"Deep breaths, Lizzie, deep breaths." I repeat this to myself over and over as I continue my walk down the aisle. So many people are here for me today...it meant so much to me. I looked out to the crowd, scanning more faces, looking for more old friends. I thought I saw a familiar tan and green shirt, but when I looked again, Larry Tudgeman was sitting smashed inbetween people he didn't even know, dressed handsomly and smiling at me. Seeing his big smile was like a time-warp. Suddely, I was back in my 14-year old body, sitting in my old bedroom.
"Miranda, you'll never believe it. You know how I told you that somebody in my stupid square-dancing class has a crush on me? It's Larry Tudgeman. I asked my mom how to get rid of him, but all she could tell me to do was found out more about him. Ugh, Miranda, what am I gonna do?" I had been carrying on for the longest time to Miranda about Larry Tudgeman liking me. Larry Tudgeman. The boy that's worn the same shirt since the second grade! How much worse could it possibly get?
"Oh boy. It got a lot worse." I was sitting in my room, staring in the mirror, wondering why I was getting ready to go out on a date with Larry. I couldn't be seen with him! I could hardly imagine the damage it would do to my social status! "He'll show up at my door with greasy hair and that same ugly shirt, and he'll drag me to some weird Star Wars resturant where I have to talk in Wookie!" I was practically in tears! Before I could unleash the floodgates, however, the doorbell rang. I took as long as humanly possible and opened the door to...well, it wasn't what I thought it would be.
Larry looked very...un-Larry. He was dressed in something other than his usual tan and green, and he didn't look as pale as I thought he was. Maybe I was wrong when I deemed him a nerd. Maybe he would actually be fun to hang out with. As it turns out, he was. Okay, he drug me to a science museum. At the end of our date I felt both good yet horrible inside. I was such a bad person, judging Larry on the way he looked outside. Once I had spent time with him and gotten to know the REAL Tudge, I was happy with what I found out. He was a good guy after all.
The next day when I got to school, I was greeted with whispers behind binders, points, stares, and laughs. I couldn't understand what was going on, until I realize that Kate told the whole school that Larry and I were an item. Now, not only did the school think that we were boyfriend and girlfriend, Larry thought so, too. How could I ever let him down without crushing him? I didn't know what else to do but play along...so...I played along.
That night I was on three-way with Miranda and Gordo. We discussed my mini-dilemma, and what I should do to solve it. I wasn't happy with any of their suggestions, because I didn't want to hurt Larry, but I knew that the truth would be better than acting to be interested in him. The next day at school, I told Larry that I didn't think we were right for each other. It was the nicest way I could think of to say it, and I expected Larry to do something as drastic as burst into tears on the spot.
Surprisingly, he agreed with me. I stood there shocked, my mouth hanging open because of the reaction I'd gotten. I'm sure he saw it as a sign of heartbreak, but I couldn't have been better. Larry must have taken pity on me, because he told me that he thought I was the nicest person he knew. I found out later that he really meant it, even though I thought he was just trying to make me "feel better" at the moment. "Hey Lizzie...what are my chances of getting together with Miranda?"
I laughed a little as I snapped back into the present. Larry flashed his huge grin again, and gave me the thumbs up. I had many other memories with Larry, including where Gordo and I dressed him up so he would be accepted at Miranda's party. Even though she freaked out when she found out who it was, they grew closer, and eventually started a relationship that's still going strong. He confided in me a few days earlier that he was planning to propose to her, but I had to keep it a secret.
I'm lucky to have somebody like Larry Tudgeman in my life. He's taught me so many lessons, from not judging people by their outward appearance, to how do say 'hello' in 23 different space languages. I'm glad that Larry never gained popularity by eating worms, because if he had, I wouldn't have discovered a wonderful friend.
"Miranda, you'll never believe it. You know how I told you that somebody in my stupid square-dancing class has a crush on me? It's Larry Tudgeman. I asked my mom how to get rid of him, but all she could tell me to do was found out more about him. Ugh, Miranda, what am I gonna do?" I had been carrying on for the longest time to Miranda about Larry Tudgeman liking me. Larry Tudgeman. The boy that's worn the same shirt since the second grade! How much worse could it possibly get?
"Oh boy. It got a lot worse." I was sitting in my room, staring in the mirror, wondering why I was getting ready to go out on a date with Larry. I couldn't be seen with him! I could hardly imagine the damage it would do to my social status! "He'll show up at my door with greasy hair and that same ugly shirt, and he'll drag me to some weird Star Wars resturant where I have to talk in Wookie!" I was practically in tears! Before I could unleash the floodgates, however, the doorbell rang. I took as long as humanly possible and opened the door to...well, it wasn't what I thought it would be.
Larry looked very...un-Larry. He was dressed in something other than his usual tan and green, and he didn't look as pale as I thought he was. Maybe I was wrong when I deemed him a nerd. Maybe he would actually be fun to hang out with. As it turns out, he was. Okay, he drug me to a science museum. At the end of our date I felt both good yet horrible inside. I was such a bad person, judging Larry on the way he looked outside. Once I had spent time with him and gotten to know the REAL Tudge, I was happy with what I found out. He was a good guy after all.
The next day when I got to school, I was greeted with whispers behind binders, points, stares, and laughs. I couldn't understand what was going on, until I realize that Kate told the whole school that Larry and I were an item. Now, not only did the school think that we were boyfriend and girlfriend, Larry thought so, too. How could I ever let him down without crushing him? I didn't know what else to do but play along...so...I played along.
That night I was on three-way with Miranda and Gordo. We discussed my mini-dilemma, and what I should do to solve it. I wasn't happy with any of their suggestions, because I didn't want to hurt Larry, but I knew that the truth would be better than acting to be interested in him. The next day at school, I told Larry that I didn't think we were right for each other. It was the nicest way I could think of to say it, and I expected Larry to do something as drastic as burst into tears on the spot.
Surprisingly, he agreed with me. I stood there shocked, my mouth hanging open because of the reaction I'd gotten. I'm sure he saw it as a sign of heartbreak, but I couldn't have been better. Larry must have taken pity on me, because he told me that he thought I was the nicest person he knew. I found out later that he really meant it, even though I thought he was just trying to make me "feel better" at the moment. "Hey Lizzie...what are my chances of getting together with Miranda?"
I laughed a little as I snapped back into the present. Larry flashed his huge grin again, and gave me the thumbs up. I had many other memories with Larry, including where Gordo and I dressed him up so he would be accepted at Miranda's party. Even though she freaked out when she found out who it was, they grew closer, and eventually started a relationship that's still going strong. He confided in me a few days earlier that he was planning to propose to her, but I had to keep it a secret.
I'm lucky to have somebody like Larry Tudgeman in my life. He's taught me so many lessons, from not judging people by their outward appearance, to how do say 'hello' in 23 different space languages. I'm glad that Larry never gained popularity by eating worms, because if he had, I wouldn't have discovered a wonderful friend.