It started with one of those stupid Facebook "where did I meet you" posts. I don't know why I copied to my page, but I did. Slowly, comments started filling up the space on my wall.
"Camp" said my very first boyfriend, a curly haired Canadian slightly on the dorky side, but cute, nonetheless. I smiled and clicked like and then went on with evening.
Then, up popped an instant message:
Camp Boy: Such strange circumstances on how we met really
Me: What was so strange?
Camp Boy: If I remember correctly, you were part of a prank that some of the girls wanted to play on me…
Me: What? I have no idea what you are talking about. I would never be that mean.
I stared at the screen, puzzled. I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a mean girl. I've always thought of him as my first boyfriend and I remember really liking him.
Camp Boy: Lol... I never knew that until just now…Then I know exactly how it all went down then. Kinda nice to hear the other side after all these years
I do remember those girls though. They were mean girls.
Me: They probably told you that because they didn't like me either
Camp Boy: I honestly thought for so long that you were in on it
Me: well, I'm sorry because that really sucks that people would even do that. Think of all the therapy bills you could have saved.
Camp Boy: No kidding. Scared me off dating and relationships for years.
What? Did he just say that my 13 year-old self ruined him? Did I just become the villain in someone else's narrative?
Me: I feel so terrible
Camp Boy: But hey... it all strangely works out in the end. Although, I still can remember telling you off and that was pretty harsh.
I have no recollection of him telling me off. I just remember camp ending and that was it.
Camp Boy: But in the end...i guess it all made me who I am. I'm glad you're pleased with your life now...perhaps it's one of those strange things that just work out somehow
Pause.
Camp Boy: You and I should really reconnect some time. Apparently we'd have a lot of catching up to do. I guess now I know that you were my first actual girlfriend. How glad am I that I finally found out the truth.
Man, I remember really liking you.
Me: I remember liking you too.
Camp Boy: That really puts a smile on my face…Philly isn't too far.
Me: From Canada?
Camp Boy: Toronto to Philly is an easy road trip…
What an odd conversation... How funny that you both remember that incident so completely differently. Makes me wonder if I accidentally scarred anyone for life...
ReplyDeleteI am sooooo curious: What did the mean girls do to him?
ReplyDeleteawesome, i love that I posted this with no context whatsoever. I guess they told him that I was pretending to be his girlfriend, but I did't really like him.
DeleteThat's wild that he thought you were in on the prank, probably because the jerks who DID pull it told him you were, or because he has you mixed up with someone else in his head.
ReplyDeleteThose girls were pretty mean. In fact, they were the same girls I went to youth group with in high school that finally made me quit. I went to events to hide from high school, not hang with a bunch of people who made me feel worse.
DeleteHe knows you're married with kids right? lol. Wouldn't want to break his heart twice. I didn't know you were Canadian!?
ReplyDeleteI'm not! i went to camp in Wisconsin. There were a lot of Canadians there.
DeleteIt is so interesting how an event can be remember so differently from different perspectives.
ReplyDeleteoh man. crazy how perspective can shape life.
ReplyDeleteLove this story :) It makes you wonder about the people you dislike from childhood and maybe sometimes it was just a misunderstanding on your part. Hmm. I'm thinking not ;)
ReplyDeleteI love this. I often wonder how people from my past remember our friendships/relationships. I'm too scared to find out (which may be why I won't do those FB games).
ReplyDeleteSo it might be that I've been reading a bit too much about the way men use emotions to manipulate, but I got a little annoyed with him telling you that you "scared him off dating and relationships." What are you going to do about it now? I wouldn't have responded to that. I guess I'm not as nice as you.
I'm not sure I knew what else to say. It was all too shocking. I've rarely thought about him. It's weird to find out someone is thinking about you. I think it's actually hard for any of us to imagine having an impact on someone in that manner.
DeleteI don't know why I just remembered this, but the girl my dad broke up with to be with my mom contacted him after all these years. She was never married, and I guess she just wanted to see. It made me feel really sad for her.
Ka Boom! Love this fun and innocent story. The pathos and the misunderstandings. It must happen every single summer. It's probably happening right now in the deep woods all across the freaking country. Since I never looked at boys until my 20's there are very few facebook ghosts. Glad I got to read about yours!
ReplyDeleteWell written!
My son starts summer camp on Monday. However, the don't allow the boys and girls to hang with each other. When I visited this other month, I found it very strange. However, now, I'm wondering if it's actually a very good idea.
DeleteWow, is this ever a relatable post! Though I (hope) I was never the mean girl. Man, what is up with mean girls? It kind of scares the crap out of me.
ReplyDeleteHi Shoshana! I wanted to let you know I mentioned you in my last post about hope. We are passing around the 2012 Hope Relay Baton! I was hoping you would join in by posting about hope and then passing it on to some other bloggers you admire to write about it.- Kim
ReplyDeletehttp://dazedandcreative.blogspot.com/
حوامل I would like to say that this blog really convinced me to do it! Thanks, very good post.
ReplyDelete