The captain of the football team is usually the coolest, most popular guy in the high school. Not always, obviously. Maybe he’s just a nice guy who is good at football. But, that’s usually how movies and TVs portray him. Because of that, that kind of character is usually fodder for taking a big fall after high school ends. The next time the main characters see him, he’s fat and slovenly, still wearing a letterman jacket despite lacking the muscles and gaining a gut.
His hair has thinned, his beard is scraggly, and he’s probably carrying a football. Think Uncle Rico from “Napoleon Dynamite.” The one in this story thought he was being cool sneaking a flask into the party. Even though alcohol was allowed, and there was a bar.
Hey Guys, It's Me
We have a couple of song suggestions for this guy and his band. “I Hate U” by SZA, maybe? How about “I Hate Everything About You” by Three Days Grace? “Bad Blood” by Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar, perhaps? There might be a lot of songs about love out there, but there are a good number of hate songs at the same time. Hey, at least this person got to actually go to his or her class reunion, which is a lot more than some of the other stories on this list.
Even better, this person got to be the center of attention – and, as long as the reunion organizers weren’t a bunch of cheapskates, the band also got paid for it. That, or they played the “I Love You” song from “Barney and Friends” for four hours, no breaks.
Well, Good to See You, but I Have to Go
Ah, yes. The very, very exclusive high school reunion. There are a lot of high schools out there that are pretty darn big – hundreds or thousands of people – but there are also some that are absolutely tiny. We know of actual high schools that had twelve people as an entire graduating class. We get the feeling this isn’t the case in this story.
A whole dozen people managed to make it to this reunion, but whether that’s because nobody was invited, nobody wanted to go, or the class was small to begin with is impossible to tell. We guess it could be a fun night anyway, but not likely. It might be a little awkward, but there could still be some talk.
Your Uncle’s Not Coming, is He?
A little bit of math tells us that the mom was approximately fifty-three when she and her child went to this high school reunion. That means this bartender got really shy and awkward and weird even though he was, one must presume, at more or less the same age. This guy probably started looking out for big uncles that are a little too violent, but he still had a job to do.
It’s the kind of story that might have this guy going for some therapy. On the other hand, it seems like he’s aware of how creepy he was. Since this storyteller knows the bartender and was friendly with him, we have to assume that the relationship was at least slightly solid. It might not be anymore, though.
Keep the Lips Away
Really? A person running up to kiss his girlfriend from long ago without asking for her permission or thinking that the guy she walked in with will have something to say about it? Who’d have imagined it? Yes, ladies and gents, it’s true – nowadays this sort of activity can really get you in trouble. And not just from jealous husbands, either. The ladies themselves could curl their hand into a fist and hit you somewhere it really hurts. And that’s only if they aren’t packing heat!
We don’t know if a taser can jump between people who are locking lips, but we bet that somebody has had the opportunity to find out. We can’t believe we have to say this, but only kiss somebody who wants you to.
Famous After Death
We’re going to be a little real and say that doesn’t sound like a terrible idea. It could certainly be in poor taste depending on the people, but it doesn’t sound outright bad. It was only the fifth reunion, so it’s not like they were regulars, but if they had good relationships with other people, why not include them in some manner?
Carrying them around and taking pictures with the little cardboard cutouts amps up the oddness a little bit, but their friends might still want to remember them, even if they’re passed on. Look, it’s not the best idea we’ve ever heard, but there are a lot of worse things we can think of, including a lot of things that are on this list.
Neither Guy Will Make Any More Appearances
Well, he wanted to know. He just didn’t expect the answer to be yes. Was this faux pa enough to send him packing from the reunion, or did he take his lumps and give the dearly departed the moment of silence that the assumed class president wanted for him? Depending on what kind of person the loudmouth was, he could have been a couple of drinks deep and didn’t even realize that he had done something that should make him embarrassed.
We’re sure that the people around him will be willing to remind him if at the very least to keep him from doing it at the next reunion – there are going to be more deaths every time one of them rolls around.
Thankfully, You’re Not
We wonder what it could have been that got this guy to break off his engagement with this lady. What could it have possibly been? What in the world might have scared him off from this lady? Maybe it’s his ability to look into the future and see that she wore her prom dress to their thirty-year reunion. Maybe she was able to squeeze herself into it, but the odds aren’t all that good.
Even ignoring the ravages of time, we can’t imagine the dress was even slightly in style unless it was the everlasting little black dress. Then there’s also the fact that this woman constantly hounded a child who was SIX, saying that she should have been the child’s mommy. It’s undeniably crazy.
Businesses Have Rules
It kind of seems like the owner of the bar is in the wrong here, but these kinds of establishments have rules. People under twenty-one aren’t supposed to be in bars, much less toddlers or babies. The parents weren’t being responsible, so the owner called the cops to make sure no children were hurt, which was exactly the right thing to do.
A little more information tells us that people spat on the owner, got into fights, got drunk, and might have even driven home with their kids in the car had the authorities not been called. This actually led to arrests! The kind that only drunk, belligerent, and stupid people could be unhappy about.
We’ll Just Let Them Deal With That
Look, there’s no reason to be ashamed. We’ve all done it. You don’t know exactly how to greet someone that you were exceptionally fond of, so you go with what feels right. But it’s not what the other person does, so you both have to try and readjust. It’s a worse version of the “trying to pass someone in a narrow hallway” tango.
