...is when you're on JV quiz bowl and you try out for Varsity quiz bowl and you actually make it on the starting line up for the B team. Yes, I am officially on varsity quiz bowl. For one tournament. But hey, I made it. YES!
Just thought I'd share a moment of pure ecstasy with my limited readers. :)
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Weight of a Polar Bear
It was a brisk autumn day. It wasn’t warm outside but neither was it frigid. The trees had lost their leaves and they crunched softly beneath our feet as we walked on the asphalt. There was the slightest breeze blowing so softly it barely rustled my hair; it had no effect on the trees, they stood still and silent as if they were prematurely frozen. My brother Luke and I were walking towards Twelve Oaks Mall to buy my mother a Christmas present. We were both wearing hoodies, our hands were shoved deep into the middle pocket to ward our fingers off from the cold. Needless to say, we were unsuccessful. We chatted back and forth about possible ideas for presents. I suggested we get her something from Yankee Candle, and Luke went on to recommend we get her a scarf or some other winter accessory. We were entering the mall through the food court entrance. Luke said something entertaining and I laughed with him. As I finished my laughter someone approached me and tapped me on the shoulder.
I turned to see a teenage boy, as was obvious from the pink polo he wore with no jacket, his baseball hat, and facial features. He was unfamiliar and I did not recognize him. His face was impassive but there was a certain mischievous humor in his eyes.
“Excuse me,” he said politely, although I was sure he was laughing on the inside, “but do you know how much a polar bear weighs?”
This confrontation befuddled me; it was all so sudden and unexpected. My mind instantly began racing. What is this? Why is he asking me this? Is this a survey? Or is he sincerely asking me for some unknown reason? Why does he even want to know? Do I even know? Am I supposed to know? I don’t have a clue, maybe they weigh somewhere between five hundred to a thousand pounds? I honestly have no idea. But why is he asking me? I’ve never seen him before…right?
I am not very articulate, especially when put on the spot, so of course my answer came stumbling out of my shaking mouth.
“I don’t know,” I replied. My face was cherry red and in my shyness I had difficulty making eye contact with him.
“Just enough to break the ice,” he said, a taunting smile breaking forth onto his face.
He stuck out his hand and somewhere inside of my brain, a signal was supposed to travel down to my hand to tell it to shake his. But in my bewilderment, combined with busy nonsensical thoughts flooding my mind, my hand remained at my side as if it were dead. My only response was my face going even redder, if possible.
I must have looked clumsy and ignorant.
“No? That’s OK,” he said. And then he was gone. It all happened in a matter of only a minute or so but it was by far the longest minute-or-so of my life. I watched the receding figure of the boy and the redness slowly began to leave my face. I turned around to see Luke smiling, forcing the laughter back.
“What's so funny?” I asked.
“Emaline,” he said, “do you realize that guy just used a pick-up line on you?” “What? No he didn’t.” I denied even the thought. I was still somewhere between mortified and bewildered. Even as Luke said it to me, though, I realized that I had heard that line before.
“Yeah, he did,” he nodded to emphasize his point and the laughter escaped him then. I smiled in spite of myself and shook my head as Luke continued to enjoy himself at my expense.
We continued walking into the mall and the confrontation had perked my paranoia. I was alert; my head was constantly turning at every little thing. I was afraid of another incident. Of course I knew I was being ridiculous. I even told myself that as we walked through the mall window shopping and browsing. I expected something else to happen, a sort of follow-up. I knew, somewhere in the back of my mind, that nothing would happen. However, I was being afraid of practically nothing. It doesn't take much of anything to scare me.
Since that incident I have learned the appropriate response for any future inquiries as to the weight of a polar bear: male or female?
So this was a memoir I turned in for an English class. Just thought I'd share :)
I turned to see a teenage boy, as was obvious from the pink polo he wore with no jacket, his baseball hat, and facial features. He was unfamiliar and I did not recognize him. His face was impassive but there was a certain mischievous humor in his eyes.
“Excuse me,” he said politely, although I was sure he was laughing on the inside, “but do you know how much a polar bear weighs?”
This confrontation befuddled me; it was all so sudden and unexpected. My mind instantly began racing. What is this? Why is he asking me this? Is this a survey? Or is he sincerely asking me for some unknown reason? Why does he even want to know? Do I even know? Am I supposed to know? I don’t have a clue, maybe they weigh somewhere between five hundred to a thousand pounds? I honestly have no idea. But why is he asking me? I’ve never seen him before…right?
I am not very articulate, especially when put on the spot, so of course my answer came stumbling out of my shaking mouth.
“I don’t know,” I replied. My face was cherry red and in my shyness I had difficulty making eye contact with him.
“Just enough to break the ice,” he said, a taunting smile breaking forth onto his face.
He stuck out his hand and somewhere inside of my brain, a signal was supposed to travel down to my hand to tell it to shake his. But in my bewilderment, combined with busy nonsensical thoughts flooding my mind, my hand remained at my side as if it were dead. My only response was my face going even redder, if possible.
I must have looked clumsy and ignorant.
“No? That’s OK,” he said. And then he was gone. It all happened in a matter of only a minute or so but it was by far the longest minute-or-so of my life. I watched the receding figure of the boy and the redness slowly began to leave my face. I turned around to see Luke smiling, forcing the laughter back.
“What's so funny?” I asked.
“Emaline,” he said, “do you realize that guy just used a pick-up line on you?” “What? No he didn’t.” I denied even the thought. I was still somewhere between mortified and bewildered. Even as Luke said it to me, though, I realized that I had heard that line before.
“Yeah, he did,” he nodded to emphasize his point and the laughter escaped him then. I smiled in spite of myself and shook my head as Luke continued to enjoy himself at my expense.
We continued walking into the mall and the confrontation had perked my paranoia. I was alert; my head was constantly turning at every little thing. I was afraid of another incident. Of course I knew I was being ridiculous. I even told myself that as we walked through the mall window shopping and browsing. I expected something else to happen, a sort of follow-up. I knew, somewhere in the back of my mind, that nothing would happen. However, I was being afraid of practically nothing. It doesn't take much of anything to scare me.
Since that incident I have learned the appropriate response for any future inquiries as to the weight of a polar bear: male or female?
So this was a memoir I turned in for an English class. Just thought I'd share :)
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