In high school, I made the acquaintance of Robert. He had a ridiculous sense of humor, but it was tempered, like a class clown in treatment. It was a refreshing change from most of the stodgy students I knew, and I hung out with him whenever I could, before and after school.
He asked me out on a date to a fast food place on a Friday night. We had a nice time, and he invited me to his house the next day, to work on a "special romantic project" in his backyard. I hadn't been to his house before, but I looked forward to spending the day with him.
The next day, I arrived in his backyard to find him standing next to a large hole, holding a big shovel, with a green plastic bin nearby.
He gave me a smile. "Hey! Glad you're here. You can help me with this." He put the shovel down and jogged to a side of the green bin. He looked at me, expectantly.
"What is all this?" I asked him.
"This," he said, tapping the top of the bin, "is my sister's stuff. She's pissed me off for the last time and now I've collected all of her stuff in here and in it goes." He pointed at the bin-sized hole.
"Your sister? How old is she?"
"Eight. Come on and help me with this."
I hesitated. "I don't think this is the best way to deal with this situation."
He rolled his eyes and lifted the bin himself. "You don't know what she's like, how much she annoys me. Give me a few minutes to bury this." He dropped the bin into the hole and went to work, burying it with the shovel.
"Can't you talk to her or work it out with your parents?"
He glanced up from his shoveling and replied, "Why talk when you can bury?" He was like a machine, covering that bin with dirt.
While he worked, I walked around to the front door of his house, knocked on the door, and introduced myself to the older man who opened it, Robert's father. I informed him that his son was up to something questionable in the backyard. He thanked me and disappeared into the house, as I disappeared from it.
Later that night, Robert texted me: "WTF WHY DID U TELL ON ME? I'M IN HUGE TROUBLE BECAUSE OF U. ANSWER ME."
I didn't. No need to explain myself to someone who wouldn't understand why I did the right thing. From then on, in school, Robert avoided me.
Not going to lie - I was really hoping for something to be dead in that bin...
ReplyDeleteI was hoping he was going to try to convince the OP to get in the bin.
ReplyDeleteWell hey, ALL kids need to learn about the lasting emotional trauma of being burglarized at some point in time, you know? It can't have been just MY parents who taught me this important and completely non-damaging life lesson which turned me into a healthy and productive adult, right? ...right?
ReplyDeleteOH GOD WHERE ARE YOU MR TEDDY I MISS YOU SO MUCH!!!
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ReplyDeleteMaxwell and Ipdar,
ReplyDeleteI was also expecting something ENTIRELY DIFFERENT about the bin. This site has utterly ruined us.
It has turned most of us into horrible, cynical human beings... well, the ones who weren't already.
ReplyDeleteNikki, I'm more concerned about the intelligent mature people sending in these stories; what happened to the dumb gullible nice people who just go along with stuff?
ReplyDeleteaaf: You're right! I hadn't even noticed the recent pattern of people standing up for themselves!! Where are all our girls who give BJs to get home?!
ReplyDelete