I had a friend in high school who loved Supertramp, which seems kinda' pretentious now. I mean really, what kind of 16 year old's favorite band is Supertramp? he was that guy who liked to listen to stuff that no one else really listened to. and he was always condescending when he knew something that you didn't. not just about music, about everything.

he was really smart too so chances were, he thought he was better than you. he was funny though, in a cutting way, and could be nice when he wanted to be. I "dated" him for about two weeks when Jimmy and I were broken up for reasons I don't even remember. he tried to tell me he loved me and that I was "one of the beautiful people." see what I mean? prententious. but it didn't matter, I knew he wasn't who I wanted to be with. it was Jimmy, always Jimmy. no one else even came close. besides, he was also in love with my best friend who was dating his best friend.

eventually, the two of them got together although she was seeing him on the side while still dating his best friend. according to her, sex with him was just better than sex with her boyfriend. she was really jealous that we had "gone out" but that didn't stop them from getting her pregnant halfway through our senior year. I was devastated when I found out, because I knew what a jerk he was and that he had cheated on her with a choir skank.

I remember that day so well. our good friend Bill took me out to lunch and broke the news because she was too scared to tell me herself. I couldn't believe it, I cried for the rest of the day. I wanted to tell Jimmy but he was home sick. I tried all afternoon to call him, which was scary because he wasn't allowed to talk to me and I was afraid to get him in trouble, but there was no answer. I even walked to his house and knocked on the door but he didn't hear me. it was one of those times when I needed him so desperately but he couldn't be there.

but as for my friend, there was nothing to be done about it. they got married a month or two before graduation and their son was born in August. he had a year of school left so he made arrangements to go to school in the mornings and work in the afternoons and evenings until he graduated. I don't know how they did it. it couldn't have been easy. they had another son two years after the first one was born and a third boy a few years after that. they had more than their share problems and at one point, they were separated for a couple of years because she was having an affair with her old boyfriend/his best friend from high school. talk about karma! he came out to Ohio to stay with me for a couple of weeks because he said he was feeling too depressed and suicidal in Colorado. she really hated that and told him that if he came back, they could get back together. she still kept seeing her old boyfriend though so that didn't exactly work out like he had hoped.

eventually, they did get back together. she attended and finished college and became a teacher. he didn't go to college that I know of, unless it was after we lost touch. I haven't seen any of them in about 10 years or more. it's kinda' sad really. she was my best friend since the fourth grade. we knew almost everything about each other, she was like a sister. we exchanged letters for a few years but time and distance and life in general made it too easy to lose contact with her.

I did hear from her husband a few years ago, I don't know how he found me. maybe from Classmates.com. he said that he wanted me to move back to Colorado and have an affair with him. I'm pretty sure he was kidding but still...what a jerk.