Adriana was a very beautiful girl, so beautiful that she took my breath away from the very first moment I saw her. She was a very nice girl too and quite smart, she probably still is, but I haven’t seen or heard from her in over 2 decades.
I was sitting at the back of the school bus, with a few friends, as we returned home. Adriana was a few rows up from me, facing my way. I wanted to meet her. She was the new kid in town and I thought nobody knew her yet. She seemed pleasant enough and always had such a nice, even comforting, smile on her face.
She looked at me, she smiled and she turned her head down shyly.
What did that mean?
As we drove home I found myself continually looking in her direction and I just know I caught her looking at me too. I was talking to my friends when one of them asked if I knew the new girl. I said I didn’t yet, but would like to. He went on to say I wouldn’t and then he told me some disturbing things about her and after a while all my friends started agreeing with him. My friends seemed to know her well and what they knew, it wasn’t good stuff. This clearly wasn’t the girl I wanted to be around, much less take home to meet mom.
Very disturbing stuff kids share on the back of the bus. I won’t bore you with the gossipy details. Yes, boys do it too and when it comes to girls out of their league, young jealous boys can be the worst gossipers around. Gossip girls have got nothing on gossiping boys. I am sure some would disagree on who does it more or worse, but I guess it depends.
As I was getting off the bus I was compelled to say something to this girl. What I said wasn’t nice, it was impulsive and a result of what my friends had said about her. It wasn’t like me to say what I said, but the disturbing things were oddly overpowering.
I eventually learned a valuable lesson from this experience. Adriana had actually liked me and wanted to meet me. But, she later told me that what I had said to her so disturbed her that she could never see me the same way again.
What my friends had told me was bogus. Fabrications of rumors they had heard and one of them had already tried to ask her to the school dance and had been turned down. Actually, most of the boys on the bus that day were just agreeing with the one who started talking about her, because, they didn’t know squat, she’d only been in town less than a week. Hardly enough time to create any kind of reputation.
I wonder what would have been if I had not been so compulsive and impulsive, if I had got to know her on my own and not been influenced by what someone else wanted me to think about her? It’s a rather sad story, but like I said, a very valuable lesson learned.
For whatever reasons, insecurities, dislikes, jealousy or whatever, some people, especially young kids on the back of the bus, want others to share their opinion of certain people. A lot of us just don’t take the time to get know people to find out who they really are, we take for granted that the gossip is true. Most times, we are the worst for it and miss out on something special.
I did get to push Adriana on the swings one autumn evening, then she met someone who treated her right from the start who wasn’t influence by those supposed friends of mine.
When I first met Joan someone told me she was out of my league, well, maybe she was, but she fell in love with me anyway – good thing I had already learned my lesson… don’tcha think?
Has this happened to you? If not, don’t say I didn’t warn ya.
~Bryan
