After my previous post, I decided to attend my high school reunion. I had my doubts though: would everyone think I'm still geeky? Would people think I'm a loser because I'm still finishing off my university degree? What am I going to answer when people ask for the one hundredth time, "So, what are you currently up to Tina?"
Dreading these thoughts, I had a plan: I'll hire a double D breasted hooker with lots of make-up and pretend it's me. Only problem was I didn't have $3,000 lying around my home to do that. My friends however, were against this and didn't see why I wanted a hooker to impersonate me. Though they did warn me to not wear a blazer because it would look as if I was trying too hard to impress my classmates. I haven't done anything remotely impressive, but apparently, the blazer was pushing it too far.
When I got to the function room at the Shamrock Lounge in Sydney, N.S.W - perhaps the perfect adult way to reminisce my high school memories - there were people in the room. The lounge was dimly lit, so I didn't recognise anyone.
With $300 tugged into my handbag, I decided to buy a drink. As I glanced around the room, no one's face looked familiar. This was a bad place in finding out what people I knew as teenagers looked like, if they were married, what they do for a living, who went to jail for a while. All the important questions.
Then a man aged in his latest forties came towards me,
"Oh hey Lizzie! What have you been doing since we graduated from med school?"
I couldn't move. My feet were cemented to the floor. I'm in the wrong reunion.
I answered the man anyway,
"Um hello!" I left my hand in a friendly little wave, and smiled around the room.
But nobody smiled back.
"Errm...I've just got to..." I started backing away. "Just go to..."
I turned. And I ran.
As I arrived back down the foyer, I'm panting slightly. Which is not surprising, since I've just done a half marathon along endless corridors, trying to get out of this place. I pressed the button for the lift, then paused to catch my breathe. I straightened my dress, transferred my handbag from one aching shoulder to the other, and began to walk calmly across the foyer towards the door. All I can think about is getting out of this function before anyone can...
"Tina!" comes a voice behind my head, and I froze. Shit. They've got me.
"Hello," I gulped, turning around.
It was a classmate of mine, standing right in front of me.
"Hi Tina, I'm just here to tell you that we didn't book a venue for 5 year reunion - so come down to the bar next door".
This day is unbelievable. Completely and utterly unreal.
I followed my classmate, clasping my beige tote bag tightly. I gave a nervous look to my classmate and I'm already having worrying about this reunion. What if everyone thinks I'm still pimply Tina? What if everyone thinks I'm a trumped-up unemployed uni student with no aim in life?
As I arrived at the bar, there were a few people sipping drinks. To my surprise, I realised a lot of the people attending the reunion had the same nagging thoughts as well. However, I didn't expect to feel that I could happily go back to hanging out with these people. After high school, I was able to seek out friends who had similar interests and ambitions, instead of those who happened to live a walking distance away.
I left at ten-thirty, when most of my friends had other parties to attend. We left the potent mixture of nostalgia and beer behind, realising our futures don't hinge on this reunion.
Happy reading!
5ft0
6 comments:
Yeeaaaah, my five-year reunion is coming up soon. I doubt I'll go because everyone who I really want to know what's going on in their life, I still talk to.
Five year reunions seem like such an odd thing - is it possible to even miss classmates after 5 years? Ten year reunions are still tough, but after that, what they say is true, each one improves. At some point, you'll really want to spend time around the people who lived within walking distance because you'll have shared memories with them that you don't have with anyone else.
But really, it would be OK to skip the 10 year reunion. ;p
Wow, I've never been to a reunion (and I was thinking about them last night, funny how that works).
I never understood reunions to be honest. I just don't care what those people think of me. I don't even care if they don't remember me.
On the other hand, it's been 16 years since I finished year 12, so I have a lot more distance from the whole thing. I may have felt different 5 years after.
oh god, i would have bailed too! i never went to mine.... scary stuff
I don't plan on going to any of mine, I didn't like any of the people I went to school with. Everyone was so stuck up and pretentious and only cared about themselves. The friends that I really cared about see me all the time, so I don't think theres a need to go make small talk with people I disliked. Your 5yr sounded like a mess, glad it worked out though!
I'm so impressed you went to the reunionafter ending up and the wrong venue (I'd have taken to the hills). glad you had a nice time.
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