I Used to think Highschoolers had Everything Figured Out

   It has been a long time since I have sat here and released a torrent of nonsense onto the internet.  I've been busy with school, volleyball, and the SAT, and generally uninspired.  But today I have a sad story to tell.  
   It's quite sad, especially since it sounds like a common affliction amongst the world's hormonal youth.  


    The story involves a boy, as many sad stories are apt to do.  I don't know this boy, but two friends of mine do.  He seems to be more trouble than he's worth, if you ask me.  True, he's on varsity football and was lucky enough to be blessed with fine features, but there are a lot of people like that in this world.  It seems to me that we ought to be more concerned with things that didn't come from mommy and daddy.  If I am coming across as judgmental, it's because this whole affair seems so absurd.
     Anyway, one of my friends had an on and off "thing" with this boy.  I have always struggled with the phrase "to have a thing".  What is that? Is it a relationship? A secret relationship? A flirtation?  What I mean  is whether or not "having a thing" means commitments.  Because while having an "off" period, where they were not an item, this boy went and insinuated himself into the affections of another of my friends.  They were just supposed to be friends, but to make a long story short, they did not get off the train at Friends-ville.  So now they two are no longer friends, they who have been inseparable for so long.  All because of an oafish pretty-boy moron.
     Is that not sad?
     I cannot help but sympathize with the second girl, who I cannot view as wrong.  If all is fair in love and war, why is she being punished for following the dictates of her young heart? Why cannot she experience this inevitable heartache, this sweetly toxic rite of passage? This is a ridiculous and outdated custom that society has perpetuated for too long; there is no exclusive ownership of anyone's affections.  All is fair in love and war.  All is fair in love and war.  All is fair in love.  
     Let's talk about that second girl for a moment. I believe she is misunderstood, and many people treat her badly.  I don't believe that she understands people in general, which also means that she cannot understand herself.  She is constantly under pressure to be a great volleyball player. She is constantly craving acceptance and attention, often making a fool of herself to a crowd of disillusioned half-wits that laugh at her.  Sometimes she is very quiet, with a dreary expression twenty years too old for her.  My heart cannot help but twist for her.
     But what really strikes me as ridiculous is the need to involve people.  These two had a very public confrontation.  So, half the school witnessed the destruction of a friendship.  The other half will know about it by tomorrow.  Not only is this a stupid thing to break a friendship over, this is also no concern of anybody else's.  So why cause a scene?  Both of these girls are extroverts, so I understand the ease and desirability of the limelight, but this is not a reality show.  I believe we are capable of solving our problems like mature, civilized adults.  Or, at least scream at each other in a discreet place.  
   But the publicity makes me wonder if it isn't more than about that boy.  This may be a clash of two dominating personalities, each trying to triumph over the other.  For all anyone knows, the boy may be nothing more than a pawn. 

            "Maybe our girlfriends are our soul mates and guys are just people to have fun with.”
                                            ~Candace Bushnell