Saturday, March 31, 2012

The unintentional jerk.

Gather 'round, all ye readers, and hear (or read) this tale of high school love and the decisions we make in life. Many people have heard me tell this story over the last 20 years and I'm finally going to try to write it down. I hope it comes across on the page as well as it does verbally.

This is a story about a high school boy (me, duh) and a high school girl. To protect the innocent (and she is), let's just call her "Betty".

I was a sophomore at Bossier High School in 1987 and I had met Betty at a high school football game. She was a bubbly, friendly, very attractive blonde with a great laugh and a fantastic smile. Betty went to Northwood High School in Shreveport and I looked for any opportunity to see her at a game, or church, or any other school function. She was worth a drive across town for me.

See, that's where the problems started. I was 16 years old. I couldn't just go see her whenever I wanted, and that was pretty frustrating. I hadn't been driving very long, and my curfew and house rules kept Betty and I apart.

What was I to do? Keeping a "long distance relationship" is tough. This was probably only 20 miles away, but it may as well have been a thousand miles.

I didn't want to waste her time or mine any longer. Even though I adored her, I made a decision. The next time I talked to her, I would break it off. I decided to start thinking of what I would say.

I didn't have time to formulate a plan, since the phone just so happened to ring for me at that moment. Of course, it was indeed Betty.

She was not her usual effervescent self, however. I heard, "Hi, we need to talk."

Whoa, is she opting out on me? ON ME!?

Betty continued. "I think we need to break up."

I responded the only way that seemed right at the time. We both want the same thing, right? I said, "I agree, this is just too hard on us with school and responsibilities and stuff". "Have a great year, bye!" And I hung up and moved on with my sophomore year.

Flash-forward to 1993 and it's my first year of college at beautiful Louisiana Tech University. I'm walking across the quad area by the food court on a sunny spring day when I see an attractive brunette giving me the most evil eye I have ever seen and hope to never see again.

I have to find out who this is that despises me so much.

I went up to her and asked if I knew her from somewhere (I was such a playah) and she said I ought to. She said her name was Jughead (not her real name) and that she was Betty's friend from Northwood High School. I went, "Oh yeah, Betty! How's she doing anyway?"

I should have never said this.

Jughead told me that after I dumped Betty, she was devastated. She cried for weeks and it pretty much ruined her sophomore year of high school. Jughead told me what a horrible jerk I am and how cold I was to not even know what I did to her.

I said, "Wait, she called to dump me on the phone!" "I remember her doing that!" "It was a mutual break!"

Jughead said, "You moron, she was just kidding with you!" "How dense are you?" "Don't you own a calendar?"


"Betty was crazy about you. She was calling you on April Fool's Day!" It was a prank phone call!"

My bad. Betty, wherever you are, I am so sorry. I even have a calendar on my phone now.

Signed,

Unintentional Jerk

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