The day the Most Popular Girl in School became a Whino

Oct29

Stop me if you’ve heard this one already, but I don’t think I’ve told this story before…

Back in high school I was one of those girls who had one clique of people I felt most comfortable with, the computer people, but I hopped between cliques with complete ease. In the computer people clique, once I was the oldest member because NAT and Knitting Mama (my new name for Break Boy’s Lovely Wife, I have just decided) and all the other old people had graduated already, I was the queen of the clique. I was The Most Popular Girl in that circle. I was looked up to, I was coveted, I was protected, I was awed. I’m not kidding, it was my reality. I was also the head SysOp for the raddest BBS in the state, which definitely helped with my Geek Street Cred.

My senior year of high school I was in a few more cliques than usual: The music clique, the National Honors Society clique (*shrug*), and the yearbook clique. I was one of two layout people for our senior yearbook, and because I was a geek but also had an eye for what looks good I was very awesome at layout. I would spend hours and hours getting layouts to line up just right, I’d consult with the photogs and the writers to discuss how they wanted their masterpieces actualized, and I would Make It Happen.

One day I was on a break from doing layouts, drinking a soda from the teacher’s lounge (thanks to our teacher for letting us break in all the time). Becky, the Most Popular Girl in School, was in the yearbook room with me. One thing to know: You don’t get into the yearbook room unless you’re part of the yearbook staff or one of the staff members lets you in to hang out with them. That year I personally thought Becky’s social status was declining. She had chosen to date a younger guy who was technically in our grade but… uh, he wanted to join the circus. That’s cool! in adult life, but in high school that doesn’t help you fit in with everyone else. So, I’m sitting around with Becky and she just bursts out with the following statement and follow-up question:

“It must be SO NICE to not be popular so that you don’t have to deal with the stress of it. Is it nice to not be popular??“

I pulled my head up off the desk it was on and looked around behind me with an “are you talking to me, about me?” look on my face. Surely she could not have meant me!! I AM popular! I am the queen of my castle! I am who everyone wants to hang out with! I am the one everyone comes to for advice about their problems and to listen to their deepest, darkest secrets. I am the one everyone asks to the prom and wants to date! … in that one room in school where no one else goes but Little Computer People, unless it’s for a class assignment, but STILL!

There was no one else in the room with us; she was talking to me.

I didn’t know how to convey this to her, to explain to her that it’s all about perspective, that it’s her choice to keep the social status she has, that she had just insulted me to my core by presuming that I am not popular in any venue of life, and that saying such a thing should have merited a smack to her little perfect-to-everyone-else-but-never-was-to-me face. And, if I was so unpopular, why had I been over to her house before? The true Social Rejects did not get invited to Becky’s House. But I digress. Back to me, people. I’m insulted here. Truly insulted. And what did I do to respond to her comment? I shrugged and mumbled, “I dunno” and left it at that. But then I left the room and started gossiping to my friend about how Becky couldn’t hack being a Popular Person.

Pretty soon we all graduated and she got the shocking news that she wasn’t popular anymore. Real Life was a lot tougher for her. She tried to be a singer, tried to get into commercials, but she had no success. I saw her at the doctor’s office a few years after graduation. She looked tired and worn out and humbled. And she was dressed in dirty, raggy clothes that made her look like a drunk homeless person. And I’m sorry to say this made me happy that my favorite motto really does come true: What goes around comes around.

Sing it, Justin!

I love ending my posts on a dorky note. :grins:

24 thoughts on “The day the Most Popular Girl in School became a Whino”

  1. PS to Britt: You are not my Becky. You just inspired me to tell a tale about high school. You are my Holly, or rather, the photos of you I said I couldn’t relate to remind me of Holly. I’ll tell the story about Holly another time. Holly is a lovely person, I promise.

  2. Well, this simply goes to show.. Perspective is a more powerful then facts when it comes to perception. (I wish I had a synonym for “fact” that starts with a P).

  3. My whorey ex best friend slept with my boyfriend of two years a day after we broke up, and his two best friends in the same year. She is now fat , and it made me happier than it should have.

  4. Between your entry, Dawg’s entry, and the chance encounter I had this afternoon…

    I think God is trying to tell me something.

    And, seriously… how could anyone NOT love you, Poppy??? I have NO PROBLEM whatsoever seeing you as popular and adored! :)

  5. LOL @ the PS. I’m definitely not a Becky – but thanks. :-)

    THIS post actually inspired ME to write about “I’m kind of a big deal on the Internet” and what it means. Well, I’ve been tossing it around in my head for several days now – but this post makes it make more sense to me.

    So. Um. Yeah.

