After-parties. Police breaking up after-parties. Making out with a boy after the after-parties while his best friend snoozes on a recliner two feet away.
I missed out on a lot of extracurricular high school activities when I was actually in high school (because really, if there was one thing I loved more than the baby jesus it was rules). And had I known in advance that my ten year reunion was essentially going to be one big Do-Over, I’d have packed another suitcase and stayed for much longer than three days. Because, what about skipping classes? And puking on your boyfriend’s letter jacket in the Waffle House parking lot? And then having raging, melodramatic fights with your pissed off, puke covered boyfriend?
I mean, I was just getting started! Now I understand what people mean by the glory days.
Seriously, the reunion far exceeded all of my expectations. Any feelings awkwardness or insecurity I’d been dreading were either completely a product of my neurotically wild imagination or just way easier to ignore, what with all the tequila I ingested on the first night of the festivities.
“Oh, man, remember how we hated each other?â€ù
“Yes! But now, now I have a margarita and you’re so much more likeable!â€ù
It was unbelievably comforting to see that some people had not changed a bit in ten years. I mean, beyond a few laugh lines, some new facial hair or a wife and baby. And every new old face was a flood of memories – of French class dialogs about cheese sandwiches, of getting caught sort-of cheating in AP English, and of sneaking out of the house on a school night toâ€_ watch Aladdin.
Clearly I needed this Do-Over – to finally form a handful of less, um, Polly Anna-like high school memories.
And really, I tried. But sometime after the after-party, when I’d finished making everyone French toast and coffee, and we were sitting around watching The Notebook at someone’s parents’ house, I realized that you can hand a girl a Do-Over, but you can’t make her use it.
Stories and pictures to come.
Nothing says, “Hey break out the crack” like French Toast and The Notebook. I’m surprised the cops didn’t have to come break that up too. I’m hoping that you got to use the line “I’d kiss you, but I’ve got puke-breath”, but I digress.
I hear you, sometimes the best times had, are exactly that, the ones we actually had. No do-overs needed really, just new experiences with old-known people.
The best thing about that must be that you all know you’re the only ones that share all that. Well, and probably the tequila.
I’m glad to hear that you had a good time…can’t wait to hear more stories & pictures…
So glad you had fun and got to build some new memories! How odd to be laughing with someone you once hated, but it had to be great!
See, I just made up for my good highschool behaviour with a few more crazy night stories in college.
It’s as my friend and the planner of my reunion said: We’re not here to relive high school, we’re here to rekindle friendships and to celebrate something in common.
Or in my case, actually TALK to the same people I was too shy to talk to before!
So glad you found it to be a good experience.
Sounds like you had a great time and I’m glad everything went well for you. I can’t wait to see the pictures and hear more stories.
I think i agreed w/ Scarlett on the last reunion topic, but mine was the same way – rekindling friendships. So glad yours was as well Fish. Isn’t it nice to come away with such a great feeling!
If only you could of had the margarita while you were IN school, maybe it would have been a whole lot more bearable.
I too was a dogooder. I didn’t let loose until my 20′s. Although I think French Toast and the Notebook sounds way more exciting than a night on the town
I just wrote about my HS reunion. Because it’s coming up, so very quickly in 4 freaking years. But I must obsess about it now. Glad yours went well though! Which is always what happens with these things. But I like to worry about it well beforehand, just in case.
I sooo regret not having a wild and crazy high school experience. I mean, why wasn’t I coming to class high every day? At least it would have made the whole thing bearable – and I would have probably ended up at the same college.
Cheater’s club rules! I think it is great that there are still stories about us floating throught the halls of MHS…wish I could have joined in on Saturday, sounds like quite the evening!
glad to hear it was a good time! can’t wait to hear more!
I often wonder how I will react if the email arrives inviting me to a school reunion.
I wonder how many prejudices and insecurities will still exist. Will we regress? Will anybody take out retribution?
I was high all through high school and I’m probably the straightest one now! Most people my age (no, I’m ot telling) are addicted to prescription drugs or are alcoholics.
i got the letter about my 10 year reunion a couple of years ago, and just couldn’t work up any kind of reason to go. college was just so much more fun, and i like all those people so much better than the h.s. crew. besides, no guarantees that the 3 people i’d actually like to catch up with would be among the ones to show…oh, that, and they were charging $150 for the reunion, which i couldn’t hack just on general principle.
Even if my reunion hadn’t fallen on a bad weekend, I just don’t think I could have done it. I’m all about moving forward and can’t bring myself to want to do anything over.
Glad you had fun though!
oohhh ****! That’s great. I couldn’t remember if I was supposed to like some of those people and didn’t care. I’m having fun now and it was good to some old faces. Your stories are pretty accurate from what I remember, of course, I was snoring during the make-out/Notebook session.
Ciao
(From This Fish Dude! I’ve been trying to email you on myspace and it won’t work. Leave your email address!)
My high school reunion is approaching in 07′ and there are simple things that I would have changed about myself if I could go back, nuthing major, even though I have changed a lot since then, some of the changes I could make now if I had the money, even now, being poor is still my issue, too bad it takes money to change, if I had the dough, I would change my teeth, buy a house (I am sick & tired of landlords) and I want my kids to have better than the childhood I had and I feel as if I am half way there.
Well, my 10 year was about 6 years ago, and the only thing that changed was the hairdos – they went from perms to straight hair… the high school “witches” (to keep it clean) were still witches, and the outcasts were still outcasts…. and since I grew up WAY up north (Montana) and now live WAY down South (Alabama), and have picked up a SLIGHT southern accent, I heard “Say something SOUTHERN” the entire night…. totally ignoring the fact that I have learned 3 languages since high school – one of them Hebrew!
thats awesome….makes me excited for mine…
I had a very similar high school existence but a much less fun reunion. I realized there was a reason I didn’t stay in touch with those people. My boyfriend said the funniest part was watching me trying to figure out who some stranger was while they hugged me and gushed that they’d missed me so much!
The one day I had a free pass to skip a day of high school — I refused because I’d promised a teacher that I would lead the English class discussion in her absence. Yeah, I was that girl. It makes me shudder.
I just had my 20th – and what a great time I had! I wasn’t able to make it to the 10th, but people I talked to who were at both said the 20th was much more enjoyable (they felt people were still a bit uptight at the 10th). There was no (ok, very little…) “Did we get along back then” feelings. Everyone was just happy to see old friends and catch up. So, it’s exciting that since you had so much fun at this one – look what you have to look forward to!!!! Cheers!
Even totally non-wild stories are entertaining! We didn’t miss a thing, well maybe some free-spirited sex. It is good that following a few rules has gotten us safely this far in life.