Brandi got lost in the jumble of people milling around in high spirits. It seemed the $500 prize was an enticement that no one wanted to pass up. She was bombarded with random questions like, “Have you sky-dived from a plane?” or “Are you the one with seven children?” or “Were you the State Bowling Champion at Kentucky State University?”
She laughingly answered no to all of them, then curiously scanned down the list to see which trivia question was actually meant for her. Finally she found it.
“Loves to go ‘fishing in the dark.’”
It was a quote straight from the yearbook. Back then, she had thought she was being so cute and clever. Under everyone’s class pictures, they were given the opportunity to say something meaningful to them. Some people were poetic, others used famous quotes, and a number of people wrote nonsense phrases which implied some sort of an inside joke. The country song “Fishin’ in the Dark” was very popular during Brandi’s Senior year. She thought she was simply being current with a trend, but a lot of people joked about inappropriate suggestions for what “fishing in the dark” implied. It was a humiliating experience as fellow classmates whispered behind her back, looking at her and Greg as though they were completely scandalous.
Brandi’s face flushed bright red. There was no way she was going to endure another round of “fishing in the dark” jokes. Why did everyone else’s trivia question refer to something that they had accomplished, or an interesting fact about them? Hadn’t she accomplished anything worthwhile? Didn’t she contribute anything of value?
Mortified, Brandi realized there was not much she could brag about. She had no money, only sporting a failed marriage and a dead end job. Sure, she had a great kid, but she was all grown up now. Brandi had merely lucked out that Jenna had turned out so great. She certainly had never put much effort into mothering. Brandi had never finished anything she started. Other than social status, nothing had ever meant enough to her to fight for.
Brandi started to head for the exit. Not even $500 would tempt her to stay and proudly claim that she was the “Fishin’ in the Dark” girl. Matt caught up with her as she was struggling through the last cluster of vaguely familiar faces, laughing and talking at once. Her ankle turned in those darn sexy heels and she was on the floor in an instant.
“Brandi! Let me help!” Matt said, rushing over to her. She must have been quite a sight, Brandi thought to herself. Her skirt was riding way too high up her legs, her blouse was disheveled, and her make-up was starting to run from the unbidden tears which had just started to trace down her cheeks. Thinking this only made matters worse, and she started to cry outright. Giving up, she covered her face in her hands.
“Brandi, it’s okay,” Matt assured her.
“Did you see the trivia question for me?” she asked with a slight hiccup. She could tell that he was hesitant to admit that he had seen it, and recognized who it was meant to be attributed to. She let out a groan.
“Don’t worry about it. No one will remember any of it in the morning,” he said firmly, putting his hand on her shoulder. “What do you say we get out of here? This party was getting lame anyway.”
Brandi laughed a small laugh, feeling a little better, but she was puzzled.
“Matt, why are you being so nice to me? We weren’t really friends in school. I’m afraid that I wasn’t even that nice to you…”
She laughingly answered no to all of them, then curiously scanned down the list to see which trivia question was actually meant for her. Finally she found it.
“Loves to go ‘fishing in the dark.’”
It was a quote straight from the yearbook. Back then, she had thought she was being so cute and clever. Under everyone’s class pictures, they were given the opportunity to say something meaningful to them. Some people were poetic, others used famous quotes, and a number of people wrote nonsense phrases which implied some sort of an inside joke. The country song “Fishin’ in the Dark” was very popular during Brandi’s Senior year. She thought she was simply being current with a trend, but a lot of people joked about inappropriate suggestions for what “fishing in the dark” implied. It was a humiliating experience as fellow classmates whispered behind her back, looking at her and Greg as though they were completely scandalous.
Brandi’s face flushed bright red. There was no way she was going to endure another round of “fishing in the dark” jokes. Why did everyone else’s trivia question refer to something that they had accomplished, or an interesting fact about them? Hadn’t she accomplished anything worthwhile? Didn’t she contribute anything of value?
Mortified, Brandi realized there was not much she could brag about. She had no money, only sporting a failed marriage and a dead end job. Sure, she had a great kid, but she was all grown up now. Brandi had merely lucked out that Jenna had turned out so great. She certainly had never put much effort into mothering. Brandi had never finished anything she started. Other than social status, nothing had ever meant enough to her to fight for.
Brandi started to head for the exit. Not even $500 would tempt her to stay and proudly claim that she was the “Fishin’ in the Dark” girl. Matt caught up with her as she was struggling through the last cluster of vaguely familiar faces, laughing and talking at once. Her ankle turned in those darn sexy heels and she was on the floor in an instant.
“Brandi! Let me help!” Matt said, rushing over to her. She must have been quite a sight, Brandi thought to herself. Her skirt was riding way too high up her legs, her blouse was disheveled, and her make-up was starting to run from the unbidden tears which had just started to trace down her cheeks. Thinking this only made matters worse, and she started to cry outright. Giving up, she covered her face in her hands.
“Brandi, it’s okay,” Matt assured her.
“Did you see the trivia question for me?” she asked with a slight hiccup. She could tell that he was hesitant to admit that he had seen it, and recognized who it was meant to be attributed to. She let out a groan.
“Don’t worry about it. No one will remember any of it in the morning,” he said firmly, putting his hand on her shoulder. “What do you say we get out of here? This party was getting lame anyway.”
Brandi laughed a small laugh, feeling a little better, but she was puzzled.
“Matt, why are you being so nice to me? We weren’t really friends in school. I’m afraid that I wasn’t even that nice to you…”
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