    WOW – HOW RUDE OF HER!! lol

  10. I love stories like this. It gives me hope that somehow, someday Karma will do me a favor and my ex WILL get what comes around! :smiles:

  11. My school was so big, while there were some people more well known than others, there weren’t any real popular people. But there were always those people who THOUGHT they were too cool for everyone else.
    I so would’ve hung out with you in high school. :grins:

  12. WOW!! What an effing biznatch.

    My town was was so small that we all grew up together and while there were “cliques” they weren’t mean one. They were just more of a “my mom works with your mom” type of cliques.

    The pretty girls got to lose their virginities at an early age.

    AAAAH! High school… gotta love it.
    Us ugly ones got to lose it to people we actually cared about… at a more mature age than 13.

  13. How long since you’ve been in high school, Poppy? 4 or 5 years? :pfft: High school storied crack me up. It seems like yesterday sometimes.

    I can totally imagine you in National Honor Society, because I was in it, too. Looking back, I hated high school. Trying to impress people who didn’t really mater. Wanting to be someone I am not.

    In my high school people, you are my “Pam.” Someday I’ll tell you a “Pam”story. She is super smart, and very successful. :love:

    J.

  15. Oh.

    My.

    God.

    Do not hate on me because I can see your loserness even from 20 years away.

    Or because every single person I’ve met who knew you/of you back then has confirmed my initial suspicions.

    Don’t hate the playa.

    Hate the infinite wisdom.

    Fucker.

  17. Creature, how about “proof”? That’s a p word! So is “pfacts”!

    Empanada, I do not approve of your whorey ex best friend.

    Amber, there are people who didn’t like me. I’m quirky. If you don’t understand quirky and are fearful of what you don’t understand then you don’t like me. If you don’t like me then oh well for you. But, back in high school it was a big deal. :smiles:

    Britt, heh. I’m sure it never occurred to her that what she said was rude. Ever. Not even to this day. And are you telling me that I inspired you to click Publish on a post you had already written? I’m so influential!!! :grins:

    Hola, thanks. :smiles:

    Kris, I enjoy the karma. :grins:

    Turn, I have no idea, but it always made me laugh that Molly Ringwald played the Becky part in that movie since I saw Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink before The Breakfast Club and she played complete and utter AWKWARDNESS in the other two movies. Much more authentic. :smiles:

    Finn, I am so excited that you are a fellow clique drifter! I never saw the point of narrowing my horizons by befriending only a few people.

    Mel, trust me, he will get his. I’m honestly shocked he hasn’t already.

    Sybil, I totally would have enjoyed hanging out with you in HS. The quirkier the better.

    Twinkie, 13?! Wow. I at least waited a little tiny bit longer. :angel: And… your profile pic doesn’t look ugly, so I don’t even believe you about the ugly part.

    J, I graduated high school 16 years ago. Oh. my. gaw. I suddenly feel REALLY old. THANKS. I loved high school. I’d do it all over again, except Biology with Mr. Leprechaun.

    Avi, I will believe whatever Faiqa tells me. What does SHE say? :winks:

  18. Ha ha!! That’s what she gets for being a douche. :)

    Did you hear anything yet? I want you to call me when you hear, puleeze? :)

  19. OMG, I love this post! I have a similar story, but I won’t get into it…

    Also, I love me some JT…which makes me a dork. :grins:

  21. I went to JT’s last concert and no, I’m not ashamed to admit it.

    He really puts on a GREAT show.

    He knows how to make love to an audience, I’ll tell you that much!

    And Poppy.. thank you for that. I really WAS ugly back then though. When my body finally grew into the size of my head… well, it was all good after that.

  22. MY Becky sat behind me in Honors History. She must have been screwing the principal (or maybe her mom – or dad – was) because she DID NOT belong there. But she WAS the most popular girl in a huge high school. A football cheerleader. And Captain of the Pep Squad. All of the kids in that class were terrified of her (me included for awhile), knowing full well that she could have you sitting by yourself in the freakin’ cafeteria if she didn’t like you. She convinced all the kids who sat around her to let her cheat… copy answers from their tests. One day she asked me. I had studied for hours for the multiple choice test… and my resentfulness and my outrage got in the way of my sense of high school. I said yes. BUT I copied the answers (you know… A C D E B C A etc.) on a separate piece of paper and she copied from that. BUT I had left off the first question, so all the answers were off by one. When we got the test back, she was bullshit. BUT I just showed her my answers and she was convinced that she forgot to copy the first letter. Hmmmm. Maybe all 3 of them were sleeping with the principal. She never asked again.

    I hope she is not reading this. Actually, she went on to become a teacher at that same high school. I don’t think she knows how to read.

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