u2019 says Salma Bedair, 36, of her best friend, Rosie Hardy, 37. \u2018There\u2019s nothing she could do that would change…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66280,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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![](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/i-saw-her-reebok-classics-and-i-knew-wed-be-best-friends.png\")
<\/p>\n