Keeping my eyes on Sandy, I didn’t even see what he looked like. I could hear his friends snicker at his joke, but I didn’t even bother to look. I’m about to be in college now, this type of thing just seems insignificant to me now as I focus on bigger problems than a dick measuring contest.
His voice seemed like a stereotypical sports jerk, but what do I know? I shouldn’t judge people immediately. I shouldn’t be so condescending and cynical.
But, if he is one of them, those types of people and me don’t click very often. They’re extroverted and I’m introverted. The world is made for those types of people, and for people like me, we’re supposed to go with the flow. Problem is I don’t really follow that rule. I like to speak my mind and do the opposite of flowing, so me and them often butt heads.
Swish
Sandy easily made another shot as I dismissively responded to the random guy, “Yeah, I’ve been really putting in a lot of work. You can tell, can’t you? Well, this was a good talk!”
“I’m not here to fight. I’m not here to fight.” I repeatedly told myself.
I started to go move closer to Sandy again. “Hey!” the guy interjected out in front of me blocking my path, forcing me to see his features. He had light brown hair with highlights, a white nike dry fit shirt with black athletic shorts, with some Adidas ultraboost shoes. He was about my height and build. I sighed from the exhaustion this interaction was causing me as I got minor ptsd about incidents from high school.
[Hey, Mark! How’s your story coming along? Break ten views today?]
[What you mean *****? His stories are awesome! He probably got 100k easy! We’ll be reading him in our English class!]
[Oh yeah, you’re right! Remember Nobodies like us when you blow up hehehe!]
{At least I’m doing something productive with my time instead of wasting time on things that won’t help me in the future assholes.}
[Woah woahh! We were complimenting you right *****?]
[Yeah dipshit!]
Swish
Another one of Sandy’s shots broke my memory. Once my school found out about my stories, they just took it and ran with it. I couldn’t go to any social event, have any conversation without it being held over my head like a prize. I hated it! Even though I loved to write, that made me stop, but the passive aggressive insults just kept coming. I wasn’t the hottest or the easiest to get along with, so I was always below the top caste of the school, but they didn’t like that I didn’t act like it. Now, they finally got something to hang over me. And it didn’t stop with them. Soon everyone got in on the joke. The underclassmen started getting in on it to look cool in front of the upperclassmen and friends. It was a dogpile, and I couldn’t do anything about it.
I tried to fight back at first, but eventually I learned that it only made them want to do it even more. So I finally did what they wanted me to do, just take it and move on like it didn’t affect me. I thought that would make the constant berating stop, but it never did.
That made me realize that all those kid shows I used to watch was a lie. It wasn’t better to be yourself and stand up for what you believe in, not if you’re not in the upper parts of the social hierarchy. You’ll just get berated and beat down until you conform! Yeah being yourself and standing up for what you believe in sounds good, but that’s not how it works! You get ridiculed if your hobbies or interests aren’t the perceived social “normal”. As kids it was liking the color pink as a boy, and it escalates from there whether it be what your sexuality is, your hobbies, political beliefs, or even what clothes you like to fucking wear. And if you stand up for what you believe in, you’re the bad guy because you’re making waves and causing a scene! And you can’t do anything about it because they’re the majority, so of course the rest of the people will side with them to seem “normal”.
“—Hey, Buddy! You still there?” The obstacle in front of me continued before turning to his friends, “I think I broke him hahaha!”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Shut up.” I told him curtly before moving to go to Sandy’s side. My blood pressure has risen, and I need to calm down by removing myself from the situation, but the guy just kept pucshing.
“Before you go, I was wondering—” He leaned into me and whispered, “are you and that fine piece over there an item?” He leaned back out and held his hands out defensively like he didn’t mean any of it, “Because, you know, she kind of out of your league, no offense. I mean respect if you hit that but come on now.”
I bit my tongue. The way he incessantly referred to Sandy as something of than a human being was annoying. I was about to needlessly escalate the situation. We were here to have fun, not for me to start a fight. He wasn’t wrong in saying she was out of my league, but he didn’t have to say it. I didn’t need him to tell me she was out of my league for me to know that she was WAY too good for me. Without thinking, I instinctually told him, “No we aren’t, but calling her a ‘fine piece’ isn’t going to get her to be into a future frat guy like you.”