Odds are these people just wanted to say hi and catch up, and it seemed awkward to the person that was watching. Remember, if you think it’s awkward, it will be awkward. If you ignore the fact that it could be awkward, no one will be the wiser. Also, if you’re going in for a hug, go all the way.
Still Making His Feelings Known
We all know about some people that needed to do a little bit of growing up in high school. It’s all of them. All of the people in high school need to keep growing up. People who think that you’re done maturing at eighteen are laughable now that we’ve been on this planet for a couple of years. Kids – even those that are in high school or college are dumb and don’t know what they’re doing.
In this example, a guy proves he’s still petty and mean, and manages to create the only memorable and funny thing that the storyteller remembers. We don’t think this person missed out by rebuilding that bridge.
Not Something That is Usually Rewarded
Until this occurred, this seemed like a great way to have some fun at a reunion. Some of the awards were probably things like “community leader” or “Best Pet Owner” or something like that. “Most Kids” is a little more out there in today’s world, but there are some people that love having kids and being parents, so why not? Four doesn’t seem like a whole lot, but intentionally calling out that all four kids were from different fathers seems...a trifle mean-spirited.
Was that the intent? Was the award just there to make her feel bad? We like to hope not – hopefully this was just an unfortunate consequence of the good that they had been attempting. Then again, they pointed out the father thing, so maybe it was supposed to be mean.
I Got Something You Can Let Go of, Lady
If this happened at a reunion we were attending, stuff in arms reach would suddenly be in very great danger of being hurled. Drinks, food, ripe tomatoes, that kind of thing. We can’t say for certain, but this seems like the kind of thing a bully would do! What’s the best possible way to look at this heinous story?
Uh...well, there was probably alcohol involved, since the kind of person that does this doesn’t seem like the kind to make good choices. Maybe she just really liked the song and wanted a reason to sing it? Maybe she actually wanted to help the bullied, but she’s a big dum-dum that didn’t know how to do it. Regardless: terrible. Terrible.
Schrodinger’s High School Student
We wouldn’t be surprised if every high school graduating class of a certain size has a student like this one. Everybody stands around trying to remember what happened to that one person. This example is a little more out there, since it has to do with a student that everybody remembers because of that one thing that happened to him.
The misinformation was thick every time this class gathered, but nobody seemed to actually pin things down for sure. Maybe the person putting it on just didn’t care that much. Also, the person who had the accident was kind of a jerk, so maybe that’s why.
You Can Just Buy Some, You Know
The captain of the football team is usually the coolest, most popular guy in the high school. Not always, obviously. Maybe he’s just a nice guy who is good at football. But, that’s usually how movies and TVs portray him. Because of that, that kind of character is usually fodder for taking a big fall after high school ends. The next time the main characters see him, he’s fat and slovenly, still wearing a letterman jacket despite lacking the muscles and gaining a gut.
His hair has thinned, his beard is scraggly, and he’s probably carrying a football. Think Uncle Rico from “Napoleon Dynamite.” The one in this story thought he was being cool sneaking a flask into the party. Even though alcohol was allowed, and there was a bar.
The Control Freak Organizer
There’s a lot more to it: The organizer keeps re-adding this person to a FB group and calling, despite him being adamant about not going. Military orders don’t accept “high school reunion” as a reason to dodge. The lady keeps calling, letting him know that he has to pay for his meal and the spot, even though he’s only ever said he won’t be going.
She starts to get belligerent because she already set up the caterer and venue for his attendance. She actually says “You don’t have a choice, it’s already paid for so you have to be there.” The guy said goodbye, hung up, and blocked her number.
Forced to Downsize
Here’s the full deets: A ton of people were really excited about the reunion, but the person telling the story couldn’t go due to a conflict. Details were thrown around, people were getting excited, and there were even some planning to fly in from other parts of the world. It seemed like everything was going to go fine. And then everybody just went incommunicado.
A bar was suggested, a few people gathered, and by all accounts, they had an okay time. It could have turned out worse, but it seems like nobody actually stepped up to the line as an organizer.
Well, You Only Have Yourself to Blame
We’re pretty sure this is just how high school reunions are supposed to be. People have some drinks, share some stories, and catch up with each other. You might have a little too much to drink and wonder why your life isn’t as good as the brain surgeon married to the supermodel who lives in a penthouse.
But that way is foolishness – instead, all you have to do is catch up with some friends, maybe make a business connection here or there, and reminisce about some of the good stuff that happened during high school, if there was any good stuff. There had to have been at least a little bit of good stuff, right?
No Thank You, Ma’am
It’s not too uncommon for there to be a specific teacher that, you know, has the eye of the guys in the class. They’re growing up, and if the teacher is young enough, then things might just work out. In their minds at least – they definitely should not work out in real life. This isn’t an example of that, since the teacher in question was not the kind that the lads in pre-calc probably fantasized about.
It seems like she was more of the foul German teacher that you try as hard as you can not to think about unless you’re in her class. Maybe she was just happy that you’re an upright, productive member of society thanks, in part, to her teaching?
That’s My Name, Don’t Wear it Out
Apparently, the wife of this quick-thinking guy did not think it was funny that he had masqueraded as the ne’er do well Albert during this event, but we think we can say that pretty much everyone else thought it was funny. We think it’s funny, and we bet that you think it’s funny, too!
