I was 16 and pissed off. My whirlwind love affair with a guy two years my senior had apparently come to an end. He promised he would email me that summer while he was in Idaho, but did he? Nope! I waited patiently for weeks and weeks (ok, so maybe it was more like a week and a half) for that email to come, but to no avail.
It was obvious that I had been dumped.
It was also obvious, as my best friend and I were lounging around one afternoon, that I needed to get even. So we sat down at my computer and composed a gentle and friendly reminder email, saturated with four letter words, in hopes that that would make the idiot remember me. We giggled maniacally as I dictated the details of how I never liked him in the first place and how I really just felt sorry for him. I told him what a complete dumbass he was for not emailing me and how he had just lost his only chance at ever having a girlfriend. Upon completion of my eloquent prose, I quickly read it aloud. "Oh, that is so perfect! Send it!" gasped my friend through fits of laughter. For a split second, I hesitated. Was I being too mean? Too immature? No, I concluded, he deserves it. I hit send.
The next day, through an online conversation, I learned why he had not emailed.
ExBoyfriendsFriend: Hey, have you talked to him lately?
Me: Nope. And I don't want to.
ExBoyfriendsFriend: Oh... so you didn't hear about his little sister?
Me: No, what about her???
ExBoyfriendsFriend: I guess they went swimming at some park a couple of days ago and she drowned. He tried to save her but when he got to her it was too late... He's pretty messed up about it now
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Hi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteYour blog was really interesting to read! I liked your use of descriptive langauge and the dialogue portion at the end - it makes the whole scene very impactful.
-Allison
I really liked the language you used. The very matter-of-fact tone that made this fun to read, until the end when the reader feels for you.
ReplyDeleteI like how this starts with something that many people have experienced: a boy or girl who says they will call or write and then they don't. At first I wondered what could possibly have been so wrong. Then I read the next part of this and I had what is probably a minor imitation of your own reaction. I was not expecting that to be the reason he didn't email, I was expecting what you were. I really liked the ending a lot. I think what makes it so powerful is the lack of flowery words and unnecessary description, it is just very honest and straightforward. I really liked it.
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