Campaigning For My Heart

Here is the thing, I like driven boys because I fancy myself a driven person. (I call them boys, because I have yet to meet one who seems adult like, and I refuse to think that I am anywhere near being an adult…blech.) When I spot someone who has a perfectionist personality who takes initiative, I am more than just infatuated. I disagree with Mandy Moore, it IS more than just a crush.

So in the spring of my 9^th grade year, I began my campaign for 10^th grade class vice president. (This was very important to me. At the time I thought my college career and subsequently my future was based on me winning the election. If I didn’t, my world as I knew it would crumble.) I hung my bright neon orange and yellow posters all over the school. “Don’t be sorry! Vote for Laurie!” It had been my signature slogan since I first began my academic political career in 6^th grade. It had yet to fail me. (It failed me when I ran for school VP in 10th grade, but got it the next year…the wound still hurts, and it was an extremely dark point in my 16-year-old life.)

As I walked around my school campus the next day, I noticed Richard Burger hanging his posters. He was in pursuit of senior class president. He needed not campaign. His shaggy, dirty blond hair was enough to make all the girls vote for him (and that’s all he needed, since my school was at most 20% male). If I remember correctly, his posters said something about taking flight with Richard…cute slogan; mine was better.

So far, so good? Seems perfect? Well, I saw him hanging his poster right over mine! How dare he? Who does he think he is? Doesn’t he know who I am? RUDE, CRUDE and EVERYTHING BAD! Enraged, I waited until he left the area and neatly removed his suddenly terribly sloppy and ugly poster. I remounted the dumb thing underneath my excellent sign.

I saw him in the halls and shot him dirty looks. I talked badly about him. I wanted everyone to detest him. He wasn’t even running against me and had the audacity to cover up my poster!

The boy didn’t know me. It wasn’t normal to have cross grade friendships. So I decided it was necessary to confront him before we gave our speeches later in the week. I told him, “It was a rude and mean thing to do, and I did not appreciate it.” These were the first words I said to him. He responded, “Sorry. I didn't realize” And just like that, his actions didn’t seem rude. They seemed like a mistake a driven person who really wanted to be great would make. He was smart, also in honor society. And his vividly blue eyes complimented the scruff on his chin and cheeks. And I smiled and forgave him. Just like that, I dropped that what’s-his-face senior and found myself intrigued by everything about Richard.

For the next three years of high school, he helped keep my mind and heart occupied forgetting about an NJB even existing. Well, he and one other boy for the next three years helped.