Puppy Dog (A Mean Thing I Did)

When Carmen was a freshman in high school, there was a boy who sat next to her in four out of six of her classes. This was because all of the teachers assigned seating by alphabetical order and Carmen's last name (beginning with CA) came just after Mike's (beginning with BR). Mike seemed to be a nice boy. He had gone to a different junior high school so he and Carmen did not know each other until they met on the first day of school.

After about two weeks of being in school, Mike started walking to classes with Carmen, which made sense because they shared so many classes.

Soon it became clear to Carmen and everyone else that Mike "liked" her. At lunch time, he would walk everywhere with Carmen. It got to be annoying to Carmen so she started to "hang around" with her sister who was one year older and had a whole group of friends. This did not deter Mike. When Carmen was with her sister and her friends, he was still there, even if it meant that he had to walk behind them.

Carmen was so embarassed by him following her around everywhere that she would often duck into the bathroom and stay in there until the bell rang. To her chagrin, that didn't seem to deter Mike either. He waited outside the bathroom for Carmen until she came out, even if it meant he was late to class which was even more embarassing to Carmen because they would end up walking into class late, together.

To top things off, Carmen's sister and her friends started calling Mike "Puppy Dog". Mike was built short but wide. He had what some people call a wrestler's body. Although he wasn't really fat, he wore his clothes a size too large, adding to the look of someone who had not quite grown into their body...like a puppy dog. Carmen's friends said that when he walked behind her, he looked like a puppy following after its Mommy, and Carmen agreed with them. Julie, the 10th grader with whiter than white skin and the long, straight, jet-black hair, and a few extra pounds joined forces with Leticia who had the same straight black hair but was very thin and very dark complected. One day Julie brought Carmen a leash for Puppy Dog. They all got a laugh out of that one.

The day the Homecoming dance was announced and tickets went on sale, Mike asked Carmen to go to the dance with him. This was really exciting for Carmen because very few freshman girls were asked to go to the Homecoming dance. Carmen told Mike she would go. Mike bought the tickets and asked if he could have his parents pick Carmen up and drive them to the dance. Carmen answered that because her parents were so strict, she would have to meet him there.

When her sister and her friends found out that Carmen was going to the dance with "Puppy Dog," they teased her to no end. They asked if Carmen was bringing doggie treats to keep him in line and if she was sure that he was "potty-trained." They continued to tease her for the rest of the week. Carmen felt horrible. She cried at night, wondering what she should do. How could she get out of going to the dance with "Puppy Dog?"

It finally occurred to Carmen that if she told Mike that her parents, whom she had already told him were very strict, had decided not to let her go to the dance with him, then he would understand in time to return the tickets he had bought.

The afternoon Carmen told him, Mike was very sad. He'd been looking forward to taking her to the dance. It was now just a day before the event. He said he understood. He returned the tickets to the School Bank. Carmen watched him return them. He said it wouldn't be any fun to go to the dance alone so he wouldn't go at all.

That having been taken care of, Carmen was relieved. There was only one problem left---CARMEN WANTED TO GO TO THAT DANCE! So she tried to think of some way that she could still go. All of the student helpers had been picked, so there was no way for her to go unless she bought her own ticket and went.

Carmen had seen "Puppy Dog" return the tickets and had heard him say it wouldn't be any fun to go to the dance without her. He was staying home that night.

Being a normal fifteen year old freshman girl who had spent the last four years reading novels about girls going to the Prom and the Homecoming dance, she decided to go to the dance by herself. Carmen thought it was better to go to the dance by herself than to not go at all. Later, when Mike found out, she would tell him that she had cried so much that her parents had taken pity on her and allowed her to go to the dance at the last minute and that she had bought her ticket at the door. Carmen thought that was a perfectly believable story.

The night of the dance, Carmen was very excited that she had actually worked everything out so she could go. She put on the best dress she owned--a lavender lace dress she had worn to her brother's wedding six months before. Carmen's sister, who was also going to the dance unescorted, was wearing the pink lace dress she'd worn to that same wedding. Their father dropped the two sisters off in the school parking lot and they walked the rest of the way to the Gym. On their way to the Gym, they met up with Leticia and her boyfriend Danny. Leticia was the only one of the group that had a boyfriend. Some of the other girls were there too. Julie and her little sister Vicki walked with the group too. They could hear the band beginning to warm up as they walked toward the Gymnasium. The chords to "Love On A Two Way Street" could be heard. They giggled as they chatted with their friends.

When they got to the door, there were two lines--one for people with tickets and one for people who were buying their ticket at the door. Carmen's whole group of them got into the line for people who already had their tickets. They were so excited they couldn't stop giggling and talking. When Carmen got to the door, she looked up just in time to hand over her ticket to the ticket-taker. She was mortified to see that it was "Puppy Dog" who was reaching for her ticket.

Carmen was stupefied...dumbfounded...frozen...shocked...! What was Mike doing at the dance when he had said he'd rather stay home if he couldn't go with Carmen? How could Mike do that to Carmen?

Stumbling for words to explain her unexpected presence at the dance, Carmen tried to explain to Mike in a convincing way that her parents had let her come to the dance at the last minute. She could tell he didn't really believe her, even though he tried to smile through his now very watery, hurt eyes. Carmen was also trying to avoid the laughing glances and smirks that Julie and Vicki were not even trying to hide. Even her sister had abandoned her and was at the far end of the room giggling with all the others. Only Leticia and Danny seemed to understand and gave Carmen sympathetic looks.

Carmen was so embarassed she felt like going home. She wanted to disappear!

The evening went by very slowly. Mike asked Carmen to dance when the band played "I'm Your Puppet." They danced together several times. They ended up spending most of the evening together.

That night, at home, Carmen swore she would never again tell a lie. The embarassment she had felt tonight was too great to go through again.

[I am embarrassed to admit that this is a totally true story.  I cannot believe I did this.  That was the first time I ever hurt someone like that and I am pretty sure it was also the last time.  I can't believe I did this.  Sometimes I think I am paying back for causing Mike so much pain.]