This will only really work out if you can pull it off – meaning that you have to have the social skills to WANT to be seen as the big troublemaker, but it’s a great tactic for having a little bit of fun when normally you’ll just be super bored. It would be worse if Albert Davis was actually there. But, maybe he’d think it was funny, too.
Going for a Ride
This person got what he deserved when he decided to have a little bit of fun at his wife’s reunion. We couldn’t dare to figure out why this strong woman decided it would be a good idea to grab this guy and lift him off the ground, even if it was the right person wearing the name badge. Not only that, but the woman figured it was okay to go in for a taste of that so often sought-after neck meat.
She just barely managed to not draw blood. Also, hold on, this guy’s wife had a boyfriend during the third grade? When she was eight? We hope this was just the kind of relationship where they sit next to each other at lunch and that’s all.
I am Not Your Hun
This is always so confusing. How can some people be so blind that they don’t realize how much they hurt other people? We guess that some people are just too self-centered and focused on themselves to notice. They aren’t improving themselves, by the way, they just like to think about how great they are.
They were just living their lives, which also just so happened to make them really mean to all the other people around them. If anybody were to call them out on it, they’d try to make up some excuse like “You can’t tell me what to do” or “You don’t really know who I am” or something like that. Maybe they’ll get it one day.
Yeah, I Have This Strange Family…
Most people these days love “Arrested Development,” but not everybody has watched it or remembers every single detail about it. There are a couple of new seasons on Netflix now, and maybe they just don’t watch that much TV anymore. So a guy wanders into his wife’s reunion and starts acting like that weird character that Michael Cera played...no, the other one. No, the OTHER one. That one.
We honestly don’t think it is all that awkward. This guy was just having a little bit of fun at some other’s expense. But it was all good fun – it’s not like he was getting drunk or something like that.
The Result of Poor Planning
Party planning seems like the kind of job that anybody could do, but it’s a little more complicated than just finding a venue and hiring a caterer. You have to take the people into account, and that means providing the right kind of lights and entertainment for people who might not be able to see or hear very well.
“Eye of the Tiger” is a great song for hitting the running track or the gym, but it’s maybe not the best pick for a high school reunion full of people who were old, as the story tells us. And why were the lanyards all so low? Most lanyards just hang to the middle of the torso, but maybe they got a deal on some really long ones in order to save money.
Was Your Classmate an Angry Psychic?
There are lots of things we could talk about with this one. We love a short, punchy story, and this one allows us to come up with some fun ideas. Did this person go to high school in a Stephen King book? Did this person get a barrel of pig’s blood dumped on her, and that was all it took to push her over the edge?
Or was it more like “Oh no, I knocked that candle over while reaching for the little smokies, and now the curtains are catching on fire?” If somebody intentionally went to a high school reunion to set it on fire, we don’t know what to think about that. Other than that...don’t.
Did You Really Need to Say That?
Why would you...why would you intentionally try to cause that kind of drama during an event that is always so often a powder keg of emotions? This woman dragged her husband over and pointed out the connection. Was she trying to shame her husband for firing somebody? Maybe the mom’s brother should have been better at his job, in that case.
Maybe he’s the one that should be ashamed, not the guy who’s just trying to keep his business running. We can’t blame the mom for deciding to avoid them for the rest of the night if that’s how petty the woman is going to be. Does she do that all the time, or only at high school reunions?
They Don’t Always Work Out
High school is such an odd time for so many people – friend groups are formed that can last for a lifetime or the connections can start to sunder as soon as they throw their graduation caps into the air. There’s also the odd fact that for some reason the “popular people,” for a given value of popular, are in charge of setting the events up.
Maybe it’s because other people think they should do it, or maybe it’s because THEY think they should do it. The “popular people” in high school aren’t always the bullies you see in movies, but it looks like that can still happen. If you were the bully, though, you probably shouldn’t be the one to invite people.
Ten Percent Turnout
There are some pretty darn big graduating classes out there – this one tops out at half a thousand, but nowhere near to that many people were able to make it to the reunion. There is always going to be some percentage of students that aren’t interested at all, since high school could have really stunk for them.
Some people can’t make the time in their schedules, while others aren’t able to go for any number of other reasons. Like prison. All that aside, ten percent still isn’t very good. They had to downsize it to the back of a Mexican restaurant, but that can still be a good time as long as everybody is being friendly.
It’s Time to Network
It’s important to use your social connections to get ahead in life. A lot of time, the people that end up successful are just able to ask the right people for the right things at the right time. Some people can take this a little too far, considering somebody that doesn’t have a cool job with lots of possible connections a waste of their time.
Sure, this kind of thing can go on at a high school reunion, but if that’s the only thing that is going on, then it’s not going to be a very fun party. You might be able to figure out who to call if you’re being sued, but not much more.
Dad’s Mad at the Lad
Thankfully, this one is less awkward and more comedic. It wasn’t very funny to the guy’s dad, and it was probably a bad blow to the guy’s pocketbook, but that’s all it was. Everybody still had a pretty good time, and this guy gets to be known as a mensch for keeping the party going.
Apparently, he was a pretty smart guy, even if he wasn’t super socially conscious, so he did what he could to keep the good times flowing. Also, wow is that a lot of people to host at a single home. Since the dad had really nice scotch lying around, we bet it was a bigger home, but still. That is a bash.
