At 9 years old, Dulce Ruelas and Crystal Espinoza were the furthest thing from friends.
Espinoza was a bully, pushing Ruelas down the slide at Tolson Elementary School, and Ruelas wanted nothing more than to get far away from her.
Fast forward 10 years to Tuesday morning, when the girls stood on the very same playground chatting and laughing.
They're now friends, both attending Pima Community College, and went together to the unveiling of a time capsule that was buried at their school in 2000, when they were in the fifth grade.
Ruelas was eager to see the Pokemon cards she put into the capsule. Espinoza couldn't recall what her contribution was.
The principal who buried it with them, Maria Figueroa, was the same one who opened it up Tuesday. And she also was preparing to bury items that current students contributed to be opened in 2020.
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"When we buried this in 2000, the students and staff said they wanted to see what the future would hold," Figueroa said. "I didn't think I would be here to unveil it, but here I am."
Items buried in 2000 included school assignments, a shirt, a pencil, class photos and basketball signed by the Cholla High School girls team. The only item that truly showed its age was a large, clunky cell phone with a note that said: "It represents cellular telephones in the year 2000, practically everyone has them."
Rose Rumsley, who has been teaching at Tolson, 1000 S. Greasewood Road, for 12 years, came across some scrapbook pages she put together with individual photos of her students.
"This is very nostalgic," she said. "These students are now seniors in high school. It's amazing how time flies."
Rumsley's current students drew pictures of what they think they'll look like in the future for the new capsule.
Other items submitted include flash drives, an iPod, class work, a box for a Nintendo DSi and the profiles of student achievement for the performing-plus school.
Figueroa says it's unlikely she'll still be principal in 2020, but she'd be happy to make a guest appearance for the unveiling.
Contact reporter Alexis Huicochea at 573-4175 or ahuicochea@azstarnet.com
