Caney Creek High School has recently gained two new students who moved all the way from Colorado to Texas. Initially, it seems like they would be brothers due to them having a relationship prior to moving to Conroe but they’re not; they’re actually childhood friends who couldn’t withstand living apart from each other.

Seniors Austin Short and Brian Smith were born and raised in the same neighborhood in Broomfield, Colorado

“We’ve lived three houses down from each other our whole lives but we really became best friends about eight years ago,” Smith said. “We’re good friends and have very close families. It’s also pretty cool how we get to go to the same school this year.”

Short and Smith both met through their love for soccer. 

“We were on a club team with a bunch of random kids and we just met through that. We started talking and then we figured out that we lived in the same neighborhood,” Short said.

Although they were in the same soccer club, they didn’t go to the same school. Short went to Standley Lake High School and Smith went to Jefferson Academy.

They were both on their own school’s soccer team and would sometimes have to go up against each other.

“It was fun when we were rivals,” Short said. “We were always picking on each other.” 

Short and Smith used to hang out and do outdoor activities together when they found out that they lived on the same street. They did even more when their parents became friends.

“We went fishing, played sports, hung out, did all the outdoors stuff,” Smith said. “There was this one day where I went with him and his brother and we went fishing outside of Boulder (Colorado) and we caught a bit of fish. It was fun. We didn’t catch anything real big but I had a lot of fun that day. That’s a day that sticks out to me.”

 Their parents also spent most of their childhood together. That gave Short and Smith the opportunity to get to know each other’s families and grow a bond with each other’s parents.

“My parents liked him and his parents liked me. Both of our parents liked each other and got along well. We would sometimes do family gatherings but not all the time,” Short said.  

Smith’s mother got a job in Texas so they both moved down here due to how convenient it would be for her to work in a larger office in Houston with more of her company’s employees. For a moment, it was just Smith and his mom.

“My dad still works in Colorado and my mom has an office down here so she just kind of moved down here and stayed with the same job.” Smith said. “It was more convenient for her to live down here because there are a lot more people in the company down here. A better work environment for her and just more convenient.”  

Smith moved to Texas to be with his mom and to be reunited with Short but one thing that was hard for him to do was leaving his dad and siblings behind in Broomfield.

“It was sad that I was not going to be able to see them as much anymore but I was gonna be able to see them every few weeks so it was alright,” Smith said.

Throughout the moves, the two friends never lost contact and even planned how to reunite. They contacted each other enough times to plan out a way to be reunited. This way, they were able to convince Short’s mom to move down here in Texas so that a Smith and Short reunion could take place. Convincing Short’s mom to move him down here was a lot easier than expected, the person that struggled with the news was Short’s dad.

“It was a battle with my father to get down here. That was the hard part. That (the convincing) took about a month or two,” Short said. “My parents are divorced so he still lives in Colorado and I moved down here with her.”

It wasn’t long until Short was back alongside his best friend, Smith. Being the first time that they went to the same school, Smith and Short decided to join the football team to keep their days filled. Smith took some time to convince Short to join the team and you could say that he was successful.

“He joined, he tried to get me to join and then I didn’t, and then I eventually joined,” Said Short.

Smith and Short have already had an eventful senior year so far and there is a lot more that can and will be offered to them. But for now, they’re living in the moment.

“I’m having a good time and it’s nice having someone you know around you. I am expecting this year to be easy and also expecting a warm welcome,” Short said.

“I just hope the rest of the year goes by well with my grades up and school goes by fast enough. I’m excited for all the new memories I’m gonna make and I’m sure my senior year is going to be good here,” Smith said.