Okay, then, so it’s pretty much a different problem from what I said. Sorry. However, I do think that some central concepts from there can be applied here.
You could be amazing friends with Estie and her BFF. It’s entirely possible. It’s gotta be tough to have stronger feelings about your friendship with them than they have about their friendship with you.
Because that’s what it seems like, and that does NOT mean that you should give up. You have got time.
Like I said above, though, right now, if you really want to be a good friend to Estie, bear in mind that IF SHE NEEDS YOU, SHE WILL FIND YOU. Just be open- WITHOUT being pushy- and see if you guys become closer as her BFF moves away. If not, and what you really want is to help Estie, then remember that she’s happy and you did what you could.
Please don’t be insulted when I add this caveat- it’s entirely human nature and it happens to everyone. It’s entirely possible that the reason you want to help Estie so much is pretty much centered around your desperation to be friends with Estie- and that’s entirely natural. I remember (and this was already in high school, when things were better for me) hand-copying five pages of notes for someone I was really hoping to be friends with- to this day we’re friendly, but not the best of friends, and I think to myself, WHY did I do that? I was obviously so obsessed by the idea of being friends with her that all of these ideas of what to do to help her that I would never do for anyone else just sprang there.
So actually, I think this is more similar to my other post than I thought it would be. You need to know yourself and know WHY you are doing things. This is really all about you- and that’s normal. That’s a very decent sized part of what friendships are about- balancing you and the other person, but until you’ve found the other person, it’s all about finding someone you’re comfortable and close with. So you do need to figure yourself out.
If you do a cheshbon hanefesh and conclude that your real motivation for helping Estie and her BFF is your potential friendship more than true chesed, then come to terms with the fact that it may not happen. If it is chesed, then really, the same thing applies. True chesed is doing what the other person wants, not what you want. Either way, there’s no reason for you not to subtly push the friendship along- even if only just to be nice and friendly over the summer. Invite them to your house. DO stuff together. Why not? Just pretend you’ve got nothing at stake, and you’ll be a lot happier and less stressed.
The other point you mentioned is that everyone is paired off. I’ve never been in a situation like that, though I’ve definitely been in situations that are the poster children for “clique,” but it definitely sounds tough.
Hatzlacha! I hope everything works out well for you.