Black Thursday

Let me take you back to a time when I was crazy….It was my third year of college and I was infatuated with this boy. Let’s call him “Ryan”. He was a swimmer and as I was a lifeguard (how cute); I’ve seen more of Ryan than I have of most people-Speedos leave little to the imagination. From the first time I saw him I had the biggest crush on him…and guess who shows up in my Spanish class which met FIVE DAYS A WEEK? Ryan! And his equally crazy (in a different way) friend, let’s call him “Joe”. We hit it off from the beginning and before I knew it, we were hanging out; what can I say, I have a special knack for “getting in there”. Every day after class we would go sit in our “secret” place and chat, read, study, share stories and music… the types of things people do when they’re MFEO.

After a while, I felt it necessary to introduce Kendall to both Ryan and Joe. She is an important part of my life and I felt that they (I didn’t want to omit Joe, but really, my focus was RyRy) were climbing in importance every day. They had all heard so much about one another and it was the natural progression of our relationship. The four of us had great times together; always laughing and making fun of each other, among other things. One day, Ryan and I were involved in witty banter and I was eating a bag of grapes whilst he ate his cheetos (we always ate our home-brought snacks together. Again, how cute). I asked him for a Cheeto and he made a snarky comment but then threw one my way, a clear sign that he loved me. A few minutes later he asked me for a grape. I, being so mature, responded in jest and then decided to give him one. [Sidebar: It should be noted that there was a white wall behind Ryan’s perfect head, and this was my target. And also noted that I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn if I was standing two feet in front of it]. I hurled the grape at him, closing in on the 90-95 mph range, fully intending to hit the wall space above his head. Rather than hitting my target, I pelted the love of my life in the eye. With a near frozen grape. I could see our relationship slipping through my fingers at that very moment. I profusely apologized and tried to convince him that I really hadn’t meant to do that; I then sat back in my chair with a sheepish look on my face for the remainder of our time. Shortly after, Joe asked me for a grape and then did a “duck and cover” using his backpack as a shield. Little did I know that our relationship was doomed from that moment. After that Thursday, Ryan no longer came to hang out after class; we no longer spoke, barely even made eye contact. No more music recommendations (until a year and a half later…see my profile and the comment about the Explosions in the Sky vinyl record), no book-sharing, nothing. I was vapor to him.

After the wounds healed (mine, not his) I was able to look back with fondness of our times and even deemed the moment that our relationship changed forever. This is how Black Thursday came into being; the Thursday that changed my life forever. Thank God Kendall and Joe were there as witnesses; no one would ever believe that I massacred, and subsequently ended my love, via a grape.