Revenge of the Band Geek

I had a pretty long "awkward adolescent" phase.

It should be over any day now.

I wasn't exactly Carrie White in high school, but somehow, working for the student newspaper and playing the tuba in the marching band didn't result in wild popularity.

People say that high school is the best time of your life. I say high school is what you spend the rest of your life in therapy for. So imagine the downright tingly feelings of vindication I felt when my high school newspaper called to ask if I would give an interview on the books.

This is the moment all band geeks rehearse for all their lives, revenge on the people who didn't think they were funny in high school. I pictured myself starting the interview off with "Suck it, haters, now I'm PAID to be funny." But student reporter Jordan Price was just too nice and organized to be treated to that.

So I was honest. I confessed to my "middle of the road" social status, praised the English teachers who made a huge difference in my life, and advised the kids that life gets so much better after graduation.

And Jordan's mom made quesadillas for us during the interview. So, really, it was my favorite interview ever.

So what about you, leaguers? What was the sign that you'd officially "arrived?" What is your revenge fantasy now that you're famous and fabulous authors? Tell me all about it.

Comments

Nicole Peeler said…
Um, I gotta admit that I had a really fun time in high school. I don't really have a revenge fantasy. I had good friends, I was popular in my weird way, and I got in all sorts of trouble without ever ruining my life. All in all, just about everything you can ask for, from high school. That said, life does keep getting better. There are times, though, when I wish I could go back and tell my angst-ridden, ambitious little self to slow down and really enjoy it. So that is my only fantasy involving high school, I guess. I wish I could go back and sit in Khaliah's basement bedroom, with Jana, and Rene, and Sean, and everybody else and laugh till my gallbladder hurt again. But then I remember I am blessed, cause I can just go over to Sean's house, and hang out with everybody now. Man, I'm getting all nostalgic and I miss my friends. THANKS A LOT MOLLY, YOU MADE ME CRY. Just kidding. ;-)
Jeremy F. Lewis said…
Arrived? Wait. Am I going somewhere?
Anonymous said…
Well, I've made Nicole cry. My evening is complete.
Jeanne Stein said…
I don't have a revenge fantasy because while I hated high school, I didn't have a bad time in high school. Probably makes no sense, but there it is. Like Nicole, I keep in touch with some of my buddies, too. The funny thing, is it's not the people I was closest to then, but the one's I wouldn't have hung around with. Go figure. Guess that's what maturity is all about (I know,I know,Mark, you don't know what that means--look it up.)

Anyway, my most vivid memory of high school is at graduation when I kept hearing, "This is the happiest time of your life." I remember thinking, it THIS is the happiest I'm going to be, where's the gun? I'm ending it now.

I always had a penchant for violence.

Jeanne
Anonymous said…
I was the Weird Artist Kid, so while I wasn't actually part of any clique, I was welcomed by all because apparently being able to render something is up there with invisibility and being able to fly as far as amazing abilities go.

Honestly, my memories of college pretty much pushed high school memories to a dusty corner somewhere.

I did go to my twenty year reunion, full of people I didn't remember because the folks I actually wanted to see didn't go back. It was kind of satisfying to note that most of the other people looked so much older than I did, or I looked a lot yopunger, however you want to look at it.

Plus, none of them were writing books for a Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG.
Anonymous said…
"Younger", not "yopunger"

"Yopunger" means "swinging the godwang" and this place ends up talking about sex enough as it without me bringing it in from left field for no reason.
T.M. Thomas said…
I hated high school with the fury of a thousand burning nuns. I'm still too bitter to answer properly.
Arg. High school. *shudders*

I was the frumpy, shy theater geek whose best friends were all guys--I was the smart girl that guys were friends with, but didn't date. If you weren't a townie (I grew up in a trailer park), you were looked down at (except by other non-townies). My greatest goal on graduation day was to come back for my ten year reunion as a huge success.

Last year was my ten-year reunion. I didn't go. And it had nothing to do with success. I'd met my personal goals (agent-check, contract-check, book coming out-check), and none of my old friends were going. And you know? I didn't care enough about the people I didn't like to bother. I'll always be a theater geek, and I'm super-proud of that.

Even cooler than chatting up former high school classmates--a few weeks ago, I shared a beer with my just-retired kindergarten teacher and told her all about my books, while she told me of her new dream to pursue writing children's books. How cool is THAT? *g*
Anonymous said…
Erk, my reply was a bit long, so I posted it on my lj.
Nicole Peeler said…
I'm totally swinging my god wang this weekend. 'Cause I'm in NYC and I can do that sort of thing, here.
Anonymous said…
Nice, Nicole. :) If you want to feel wild/slightly violated go to Times Square. It's the "Butt Grabbed By Random Strangers" Capitol of the World. Also, FAO
Scwartz has surprisingly good ice cream.
Anonymous said…
I didn't go to my 10th reunion three years ago. It fell on my birthday and that's just not how I wanted to spend the day.

I'm not incredibly bitter towards the people I went to high school with. Like I said, I mostly escaped socially unscathed.
I had some truly great people in my high school class. And some of my classmates were just horrible people. I try to remember the nice ones and wish a debilitating case of ringworm on the rest.

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