A Request

Hey dude, can I talk to you for a second? You probably don't recognize me, but I do.

I can see you got your grubs, and that means it's a couple minutes before the bell rings and you need to hustle off to gym class. I know you hate it - you spend all your time trying to be inconspicuous, and this just seems to magnify you and everything you're no good at. You're doing a dance module right now, which makes it all extra worse and awkward. But you're in Grade 11, so this is the last year you have to put up with it. You'll pull through.

First you gotta get through today. I know you'll go and get changed and have a coed class where you'll do a line dance to make you feel dorky, and then you'll do a polka to make you feel like a dufus. It's just one of those things they like to say you need to 'get ready for the real world'. Whatever that's supposed to mean. Let's just say don't worry about retaining anything - I promise you'll never use these skills ever again.

After those useless dances and a few more, you'll get to the waltz. I know man. This is super awkward - you know you aren't exactly hot stuff and you're not used to being that close to girls. As luck will not have it, your last three dance partners will be some of the hot/fancy/elite chicks at the top of the social ladder. Heather, Sefrina, Whitney. They'll be perfectly polite during the dance, but once the music cuts off, they'll run off shrieking with disgust to wipe their hands on the nearest wall. We both know you won't have done anything wrong, so it'll take you a moment to realize why they just acted that way. Then I know you're going to look down at your shoes for a bit and smile that empty smile, because that's all you've got.

The rest of that school day will be a haze you drift through, before you start off on an unusually long walk home. At first it's so you can process things, but then you'll make it even longer because you can't quite stand the idea of being stationary and stuck beside yourself. You'll realize just how far down you are on that social ladder and how unappealing you are and will forever be. And that being nice or invisible will never be able to hide away how ugly you are.

No matter which way you cut it, today's gym class is going to suck, dude. I won't lie. It's gonna be awful, and you're gonna feel awful, and you're going to remember it for a long time.

But can I ask you for a favour? Can you try doing something a little bit differently for me?

When those stupid girls run shrieking to the wall to wipe their hands clean of having to be in contact with you, I want you to do something you'd never consider because you're such a good kid. You don't have to get mad or talk to those girls or anything.

I just want you to go to the locker room, get changed, and walk out the back door. You don't even have to tell the teachers or interact with anyone. Just get outta there, and go on your walk, and get some air. Putting up with this crap is definitely not worth the (not so) precious marks you'll lose or the trouble it'll get you in. But it'll feel so good to stick up for yourself in your own way, and your future self is going to thank you for it.

So do just this one thing for me, would you? You've got some better days ahead, I promise. Thanks, dude.
-Cril