Continued from A Chance Encounter---Part I
As we made our way out to her car in the back of my mind I had some major flshbacks from the almost nineteen year when I enter the Woodcliff School System. I thought about the times the kids used to tease m e on a daily basis. I thought ho no matter what I did or how much I tried I simply could not fit in. I had a couple of kids who talked to me but never "friends" just people who at least undestood my physical and emotional troubles enough to at least talk to- me. However the kids who were nice to me tended to be outsider s as well so I felt alone. I was never teased in public, well expect that one incident in the library very my manhood what question and to prove the creeps wrong I threw a chair clear across the room! The girls were worse, they just plain ignored me. Which to a socialable guy like myself is pure torture and emotionally crippling. There are so many horror stories over the eight years it would take about twenty-five parts to break them all down and I want to write them just about as much as you want to read them. Just imagine a nightmare for eight year playing continuously i n your head
Then there was Allison, a self-proclaimed rebel, by rebel I don't mean breaking school rules. By just aknowledging my existance besides just a stumbling body and weirf speech patterns, she automatically became m y "friend". Something that not a lot of the kids did. In days where going against the grain socially were unheard of in middle school, Allison took a risk that only now I could truly appreciate. At the time I admit the appreciation turned into an ill-tempted flirting on my part, which might have been a bit much.
Fast forward to present times back to the Cornerstone were Allison was sipping a mararita and I a Corona talking about our lives since the times of junior high. It turns out she met another Justin, I couldn't be happier for her. I clued her in on some of my travels and even my writing project. She talked about work and we both commented on our brothers getting married. I won't say it was like old times because the "old times" weren't "good times". We decided the Cornerstone was too noisey and drove down to Hoboken which gave us a good 20 minutes to talk. Of course like the blabbermouth I am I did most of the talking
The finals words she spoke were more directives than offers. She said she would like to stay in touch, and she meant it. Allison said she'd be calling me to hang out and I better come OR ELSE. That's definitely a request I plan on keeping!
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