I Think Your Name Starts with an M? Mikaleo?
Remembering someone’s name and who they are is a skill you can learn – just ask people who work at a senior home or a hospital. Spend a little bit of time there and you’ll be a lot better at remembering names.
Some people are also just a little better at it – maybe it’s a genetic thing, or maybe they learned how to do it at a much younger age. Some people just have the kinds of memories that let them remember those details. It’s a helpful tool, and you can still learn how to get it even if you don’t have it now. Even if you’re an old dog, you can learn new tricks.
The Battle of the Reunions
It seems that any part of the reunion is ripe for drama. This guy didn’t even think that the reunion that was being planned was good enough, so he stepped up to the line and started planning his own reunion. This led to a whole lot of confusion and, we have to imagine, some nasty words being tossed back and forth, but thankfully the teacher was there to step in.
This guy goes on to say that he didn’t attend either of the events, since he kept up with the people he liked, but he really seemed to enjoy watching everything fall apart on Facebook. We have to admit, it would have been fun to watch.
Quite the Update
Five years can be a long time for some people. In that amount of time, you can graduate from college and start your time at medical school, start a business, make it and break it in a professional sport, or start a family and have a couple of kids. You can also, apparently, realize that you’ve been wasting your life and nobody is going to love you.
That’s what this guy realized, and he decided to go around telling everybody (or at least one person) at his high school reunion. Unloved AND behind a dumpster. Well, at least this guy has his goals worked out. Honestly, he kinda seems like he could use a friend.
She Had an Exciting Night
Despite being incredibly short, this story was quite the ride. Like the Seven Dwarfs roller coaster at Disney World. We wonder what would prompt this woman to steal the name tag of good old Kim and go gallivanting around like she was a member of the Fung-Toi family.
Well, it seems she was having a little bit too much excitement because she had a cardiac arrest and got to meet some very nice members of the EMT community. Maybe that will teach her not to steal other people’s name tags, but the two things were probably unrelated, so we doubt it. At least everybody else got a story out of it.
Hon, am I Dead?
Remember everybody, not everything you see on the internet is true. We think that Abraham Lincoln first said that, and he NEVER told a lie. No, sorry, that was Washington. But we feel safe in saying you should trust everything you see on the internet with a grain of salt. You can literally just type whatever you want on there!
Monkeys hate the color blue! Turtles breathe through their butts! People with green eyes can’t see dogs (they just hear barking)! One of those facts is actually true. Good luck guessing which one. Also, just because someone isn’t on the internet doesn’t mean they’re dead. They might just not want to see your status updates.
Back to the Old Ways
People have a habit of slipping into old ruts. Habits that you thought you had gotten rid of come back at a moment’s notice because of things like certain people or certain places. If you’re meeting up with all your old high school buds in the gym, then you might just slip back into the way you were in high school.
These cliques aren’t a hard and fast thing – they just developed like any other social structure. And it’s not like they’re set in stone. By the time people reach about twenty-five, a lot of that old social strata has crumbled. Go on and say hi to the head cheerleader, maybe she has some fun stories.
She Seems Fun
Well, at the very least, this guy's wife seems like a good person to get to know. She didn’t let the fact that her four friends couldn’t make it stop her from having a good time. Remember, it’s up to you to make your own fun in a lot of these situations. You can make new friends, or remember that you actually had fun with some of the other people around you.
These small connections won’t last forever, but at least you won’t be dancing with yourself the whole night. Also, wow, that’s quite the reunion party. Two hundred bucks? That had better be the swankiest reunion out there. Do you get a gift card to Men’s Wearhouse or something like that if you go?
Sometimes a Year isn’t Enough
Yeah, there are a lot of high schoolers who really aren’t very good people. They need some of the pressures of life to weigh them down before they can develop into someone you can depend on. A one-year reunion isn’t enough time for someone to change who they are, and it looks like this short-lived reunion became really fun really fast.
Was this guy just hoping for a chance to take the gal down a peg? Maybe he had gone off to college and figured out that a lot of women are actually really nice. It also seems like everybody else thought that she wasn’t very nice, either, but they were ready to let the night go on for a little while, first.
You Look a Little Rounder
We’re sure that a whole lot of people out there can commiserate. You’re out of college, so now you’re working at a desk and driving everywhere instead of playing sports and walking all over, so you start to pack on the pounds. Five pounds the first year, five pounds the second – that’s not so bad, is it? But after ten years, those five pounds can add up.
After twenty years, you might not even be recognizable to someone that you were close to for several years. It can be daunting to try and get back to a healthy weight, but it’s always possible. The good news is that it’s simple...the bad news is that it’s not easy. The two are very different things!
Not Popular Anymore
We feel a little bad for these people, since they clearly put a ton of work into an event that they were really hoping turned into something fun, but it was all naught in the end. They had enough project lead time to make sure everything turned out right, they got plenty of people involved, sent messages...but it ended up being a wasted effort.
A whole ten people decided to make the trip, and it looks like it wasn’t all that fun from the description of the pictures. Maybe the people who constantly bullied everyone else should not be the ones to set up an event that they actually want people to go to.
Money isn’t All That Matters
If you had a rough time in high school, one of the old pieces of wisdom is to simply live a good life. The saying actually says: “Living well is the best revenge.” It comes from 16th-century poet George Herbert, and it means to just get on with your life and focus on yourself instead of on the things people might have done to you.
