Bike riding, summer, and being a stalker's best friend

Matt's recent posts about spring and summer bike riding sparked a memory in my head. I am suddenly transported back to age 14 and it is summer vacation. My days of junior high are behind me and right ahead, waiting impatiently, is high school.

During that intermittent period, I enjoyed a summer vacation with my friend, Kristy. Kristy and I became friends the past year at school because we shared a couple of classes and the same lunch period. I remember English class the most and I promise a post in the near future about the class of 1997 and the horrors our grade put upon the Fridley school system.

That summer, Kristy and I would meet on our bikes and ride around Fridley each weekday. It was fun, however there is a twist.

I exercised a lot that summer; I haven't felt as good physically as I did when school started again for years. I remember my ten-speed bicycle. It was white and grey, no frills. It was late in my adolescence when I actually learned how to ride a bike so I never took the time to decorate it.

Kristy was a gawky teenager, just like myself. When I saw American Pie a few years later, the character of Michelle, played by Alyson Hannigan, reminded me of Kristy. Just add glasses, overly strict Baptist parents, and remove the sex craze and you had Kristy. She was first chair flute in the band with dreams of being a drum major and then had aspirations to write scores for movies, much like Danny Elfman does today.

The immediate goal of drum major came from a crush that Kristy had. She fell and fell hard for a graduated senior she termed D.S. al fine in the spirit of music.

During our previous year, Kristy dragged me to every sporting event the high school put on in the hopes of seeing DS. He was in a play and of course, we had to go. I think I saw more high school sports while I was in junior high than when I actually knew the people on the teams.

When summer came, Kristy looked up his address in the phone book and found where he lived. Since she knew where he lived, she got it into her head that she should check out his house often. Yes, that's right, I rode my bike all summer long so my 13-year old friend (she was a summer birthday) could stalk an 18-year old boy who didn't even know her name.

Being the friend that I am, I went along with her to spend time with my friend. In three months of riding past his house (read as circling his block, having her hitch and squirm each and every time the house was within sight), we saw him a grand total of 0 times. We saw his younger sister once. That's it.

No one can say Kristy is not persistent.

Kristy wanted to know when his birthday was. Here's something I'm not overly proud of. She convinced me (Beth, please? Pleeeee-aaaassss-eeee? for an hour) to call his house (pre-caller ID days) and pretend I worked for the school.

I had to act like I needed to update records and asked for the birthdays of each of the children attending the Fridley school system. The mother on the other end believed me and gave me three birthdays.

Kristy walked on Cloud 9 for about three weeks once she knew his birthday. I think it was in January. I honestly don't remember.

In the fall, school started back up and Kristy was finally allowed to go to a school dance. At our first evening dance, a boy came between us.

At the end of the evening, Rylan came up to us and asked if one of us wanted to dance. I told Kristy to dance with him, she wanted to so badly. She said yes, then chickened out. He asked me if I would dance with him then. I said yes because I didn't want to leave him standing there, rejected.

She didn't speak to me for four more years.

One week before graduation, she asked me to sign her yearbook. It was uncomfortable but I decided to try and re-establish the friendship we had. We emailed for a few months once college started but drifted apart. I hope the best for her and I fear for any other guy she fixates on.

She does nothing partially.

6 Comments:

At 2:44 AM, Emily said...

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At 11:34 AM, CarpeDM said...

Wow, Emily, the emotion you portray when you leave these comments about flat screen monitors, it is just so poignant. I know it's secret code for how you also are a stalker and understand completly how Kristy felt about her true love.

Beth, very funny story. I am amused. I will have to do the post about when I stalked a guy from my high school. Not so proud of it but it is kind of funny.

At 2:24 PM, Firebear said...

I have never stalked anyone. The court cleared me of those charges

At 2:57 PM, srmc said...

So let me get this straight. She stalked this guy and yet stopped talking to you because you danced with a different guy? Did I get it right? See I am slow and it takes me a bit to figure things out. LOL! Well that is junior high for you. I remember how I felt back then. Lots of good and icky stuff that maybe I should blog about.

At 3:57 PM, brooksba said...

Hello everyone,

DM - this is the second time Emily has spammed me. It's strange.

Larry - I am sure you never stalked anyone. No court could prove it.

SRMC - You're right. She was caught in the undying passion for a boy who didn't know her name but got mad at me when I danced with a mutual friend that neither of us had a thing for. It's a little crazy. I'd love to see posts on your site about junior high stories!

Beth

At 11:14 PM, Matt said...

That was great Beth! I am mazed at the strange, and sometimes scary things that we do as junior high children. I have a great story, that I will blog about after I am done with my seasons.....it is about a girl, and I think the clinical term for her is Bugf--k, I am not sure about that though.....
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