Most likely to live happily ever after

Are they ‘End Game?’

By Paulina Medina

Photo Editor

Who would’ve thought that Matthew Garcia and Brianna Petrille would be named Sanger High School’s 2021 High School Sweethearts? Everyone loves to see long-lasting relationships and what makes this story even better is that it all started right here at Sanger High.

Garcia explained where it all began, when the couple were just freshmen.

“She was in the back of the class when I saw her one day and I decided to get up and talk to her and make a move. She let me sit down for a while but she shut me down,” said Garcia. “I kept trying and trying to get her to open up and she finally did and there was a spark. From there, our relationship began and I am very happy with her.”

Petrille went into further detail about the day they met and admitted she was a bit rude to him.

“If you want to be exact, we met on the first day of school in Spanish cIass,” said Petrille.

They were in a group tasked with creating a poster, and she was getting annoyed with Garcia.

“He’s left handed and was coloring real slow when we only had a minute left to finish our poster. I snatched the marker out of his hand and finished it myself,” said Petrille. “I even played hard to get. But he never gave up on me and eventually I gave him a chance and I’m glad I did.”

They are both glad that Petrille took a chance on the relationship. Now, almost 4 years later, they're still together and happier than ever.

“Matthew and I have been together since the very beginning of our freshman year of high school. To be exact, we began our relationship on Oct. 7, 2017. It has been such a magical three, almost four years,” Petrille said.

Their favorite thing to do together is to have a picnic at the park with some smoothies from Jamba Juice and a couple sub sandwiches from Subway.

“Our go-to date is to go get Jamba Juice after school and then go right to Subway. After that, we usually would go to the park and have a picnic. It sort of became a tradition. We would talk and enjoy each other’s company,” stated Garcia.

But because of how difficult it is to get together during a pandemic, Garcia and Petrille now spend their nights over the phone watching movies or playing video games.

“Now that times are different and there’s no school, we tend to stay up late every night watching movies together over the phone and playing ‘Minecraft’ and call it our ‘date night.’ Every night is date night, it keeps things fun,” added Petrille.

A power couple as fortified as this certainly has some memorable moments together. Specifically, Garcia’s favorite memory is a Disneyland trip they took a while back.

“My favorite memory of our relationship was going to Disneyland together,” said Garcia. “It was a really happy and fun trip, and she got to show me all of her favorite things about the place.”

From a different perspective, Petrille explained that her favorite memory was from a time before they were dating.

“I used to sit in the back of class alone because I was going through some things, and I remember him turning around, grabbing all of his belongings and sitting next to me,” said Petrille. “He put on a movie and tried to make me feel better. It really meant a lot to me how he wanted to make sure I was okay. Matthew is the sweetest person ever and has the most kind heart.”

Sanger High School English Teacher Drew Bell, is one of the many people on campus who has watched the relationship grow.

“I think Matthew and Briana are a great match for each other in terms of energy, temperament and attitude. They're both sincere, thoughtful and confidently speak their minds,” said Bell.

As far as their relationship after high school, Garcia plans to attend Clovis Community and Petrille has been accepted at Fresno State. But Petrille wants to assure everyone that this relationship will not be put on hold for college.

“That doesn’t count as long distance. Especially considering I would still hang out with him everyday,” added Petrille.

“I think regardless of the outcome; the two will continue to be good friends and will have learned plenty about themselves through the dating process,” said Bell.