These people seemed to have taken the wrong message from that saying, and went about at this high school reunion bragging about their salaries and related matters. It’s no wonder that this person decided they weren’t worth his or her time anymore – people who are all about money to the detriment of everything else are at best a bore, at most odious to be around.
Twins are Always More Fun
Just because you were totally in control at one time, doesn’t mean you’re always going to be in control. “Beautiful twin cheerleaders” sounds like a setup for a lot of different things, but having them lose themselves at a twentieth high school reunion isn’t where most things would go. In almost every single movie possible, they would be the bad guys, or at least an annoyance to the main character.
But, in this story, they let loose and had a few too many adult sodas, turning them from the belles of the ball to an annoyance to their family. There’s no evidence these two were the mean girls of the school, though it would be fair to make that assumption, but maybe a lot of people enjoyed seeing them become a laughingstock.
Well, it WAS a Compliment
Time can be hard on a person, but it can also be a good thing. It takes a lot of time to change some of the bigger aspects of your personality or who you are, so if you happen to hit up your ten-year high school reunion, you might just be surprised at the number of people there who have changed for the better – a lot of better. This story is a good example.
A guy improves so much that this person barely recognizes him. It comes off as an insult, but we guarantee nobody more than the guy in question is aware of how he looked while he was in high school. Chances are the “insult” this person said to him was actually quite the compliment.
Maybe He’s Still Got It
Homer Simpson gets a little bit of a bad rap. Sure, he might be a bit slovenly, unhealthy, annoying, and dense, but he takes care of his family! He goes to that job at the nuclear power plant every day, no matter what. Except for all the times that he didn’t, we guess. Still, if you describe a guy as looking like Homer Simpson, it doesn’t paint a very pretty picture.
A very yellow picture, perhaps, but not one that is very pretty. But worse than acting like Homer Simpson is acting like a slob and a cad, hitting on women from word one. Still, it seems like he was almost successful, since he had his arm around some ladies. We doubt things went any further, though.
Do You Remember Me Really?
People can change a whole heck of a lot in forty years. That’s enough time after high school to start and sell a business, get into a job and retire, or even have grandkids! You could join the army, fight in a war, and come back home. You could become an industry leader in AI-generated prom parties, and then find out that nobody wants that anyway.
You could also, as this woman apparently did, not spend any time improving your attitude or working on yourself at all. That’s one of the most depressing things we can think of when it comes to meeting someone at a reunion – a total lack of self-improvement.
The Big Shoe is on the Big Foot Now
This is called getting a pie in the face, and it seems like that might have been the problem with this person – too much pie in the face. Thankfully, there are some simple ways to reverse that change. It starts with no more pie in the face. And we also bet that seeing he or she was the biggest or unhealthiest person at the entire reunion was a good bit of outside pressure to start a health reversal.
At the same time, this person got to experience the embarrassment of thinking badly of all the classmates, when it was actually the storyteller that had to take a good long look in the mirror and wonder why there was so much extra.
Pulling Out the Old Clothes
There are two ways to think about this story. The first is far more acceptable: The woman in question knew that she wore some obnoxious clothing when she was in high school, and decided to go back to that well as a gag. Like she was making fun of how she dressed when she was a teenager. The other explanation is a far worse one: it’s that this woman literally did not update her style at all after she graduated.
To think that someone could continue to wear that kind of outfit (which doesn’t look good on a child, much less a grown woman) is rather chilling. Sure, wear a shirt of a band you like, but at an event for your twenty-year high school reunion? We don’t think that’s the right time.
President on the Run
This one is really fun. We just get to sit back and read about this destruction. The class president, perhaps still thinking she was the popular one, tries to set up a big reunion and shells out a whole lot of money (or asks the restaurant to start the order, hard to tell) before she’s actually able to confirm that people actually want to go.
Or, taking another look at the story, she found out that nobody wanted to go and started setting up the event anyway, and to her surprise, it turned into a big disaster. And then instead of doing the right thing and owning up to what was clearly her mistake, she just tries to cut all ties and ride into the sunset.
Well, He’s Doing the Same
There is maybe no scenario more awkward than asking someone how their relative or spouse is doing, only to hear that they have passed away. Well, maybe this is more awkward; when you already absolutely knew that fact and forgot it at the worst possible time. The storyteller didn't seem to take too much offense. They acknowledged how awkward this lady felt and ultimately felt worse for her than for themselves.
The worst part is that her husband was literally a teacher at the same school as this person's dad! So we can't give this lady the benefit of the doubt that she had moved away and only returned for the reunion, completely oblivious to the sad news.
Well, Nice to Meet You
What a cool little story this would have been if not for a child’s slip-up. He would have been able to meet a guy who actually got a little way into the whole football thing, even if he might not have made it to the big time. Instead, the guy got soda on his pants, the dad and son had to stand there awkwardly, and it seems like everybody in the conference room noticed the accident, too.
Let’s give props to the football guy, though. He might have moved on a little fast from the pair, but he didn’t make a scene about it. He shook the drink off and stepped away. Yes, it was awkward, but it could have been a lot more awkward.
