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Almost every student who comes to Brown University seeks out a best friend. Someone she can relate to, someone with common interests and someone with whom she spends most all of her time. Angela has Thomas. Zack can't live without Ben. But perhaps the closest friends of all are Trevor and James.
That would be Trevor Nelson '11, a senior graduating this May. And James Garcia, a pre-frosh who will matriculate next fall.
This unlikely pair first met during A Day on College Hill, when Garcia was one of more than 750 pre-frosh visiting campus to experience Brown firsthand. Garcia's assigned host had all but abandoned him to study for an exam, and Nelson was still recovering from the loss of his former best friend, a point-fiver who had graduated in the fall.
Luckily the two found each other. Most pre-frosh want nothing to do with the seniors and vice versa. But not this odd couple. Nelson gave Garcia a campus tour, took him to class and even prevented him from stepping on the Pembroke seal. By the end of the day, it was clear that Garcia had found a new host, and both had found a new best friend.
They're not delusional. Garcia knows he's not a senior. Nelson knows he's not a pre-frosh. But that's simply not a problem for them.
"When it's time to eat they both eat together. They drink together. They study together. They even play Xbox together," said Professor of Biology Carl Rutledge, who has been studying Nelson and Garcia ever since news of their anomalous friendship reached his desk. "It's really something."
Ever since Rutledge published his findings in the academic journal "Nature," more than just the scientific community has been abuzz with excitement for Nelson and Garcia's compelling story. The pair has shown such devotion, such tenderness and trust, that it was almost hard to believe. The whole thing seemed like a Disney movie to a lot of people - including people at Disney.
"We knew the story of an unlikely friendship between a senior and pre-frosh would be big. We just had no idea how big. We've been bombarded with offers," Rutledge says. "Books, movies, any number of things."
Disney has pitched a live action movie that would star Nelson and Garcia or another trained pre-frosh.
The movie is in pre-production stages now, and the Biology department's studies are ongoing, but one thing is for sure: Nelson and Garcia are inspirational friends. They harbor no fears, no secrets, no prejudices. Just two living creatures who somehow managed to look past their immense differences.
Take good look at this inseparable pair, America. Take a good look, world. If they can do it, what's our excuse?
