Friday, September 26, 2014

The Popular Kids

Remember the popular kids in high school?  There was the bossy one with the weight problem, the cute guy who was quiet, the not-as-cute-guy who was loud and silly, the sassy girl?  Their table at lunch was set off from the others, like they were too good to eat with everyone else, even though we were all eating the same pork nuggets and over-boiled vegetable mush.

Remember them?

Remember how much fun they always seemed to have and how they'd sometimes burst out in laughter, like life was one big party, only you hadn't been invited?  Speaking of parties, they always had parties, right?  Like they'd either be talking about the party they had last weekend or the party this weekend, or even the party tonight.

Well, they're still around, much older now, of course, but they haven't changed much.  You always used to tell yourself that life would catch up with them, that they wouldn't always be "the popular ones," that one day you'd show them.  Well, guess what?  They're still as popular as ever, and they still sit at the same table at lunch.  It's a secret table in a special restaurant no one knows about or can get in unless you're one of the popular kids.  And they talk about parties they went to and parties they're going to, neither of which you were invited to.  

And they go to IHOP and don't tell you.  Or maybe, you might get a text, "WE @ IHOP JN US" or however popular kids would text a message like that, only if you go to the IHOP don't bother, because they'll already be somewhere else, and if you run into one of them later, they'd be all sorry and say it was a big misunderstanding, and they meant to text you when they went to the Cheesecake Factory, and they told Lance to be sure and text you but Lance didn't do it because you know what a goof-troop Lance is.  Only you'll know it wasn't a slip-up, they did it on purpose, and they thought it was funny because that's how popular kids roll.

What's that, you say?  You say I'm full of it?  You say the popular kids don't still get together?  You say that you've got friends and loved ones and you've got a life?  You say you don't care what other people do, you're happy with yourself?  You say you're pretty popular yourself.

Oh, please.

If you were one of the popular kids, you'd be riding around with them right now.