Sixteen

In hindsight my first day of school at my new high school was hilarious. At the time it was horrible--why it's such a good story now.

I'll tell it briefly: At lunch I walked with purpose and confidence into the cafeteria. I sat at a long empty table. I knew someone would eventually sit at least at the other end. I had absolutely zero friends, so I had no idea at all what was going to happen, but I also had little shame. I wouldn't even know who to be embarrassed in front of.

The kids came swarming in, but unlike my old Chicago school where seats in the caf were coveted, and some people had to smoosh onto one small stool to eat, it was easy to space and spread out in St. Louis. No one came. No one came. No one joined me. Kids kept flooding in. No one sat with me, and then, suddenly a boy about my age--a cute and nice looking boy came up to me and asked very sweetly if anyone was sitting across from me. I said no, and he pulled out the chair, beckoned his friends over, and they swarmed the table, grabbing up every single chair that wasn't mine in about ten seconds time. I was aghast, alone, at a huge table with no chairs eating a PB&J. Eventually, halfway through lunch, the principal came over to me and tried to warm the situation by discussing how good PB&J is.

I did not tell that story to anyone at school--even after I had plenty of happy friends. Too mortifying, and the dreaded table still existed. I had daydreams of setting it on fire.

The next year in winter I was casually auditioning for a page to stage production at a theatre festival. It was no big thing--just some audition experience, but they didn't ask for a monologue. They asked you to tell a story on the spot, and that was the story that came to my mind first. So, I told it. I talked about my pathetic first day of school in this huge studio space with some hundred other high schoolers watching. I hadn't thought anyone from my school would be there, but then I finished, looked up, and saw J-Rod standing in the back of the crowd. He and I were stars of the school musical. He knew my secret.