Thursday, March 12, 2009

Writers Workshop - Who You Hurt

These week Mama Kat has some great prompts. I choose number 2.
-Tell about a time you hurt somebody that still bothers you to this day.

It was 8th grade. I was awkward and trying to fit in. I was trying to be cool but wasn't. I wanted to be accepted.

In a gossipy conversation with I can't even remember who, I called another girl a name. A bad name. I called her a s-l-u-t. Word got back to her about it and she confronted me. This was a "popular" girl who also hung out with the "gangster" guys. The conversation went something like this.

Her: You calling me a slut?!
Me: Yay, I did.
Her: I'm NOT a slut. Do you even know what a slut is?
Me: I've never looked it up in the dictionary. (At the time I thought this was clever, because I indeed had not, but I didn't really know what it meant, other than it was derogatory. I was hoping this would look better than admitting my unintelligence.)
Her: Well, I'm not one! Don't you dare call me that again.

The friction between this girl and I grew other the next few months and she started spreading rumors that she was going to beat me up. I was scared. I did the only thing a sweet, naive girl could do - I called her at home and apologized. I think I caught her off guard but she accepted my apology and the rumors stopped. We never became friends.

Why do I still feel bad about this? It was over 10 years ago. Maybe because it's the closest I ever came to a fight. Maybe because I was really scared of her and her friends. I'm not sure, but looking back, it was stupid and I do feel bad for calling her names.

Go visit Mama Kat to get the prompts or read other's stories.

4 comments:

April said...

I'm sorry but I found it rather funny when you said maybe you felt bad about it because you were really scared of her and her friends. Talk about some honesty.

Mama Nut said...

Wow...you're right. 14-year-old girls can be mean. But ironically a very similar situation (gossiping and hurting other people behind their backs) recently ocurred among a group of nearly 30-year-old women I know so I wonder when the heck it ever changes!

Summmack said...

Text me who it was! I am dying to know:)

Jessica G. said...

Totally feel ya on this one. I remember in the first grade, I called another girl an ass. The teacher made me stand up in front of the class and explain what as ass was...I got it wrong and was horrified when she told me what it meant.