I started through him to Sandy’s side again, but he stopped me and stabbed at me, “And who you think she’s into? Guys like you?”
I smiled with the satisfaction that I got under his skin. I ignored him and continued toward Sandy. The timer was about to be up, and I needed to get out of this conversation.
Swish
She made another one as I walked up to her. Without looking at me or stopping her shot motion she asked me, “Decided to come and distract me, so I won’t get the record huh? Unlucky for you, I’m ice cold!”
I looked up to see her score. She was at 65 right now with ten seconds left. I casually leaned against the machine and watched her as she put up shot after shot. “Oh, I’m sure.” I told her, “That’s why you choked that first game we played.”
A smile grew on her concentrated face as she responded, “That was different from this game. I’ve played this one wayyy too many times to choke.”
Honkkk
I looked up at the score she got, and she had hit seventy-five shots. She folded her arms a matter of factly as she cockily told me, “Not bad for someone who isn’t as goated as you at basketball huh?”
“It was my emotional support that was the difference.” I jokingly told her before I bent down to get our tickets from the machine. As I was getting the massive amount of tickets Sandy racked up on the machine, I could hear the guy that was talking to me start talking to Sandy. “What a stupid little high school prick. Who decided that he was good enough for her anyway? She should be the one that decides who is and isn’t good enough for her. Wait! Why do I care?! Stupid, stupid! Don’t start caring too much for her idiotttt!” I thought to myself as I was still kneeling down.
“That was some pretty damn good shooting you did there.” He told her.
I could hear Sandy hesitantly respond saying, “T-thanks.”
I could feel her back into me while I assumed the guy was bearing down on her saying, “Since you are such a good shooter, I thought that I could shoot my shot for you. You have a snap?”
I couldn’t help but quiver from laughter at the awful pickup line. I finished getting the tickets, but I stayed down to listen to what cringey thing he might say next. But my time was cut short by Sandy’s uneasy answer and nudging from behind me saying, “Uh-h I don’t have a snap um. I really have to go. My sister is here, and I’m watching her.”
She suddenly grabbed my shirt by my shoulder and pulled me up beside her saying, “Besides, I’m taken already, right?”
She elbowed me in the side as she said right. The elbow knocked the shocked look off of my face as I stuttered out a response going along with her. She’s obviously uncomfortable, so I stuttered, “Y-yeah, sorry I didn’t tell you the truth earlier. I just didn’t want to talk to you.” I turned to Sandy as I improvised on the fly, “How about we uh do that one next?” I pointed to a light jump rope game, “I’m actually not bad at that one, but you are going first this time.”
Sandy turned to me and fired back with a smile, “Oh really? That game involves physical activity; you sure you can handle that? I don’t want you to pass out hahaha!”
I put my hand on my chest from sarcastic shock as I told her, “Woahhh! I take offense to that! I am very athletic actually; I did track in high school for your information. I’m just not coordinated!”
Sandy’s grin got wider as she shot back, “Ohhh, so you were the knock off Usain Bolt, huh? The umm… Cocaine Bolt?”
“The what?!”
“Y-you know? Because you’re both white, right?”
I started to giggle at the absurdity and randomness of her nickname. “Rigghhhtttt,” I told her with a wink. “That’s what they called me.”
“Hahaha!”
“Hey! I’m still here!” The guy said as he interjected between us.
Sandy and I both looked at him with wide eyes from his sudden outburst, and while Sandy was speechless, I had a sarcastic comment for him, “Oh! You’re still here. You can leave now.”
I waved my hand at him that was holding all the tickets that Sandy mainly accumulated, and I ushered Sandy forward to the jump roping game in the middle of the arcade around the bumper cars. Holding hands as we passed him, still in full couple performance mode, Mr. Generic had a disgusted look on his face, and Sandy could barely hold in her laugh.
“Your improvisation skills are second to none.” I told her sarcastically.
She looked away from me with a beet red face. “W-what do you mean?”
“Cocaine—pffttt hahaha—Bolt? Hahaha!”
“Shut up!”
I smiled at her. She’s really cute when she’s embarrassed too, huh? Usually, I’m the one embarrassed. Well, I guess I’m glad that guy showed up. I got to see Sandy’s embarrassed face because of his sacrifice.