In an effort to write more, I will occasionally just employ the help of a writing prompt to get the juices going. This writing prompt did just that. Even though it’s a short story, it brings back such funny and painful memories.
Write about a time when you were mistaken:
It was 2005, and a few weeks before the start of Senior year. We were having our summer Concert Glee camp, which meant a week of dorm life and zero parental guidance. We were the “big dogs on campus” being seniors, and we basked in our seniority over the underclassman. We had meals at Akahi Dining hall which was amazing, because not only was the food great as always, but we shared the campus with other “clubs” like orchestra, band, and cheerleading, so we saw them at meals and in passing. However, this story has nothing to do with the other clubs or the amazing dining hall food, and everything to do with our own club.
I can’t remember when it all started exactly, but I began noticing long glances from a particular girl in Concert Glee. She was a grade below me, and being a dancer, she was very fit. She had a very pronounced back as I remember we’d always joke that she must own a bowflex. She was a good looking girl, I just wasn’t interested in her that way. Another girl at the time had all of my attention which is another story in itself.
It finally all came to a head when she pulled me aside one night. I just thought, “oh here we go!” Being the big bad senior, I decided to lead off the interaction before it could go any further. A long explanation short, I told her something along the lines of being flattered that she liked me but I wasn’t interested in her that way. That was followed by a look of confusion and “oh shit,” from her, which was the moment that I realized I had fucked up.
What transpired next was so painful and embarrassing that I’m sure I blacked out for a moment and buried this memory deep inside until now. She told me that she wasn’t interested in me either, but that she was interested in my friend… I immediately flashed back to all the glances I thought I received from her and realized that my friend was sitting right next to me! Kudos to her, she didn’t make it weird for me after that or make me feel like a complete idiot, but I probably always felt that way around her.
So that was the time the “big bad senior” made an idiot of himself in front of an underclassmen. Come to think of it, that might be why I always assumed that girls were just not interested in me after that. They must be looking at the guy next to me haha. The mind is such a fickle thing.
Shane
Surviving On Songs 