Friday, May. 14, 2004 | 4:36 p.m.
[Hypocrisy]
"That's pointless. The people I need to tell off, I would tell off even if I weren't going to die of SARS the next day."
"Well, why haven't you?"
I am about to answer, but a girl walks up. Green flannel shirt and overalls. She used to be my best friend. She and Boy speak, and she sits down. Another girl joins, and there is brief conversation followed by silence.
"It's okay. There are only two people I need to tell off. I can wait."
"You only have two people to tell off? I have, like, an entire world."
"I have more than two people, but they are the only ones who would listen. To the others, it wouldn't matter if I yelled at them or not."
Interruption by the best friend.
"I think you should tell them off ahead of time, so that way they'll start rumors and be stupid and you'll know you were a better person than that."
I don't hesitate to meet her gaze and confidently reply
"I already know I'm better than them. I don't have to prove it to myself."
Laughter.
And do you know what was so disgustingly ironic about the entire exchange?
One of the two people I was talking about was her.