part 3

Keeping to myself and low-profile was more my thing so I felt totally uncomfortable putting myself in that position.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Christa said three words to me, “Of course Marq!” followed by a smile.

My simple question led to a simple answer.

And that simple answer changed EVERYTHING.

Just like that, I became a full-fledged member of the “Popular Ones” without having a popular bone in my body.

I never told them what had happened with Amy and Theresa and they never asked.

I was sure that they were too busy enjoying each other’s company to even care and they were likely oblivious to Amy and Theresa’s hateful obssession with them anyways.

No more bathroom lunches. No more library visits on lunch period (unless I wanted to).

Recesses filled with joking around, dodgeball games or singing to the lyrics of Tainted Love and Jessie’s Girl , playing Truth or Dare where I would always pick a dare. I never neede to worry that I would get stuck with Amy or Theresa for a project because I had choices.

It was the best year ever. So amazing that instead of looking forward to getting out of elementary school, I didn’t want to end.

So what happened to Amy and Theresa?

The horrified and shocked looks on their faces as the weeks progressed when they realized that I was and would remain where they both secretly longed to be was worth it.

So, so worth it.

After all the previous years of hanging out with them, I made it a point to pretend that Amy and Theresa never existed.

After graduation, most of us went our separate ways and to separate high schools, except for Amy and Theresa who ended up in high school with me.

Strangely enough and with very short memories, they tried to befriend me again. Of course, I wasn’t stupid enough to forget how they had made me feel.

With a new beginning at a much bigger school, I took the opportunity to do things with a little less introversion with a variety of different kids.

Maybe it was karma but by the end of the 8th grade, it was clear to me that neither of them fit in. Amy transfered into a neighboring high school and Theresa ended up in an “alternative” high school (not for gifted children) in the city that she claimed she had asked to go.

Why am I grateful for being ghosted by Amy and Theresa?

They taught me that I could be resilient, how to strategize my way out of negative situations purposely created for me by others, how not to never let others disrespect me more than once and how to figure out what makes them tick – skills that have truly helped me in my professional life.

So yeah, I thank you Amy and Theresa. 🙂

Sidenote: I actually bumped into Amy about eight years after she transferred out of my high school and had myself a good ol’ chuckle. I was working on the weekends at a very trendy and popular sportsbar where famous local sports celebs would drop in and knew me by name (maybe a story for another time). Amy turned up with her family to have dinner on a busy hockey game night. She didn’t recognize me right away, but I refreshed her memory. The first words out of her mouth after total surprise was ‘Wow. You look great” as if it wasn’t possible. As celebs came and went being very familiar with me, I could see her staring increduously. To this day, I’ll never know if the wait for a table would have taken too long or if she couldn’t take that I was popular in that element.