Pointing the Finger at Herself
Yes, this is pretty bad. She didn’t even think to crack open those books and take a look, just to make sure? Not how we would have done things, but then again not everybody thinks like we do (that’s probably a good thing). However, she took the high road and apologized, realizing that she had made mistakes in the past and trying to make up for them.
We can just sit here and hope that none of the people that she scribbled nasty things about were at the reunion, or the awkwardness is going to explode to ten times the amount. It kind of seems like some of them did show up, though. Next time, make sure to check the stuff you’re bringing, everybody.
They Have Their Group
Here’s the thing about the “in crowd.” They’re just another crowd. Maybe they got lucky with the genetic lottery and look the cutest, or maybe they happen to be the ones that get the top spots on the sports teams, but they’re just another bunch of friends.
Who knows – maybe one of them was going through something hard and they all decided to spend their time with that person because he or she needed a friend. Maybe the trials of life had beaten them down enough that they just wanted to relive some high school memories with the friends they remember. Not everybody has to be a social butterfly.
The Reunion That Wasn’t
A lot of people don’t consider their high school reunions something to look forward to. The way teenagers act seems to have gotten a little worse as time goes on, but that’s a really hard metric to actually measure. The advent of social media doesn’t seem to have been a great addition to a lot of young kids, now that we think about it, and that’s for a whole lot of reasons.
Plenty of people are taking things down a step by just hanging out at a bar or getting dinner in a private room, but now even that seems to be falling away. Back in our parents' and grandparents’ days, these events were huge. What changed? Was it just the internet?
Some People Just Never Change
There must be some kind of mental thing that brings people back to how they acted at that age when they’re around certain people. So, get all the people back together from high school, and you’re going to have some people revert to how they were then.
That could mean being a girly-girl or it could mean pretending like you’re the captain of the football team when neither of those things will be true. It might be because they were happy at that time of their lives, but it could also be because it’s some sort of crowd thing. Maybe you don’t want to admit you aren’t as popular as before. Who knows.
Really? Nobody?
Nobody. Not a single person. Not a single person from the entire graduating class was able to attend. Granted, sixteen people is a tiny graduating class so there was a bigger chance of this happening, but the fact that not a single person wanted to attend a potluck reunion at a park is a little astounding. It doesn’t sound like such a bad time, honestly.
Sure, there could be travel involved, or people might not be able to get away because of work, or they might have hated their time at high school (though the smaller places tend to be a little more close-knit in our experience), but nobody? Not even the person that organized the entire thing? It’s kind of incredible.
Making Hay During the Reunion
Well, depending on the number of people who were there, this guy could have made off with a bundle. Or, and this is by far the more likely result, he ended up with nothing and a lot of people suddenly decided they didn’t like him. We can understand when somebody is in dire straits financially, but this is a bit...well, it makes you wonder if the guy is doing okay mentally.
We do feel a little sorry for him – maybe things were just bad enough that he decided to try and make the most of this event. If things get bad enough for you, you start to lose some of that pride that keeps you from embarrassing yourself.
Accidentally There
An incredible story that we had to trim down due to length. This one stands apart from all the others because this person didn’t even know he or she was at the reunion! We’re guessing that the storyteller wasn’t invited, and probably wouldn’t have gone anyway, but the fact that this friend group decided to meet up at the very same bar, on the very same day, at the very same time as the tenth high school reunion is just too delicious to pass up.
The person had to try and hide until the other friends showed up. After that, the rest of the friends wanted to hang out with the people from the reunion, which is even better.
Some People Just Aren’t Planners
Planning is a skill that can come in really handy, and not everybody has the right train of thought for it. Some people just think that “everything will work out in the end” or something like that, while others might just be too lazy to want to put much effort into it. However, some know that it can take a lot of work to plan an event for a thousand people, which is a HUGE high school graduating class, by the way.
We don’t know if the reunion actually happened or not, but it doesn’t seem like the planning stages were going all that well. Maybe the second attempt will be more successful.
The Memory Man Strikes Again
We all have a ton of memories rattling around inside our heads, with a whole lot of them not being very important. Do you have memories of all the times you showered, or all the times you made yourself a sandwich? No, probably not, unless you have a photographic memory.
Most people have a lot of memories of stuff that they did in high school, and more can be triggered by certain things, like seeing your old friends or being in certain places. Some people are better at recalling these things than others. Strangely, this kind of seems like someone who is stuck in the glory days of high school seeing it from their perspective. They just have a really good memory, that’s all.
Should Have Said It Sooner
We all know that kids who are in high school can be mean. They stick to their friends, they ostracize anybody who might not fit in, and they can even do some pretty dangerous stuff if it comes right down to it. But this story has people coming up to the storyteller and saying very positive things.
Just like so many of these other stories, it’s because of all that extra time spent on life. They have to keep up with their jobs, take care of their families, and do all other sorts of things. Maybe they realized that they should treasure the good people in their lives, even if it means being a little awkward at a reunion.
Doesn’t Seem so Bad
Sure, this might have been a little awkward for the brother, but there is a whole heck of a lot of things that are worse. Older ladies aren’t that bad. They know how to cook really well sometimes, and they have all sorts of cool stories.
Then again, it’s easy to get to a point where too many old ladies are hitting on you. We think for most people that would be...two old ladies. One is acceptable, we guess, but more than one, and it starts to feel pretty weird. What if the two old ladies get into a fight? You know, start hitting each other with handbags and things like that.
