Pamela Dodson | Special to SWoCo

Though Emily Warren (left) and Randi Byrd both attend Hidden Valley Middle School and live in the same neighborhood, they text each other daily.

The girls became friends when they were in kindergarten at Green Valley Elementary School. They collected tea sets and had tea parties with their stuffed animals as the honored guests.

Randi Byrd and Emily Warren live in the same neighborhood, so they sit together on the bus to and from Hidden Valley Middle School. They are in sixth grade now and say English is their favorite class.

Emily enjoyed reading "The Phantom Tollbooth," "about a boy who enters a world with an imaginary city called Dictionopolis and has adventures looking for princesses named Rhyme and Reason."

Randi likes her English teacher because "she lets us work on fun projects; we make up plays and read books with a partner, acting out scenes."

Imagination, pretending and creativity are what keep the girls' friendship strong. They hike in the woods near their homes and build forts using found objects.

A favorite activity is walking their dogs together around the neighborhood. They used to pretend "Ace and Holly" would marry each other. The girls giggle about the idea now.

Both enjoy an online virtual reality game, Nintendogs. Players train, feed and care for dogs and decorate their doghouses.

"We teach them tricks, like sit, lie down and beg, using voice commands," explains Randi.

"It's a competition and we win tokens to spend on more stuff for the virtual dogs' world," says Emily.

The girls enjoy the latest gadgets, like MP3 players loaded with favorite music. Emily loves "anything by Fallout Boy" and Randi doesn't like Taylor Swift.

Talking on their cellphones and text messaging each other keeps them connected. Randi says Emily is faster at texting because she "uses smiley faces and abbreviations." The girls have their own secret language using "lots of sarcasm."

Emily likes to "shop, roller skate and go to the movies." She sings in the chorus at church and school and is in the Roanoke College Children's Choir.

Randi has been taking horseback riding lessons since she was 4. She aspires to "open a sanctuary to rehabilitate mistreated horses and other animals."

Emily wants to work at the SPCA "to help animals have better lives." The girls buy souvenirs for each other when they go on trips.