Linda and I were talking about grade school boyfriends. Then I see that Steph, too, had remembrances of someone she had a crush on a long time ago, in a galaxy far away.
I never had a boyfriend in grade school. I was a tomboy. When the guys wanted play cards with or to wrestle, they picked me. The idea of "going" with any of them was a pretty rancid thought.
Except for Kip. I was maaaaadly in love with him. He'd been in school in school all along but I'd never noticed him before fifth grade, when he was switched from the other class to ours. With two classes of between 35 and 40 kids, we knew everyone in the other class but we didn't mix together. We were rivals in all the sports, in the speech contests and so kids usually didn't transfer between classes. It was like being traded to the enemy. Why they switched him back again, I don't know. But there he was, sitting across from me and I was smitten.
From that moment through eighth grade, I nursed my secret passion for him. He was different from the other boys in our class who had dark hair and dark eyes. Kip had honey-colored hair and dark eyes and the combination was so unusual. He was also one of the only boys taller than me at that point in time (the other two, Stuart and Kimo, specialized in tormenting me). He was shy and didn't talk much to any girls. He didn't speak up in class. But sometimes when something funny happened in class, our eyes would meet and we'd break into a big grin as though it were our secret.
For four years, to hide my feelings, I pretended to have a crush on Kip's older brother instead. Not one of my friends knew. My sister knew and she was uncharacteristically kind enough about it to never tease me about it. Probably she could look at him and see why I liked him, he was that dreamy.
Our eighth grade graduation party was at Danny's house. There was music and snacks and a lot of horsing around. I danced with Kimo, the first boy I'd ever danced with. I was having a good time. Even though I didn't have a crush on him, Kimo was a cool guy and I appreciated the aura of dancing with him.
Then I saw Kip, standing off at the edge of the patio, talking to Darcelle and the world stopped turning. I had always assumed, from the shy glances we'd exchanged over the years, that when Kip got around to girls, he would have picked me. Instead, he was with the most popular girl in school. They were holding hands. I was devastated.
It was devastating in so many ways...mostly because I hadn't been popular (I was classified with the 'intellectual' crowd) and suddenly, in eighth grade, I had somehow become fairly popular. Not totally with the in crowd but friends with members of it. I had gotten confident and when he picked someone else in the end...well... it hurt.
And nobody knew. I went home from the party with my girlfriends chattering like nothing was wrong. And cried to sleep for nights afterwards, my little heart broken with no one to share it with. He went on to be a star high school football player and I went on to four of the most miserable years of my entire life.
I never had a boyfriend in grade school. I was a tomboy. When the guys wanted play cards with or to wrestle, they picked me. The idea of "going" with any of them was a pretty rancid thought.
Except for Kip. I was maaaaadly in love with him. He'd been in school in school all along but I'd never noticed him before fifth grade, when he was switched from the other class to ours. With two classes of between 35 and 40 kids, we knew everyone in the other class but we didn't mix together. We were rivals in all the sports, in the speech contests and so kids usually didn't transfer between classes. It was like being traded to the enemy. Why they switched him back again, I don't know. But there he was, sitting across from me and I was smitten.
From that moment through eighth grade, I nursed my secret passion for him. He was different from the other boys in our class who had dark hair and dark eyes. Kip had honey-colored hair and dark eyes and the combination was so unusual. He was also one of the only boys taller than me at that point in time (the other two, Stuart and Kimo, specialized in tormenting me). He was shy and didn't talk much to any girls. He didn't speak up in class. But sometimes when something funny happened in class, our eyes would meet and we'd break into a big grin as though it were our secret.
For four years, to hide my feelings, I pretended to have a crush on Kip's older brother instead. Not one of my friends knew. My sister knew and she was uncharacteristically kind enough about it to never tease me about it. Probably she could look at him and see why I liked him, he was that dreamy.
Our eighth grade graduation party was at Danny's house. There was music and snacks and a lot of horsing around. I danced with Kimo, the first boy I'd ever danced with. I was having a good time. Even though I didn't have a crush on him, Kimo was a cool guy and I appreciated the aura of dancing with him.
Then I saw Kip, standing off at the edge of the patio, talking to Darcelle and the world stopped turning. I had always assumed, from the shy glances we'd exchanged over the years, that when Kip got around to girls, he would have picked me. Instead, he was with the most popular girl in school. They were holding hands. I was devastated.
It was devastating in so many ways...mostly because I hadn't been popular (I was classified with the 'intellectual' crowd) and suddenly, in eighth grade, I had somehow become fairly popular. Not totally with the in crowd but friends with members of it. I had gotten confident and when he picked someone else in the end...well... it hurt.
And nobody knew. I went home from the party with my girlfriends chattering like nothing was wrong. And cried to sleep for nights afterwards, my little heart broken with no one to share it with. He went on to be a star high school football player and I went on to four of the most miserable years of my entire life.
posted by Owl Chick at 12/07/2001 09:02:00 AM
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