Don’t Expect Too Much
The storyteller goes on to say that the whole scene seemed super depressing. Probably because it WAS super depressing. It just seems like these two gals expected the high school reunion to be the blowout bash of the decade, even though literally thousands of these things happen every year. Since they commented on how afraid they were to leave their hometown, we get the feeling these two were the kind that were mainstays of the community, ever since they were in high school.
Of course, a high school reunion would be a big deal for them. People don’t show up to their big party? Then those people aren’t worth their time. Somebody wants to leave their hometown? They simply can’t understand why someone would want to do such a thing.
Oh, Well, Thanks
Hey, thanks, man. Also, please go away. This guy was riding the social popularity high, and he thought that meant that everybody was interested in him. Sure, it seems like a lot of people were, but that certainly doesn’t mean everybody wanted a taste. Even though there were plenty of women that might have wanted to spend more time with him, he was interested in the woman that was playing a little coy.
However, she wasn’t playing coy – she just wasn’t all that interested. Also, an ego isn’t always the most attractive thing for a guy to have. Still, he made his shot. The shot was roundly defended and sent back up the court, but he still made it.
That Kind of Thing Always Hurts
It doesn’t matter when it is, how old you are, or how long it’s been since a relationship ended, this kind of news is never fun to hear. We can kind of see why the girl thought it would be okay to let the guy know since it had been a good amount of time (though we don’t actually know how much time passed) since they had been in a relationship.
But, it doesn’t matter to some people. Trust can be a hard thing to earn, and trust that is broken may never be regained. We don’t want to know if you have information like this lady had, but here’s a hint – if you and your old beau aren’t part of the same social circles anymore, just keep it to yourself.
Not Awkward so Much as Just Confusing
No, this isn’t what most people would consider to be awkward, but it can still be a bit of a shock to expect a professional event and instead get hit with ten count them TEN bouncy castles for the attendees.
We are sure that there would be a ton of people that would love to pull up to such an event, but some people would rather just have a nice, chill time at their old alma mater and meet up with some fellow graduates and the professors that got them through a tough four years. Dress shoes and high heels don’t mix well with bouncy castles, and neither do things like sport coats and dresses.
Nobody Ask. Maybe He Doesn’t Know
The gals get to do all their makeup to look good, why don’t the guys get to put on a face that they like? Even if it is not...what makeup is normally for in these kinds of situations? Maybe the guy just really likes rock ‘n’ roll. Maybe some of his friends had pulled a prank on him and he hadn’t figured it out yet.
Unless you happen to be in the bathroom, there aren’t a whole lot of mirrors around most of where we are. Still, the fact that nobody even managed to ask him what the deal was is a bit amazing. You’d think at least one person would have gestured to his face and asked him why. But no, nobody.
Just Gotta Keep Trying
This is a hard story to read. It’s not just that this person got nothing but pity after admitting his or her mistakes and also that there had been recent strides toward finding a good life, but also that it was going to be hard to avoid. When someone talks about the hard times in their life, most people will respond with a little bit of sympathy at least.
Yes, if you hurt your life with drugs or some other kind of addiction and are just putting things back together, people will pity you! We might even go so far as to say they SHOULD pity you, because if they don’t they might be sociopaths!
Nobody is a Winner
This story is troublesome for a couple of possible reasons, but it’s hard to tell which one it actually is because we don’t get a whole lot of details. Were the tickets sent out, and then the reunion was canceled because nobody actually bothered to sell the tickets? Did people sell the tickets, and then the reunion was canceled anyway?
That would be the worst of the two, because then the people that had raffle tickets would have no chance of winning any prizes, while the people that have the money from the raffles would just be sitting there. If the reunion organizers already had the cash, did they just flee with it? Did the people who collected it give it back? Quite the pickle.
A Little Late for This, Guys
Well, at least she knows that they care. Kind of. Sort of. Was she even there? Did she even make it to the reunion? The story doesn’t say. What it does say, if you read between the lines, is that these two men should be mocked. We assume that both of them were at least thirty-eight when this occurred, which means they were both grown adults with jobs and maybe even families of their own.
Still, one of them thought it would be a good idea to bring up a certain infidelity, and the other one decided it was a good opportunity to throw some hands. Neither of these things was true, and it meant the police got in on the fun.
Weapons-Grade Embarrassment
There are a startlingly low number of places where it seems acceptable to discuss this sort of very heavy topic, and none of them are where lots of free alcohol is served. A little bit of frank discussion with a small amount of social lubricant might be one thing, but getting plastered and talking to a black classmate about the stuff is going to be embarrassing at best, and dangerous to your health at worst.
Plus, in this day and age, if you say the wrong thing and the wrong person decides to take a video, that video could hit social media, and then oops, you’re canceled. Best to stick with stuff like sports, politics, and religion. You know, the regular topics of discussion.
You Are a Loser for a Different Reason
Just because you make a lot of money doesn’t mean you aren’t a loser. It means you make a lot of money and that’s about it. Plus, we’d like to reiterate what the story says – the guy was carrying his paycheck around with him to the high school reunion. At the very least it talks about a BAD insecurity about who he is and was during his high school days.
And if, for some weird reason, he carries it around with him all the time? Then we hardly know what to think. In that case, he seems like the kind of guy that needs to go see a therapist. Maybe more than one.
Talking Too Big a Game
A lot of people feel inadequate because of how they were in high school. Some of those people remain feeling inadequate, while others figure out how to improve themselves and build a life for themselves they can be proud of. As a third option, some people PRETEND to build a life they can be proud of, while also trying to pull the wool over the eyes of everyone they see.
This guy picked the final option. He picked up a woman that he wasn’t in a relationship with, rented a really fancy car, wore all his fanciest stuff even when it didn’t make sense, and lied through his teeth about his successes. Nobody was fooled.
No, Really, I’m Doing Fine
Sure, it might have been a little awkward for the people that knew the truth, but at least nobody was getting knock-out drunk or going crazy trying to hit on the ladies. We guess that could have been happening, but that probably would have been the story instead of this if it was. A guy makes it big and writes out a little joke, and people take it seriously.
Hey, at least they were trying to help him. Tips on finding work are always useful. And you can’t blame those classmates for not understanding that he was already done working for life – do you know every detail about everyone you went to high school with? We don’t think so.
No Mourning Just Yet
Despite most of the “popular” people in fiction being the jerks and the villains of a high school film, most schools have a few popular people for the right reasons: they’re accepting, they’re cheerful, and they’re fun to be around. For everyone. But, just like the rest of us, those people have a limited amount of time on the Earth to enjoy, which means one day even the popular will fade like the flower.
Hopefully, however, those people will actually be mourned when they die, and not when someone with the same name passes away. The worst part is the people that were friends with ‘John Smith’ that actually died had another unfortunate surprise coming. Good for the people that thought it was the more popular one, but it’s still a sad moment.
Man, This is Really Weird
Some people just end up slipping through the cracks. They go to college on the other side of the country and don’t stay in touch with a lot of the other people, or they put their head down at a trade job and focus on feeding their family. Maybe they just don’t use social media, or they’re like Chris.
Chris got the shock of his life when he walked into this event, since it was just another catering gig in a long line of them. However, it turns out there’s a happy ending to this story: Chris was given permission to take the day off and enjoy the reunion like everyone else. Could you imagine how embarrassing it would be to have to be a caterer at your own high school reunion?
Pretty Sure I’m Still Alive
This seems like the start of a new kind of horror movie. The protagonist finds out that he or she is dead because another person points out all the details, like the funeral, and the cards and flowers from loved ones, and the “In Memoriam” page in the program from the high school reunion.
It doesn’t really seem like it would be horror, though. Maybe a drama film. Dram-com at the most, but dram-com is a tough sell for a lot of people. There would have to be a lot more to the film, of course – just “being dead” isn’t a film. It’s the start to a film. There has to be more. Does the main character protect others? Help others get used to being dead? There are some options.
Why? Does She Need a New Roof?
While this is, on the surface, a kind gesture, it is also a very, very strange gesture to make. On the surface, it seems like Pam is offering to give Steve her daughter’s number because her daughter is lonely and needs a good man in her life, even if that good man is nearly twenty years older. “We” could be Pam and Steve, or it could be Pam and her husband.
Well, some women are into older men, just like some men are into older women. It’s still a very unexpected way to begin the conversation. Is there a chance that Steve is actually this young woman’s father, and Pam wanted to give him a chance to talk to her without making that fact obvious? We almost hope not, since that’s a bad way to go about doing things. Rife with complications.
Old Feelings Will Come Out
Emotions can practically rule the world. As much as we all hope that we’re impartial and able to see through the haze that can so often blind us, there are lots of reasons why our emotions will cloud our judgment. We like something too much to entertain possible flaws, or we’re so mad at something that everything that person does is wrong and bad.
During high school, emotions are at their highest and most volatile, so stuff that happens then still seems to sting the most. Thus, after a few years have passed and a little bit of alcohol has had time to take effect, you might just get a couple of big fights. Or small fights. Or the kind where they roll on the ground.
Makes Surgery a Lot Easier
People who get started drinking early tend to get stuck with it for the rest of their lives unless they try really hard to get out from under their thumb. A guy that is known during high school as “Boozer” is going to have a hard time switching his life around, but who knows what could have happened?
Maybe he got some hard advice from an older family member, or maybe a tragedy occurred and he realized he had to get away from the sauce for good or it would just keep getting worse. The fact that this person also became a cardiologist – not an easy task – is another odd piece of information. Did he stop drinking because of that?
No, That Makes Perfect Sense
While it might seem strange for a constant ne’er-do-well to suddenly have a position of such prominence in the same school that he couldn’t bother to pay attention to, it makes perfect sense when you think about it. English seems like a lot of work, but it’s just reading. That’s easy.
And don’t even get us started on writing. It’s just putting one word after the other – what’s hard about that? It’s trivial. Kids can do that. So while there are probably meetings and emails and stuff that the head of the English department has to worry about, it’s not like it’s the head of the art department. Or the head janitor – easily the toughest job in a high school.
Sorry About That
While all the awkward stuff came after the reunion, the reunion was the genesis of it all, so we’re going with that. This person is going to grow up with or suddenly gain a dislike of high school reunions, and he or she will have a perfectly reasonable explanation.
We assume it was more than just “I met my old flame and now our long relationship is over,” but it’s all too possible that this woman got home from the high school reunion and decided to deliver her loving husband with some very bad news from way out in left field. One way or another, this one is quite the awkward tale, especially for the kids of the family.