Way I See It: an Email Novella
Page 4
okay, well, i’ll talk to u l8er. i’m happy that we’re cool now. and don’t worry, all apologies about the party are accepted.
dana
From: Gary Menel
To: Ken Rook
Date: Tues 18 Feb 2003 5:00:58
Subject: (none)
Dear Ken,
Hey, buddy. I’m dashing this out on my way out of the office. It’s nothing awfully serious, just some stuff about our kids. I guess you know that Mick and Sarah are having problems. She’s seeing some lowlife at the school that Mick attends. Anyway, Mick is inconsolable, of course. You know how teenagers can get.
Well, I wouldn’t even bring it up, them being kids and all, but I happen to know the kid that your daughter is seeing. I know his father at any rate. Now, his parents are on that protest committee against our new plant. I’ve had some words with his father and I know that the kid has some problems in school. When you have parents like that...their kids just lack discipline. I think the parents may even be into dope. I don’t know, they’re definitely hippie types, if you know what I mean. Their kid’s in and out of In School Suspension.
Understand, Ken, this has nothing to do with Mick, I just worry about your daughter getting mixed up with that kind of crowd and that kind of kid and I thought you should be aware because I know you’re a concerned parent.
Thanks, and sorry to take up your time.
Gary
From: Sarah
To: Eric
Date: Tue 18 Feb 2003 6:49:25
Subject: Aahh!
Eric,
Oh my god, that stupid Mick Menel. He got his father to e-mail my dad about you and me and then Gary Menel told my dad a whole bunch of lies about you and so my dad is convinced you’re a “bad kid” and he says I’m forbidden to see you and I’m grounded from the phone and a whole bunch of other stuff. I am so mad. I hate Mick!! He’s ruining my stupid life.
As if it weren’t enough that Tristan and half our friends hate us and Dana doesn’t like you anymore. Anyway, I’m having to sneak this e-mail and I’ll only be able to e-mail you from school from now on which totally makes me mad. I could just kill my parents. Why can’t they understand me? They’re destroying my life. They can’t just decide who I can and can’t be friends with and they can’t make me date Mick who I hate. They just can’t. I don’t know what to do, Eric. I just don’t know what to do.
Look. I have to go. Trina is whining because she wants to get on the internet and she says she’s gonna tell mom and dad I’m on it if I don’t let her have the computer.
yours in agony,
Sarah
From: Eric
To: Sarah
Date: Wed 19 Feb 2003 1:24:43
Subject: I feel your pain.
Hey. Yeah, i’m grounded too. My parents found out I got ISS and I tried to explain to them what happened. They were like, we understand and we think its terrible that tristan is upset about you dating someone just because of the Menel family, but fighting is not the way to solve problems, so you’ll have to be punished. I told them the school was doing that just fine, but they said that I really needed to understand that my actions were wrong and I should think about that while I was grounded.
My parents are always like that. They’re disgustingly rational. sometimes I think its going to drive me insane. Anyway, I’ll only be e-mailing you from school for a while too.
Hey, atleast we have each other, right? i’ll talk to you later. hope you feel better.
i’m out,
eric
From: Tristan
To: Dana
Date: Wed 19 Feb 2003 3:08:47
Subject: hey doll.
dana,
hey what up? i got ur email and i’ve been givin it alot of thought. alright, u have alot of loyalty to ur friend, which is noble and commendable, but u’ve got to decide whether its worth it or not. what’s more important, dana? being cool with sarah or letting her be in a situation with someone u know isn’t good for her.
for example erics not anywhere near as noble as sarah. i mean he and i have been friends for a real long time and u don’t see him tryin to stay friends with me even if i’m not cool with him dating sarah. instead, he picks a fight with me and gets us put in iss. also, think about what he said about u. dude has no respect for women. he’s a total ass.
so babe. i admire ur loyalty or whatnot, but i’m just sayin, for the sake of everyone...try to break them up.
talk atcha later, sweetness,
tri$t@n
From: Sarah
To: Dana
Date: Thu 20 Feb 2003 6:37:29
Subject: Everything sucks.
Dana, I cannot stand my life. I’m on the computer because my parents went out for the evening, but you have no idea how horrible its been here. They won’t let me get rides home from school anymore, they won’t let me call Eric. I haven’t been able to talk to him and he’s grounded too so he can’t e-mail me. i feel like I’m going to go stir crazy.
My dad told me today that this was all just for my own good and I would thank him when I was older. Where do parents get stuff like that? Like, I never see any adults walking around saying things like, “You know, I am so happy my parents grounded me when I was sixteen. It changed my life. Now I see how much wiser than me they were.” That is just crap. Parents want to make themselves feel better. Even though I’m just seventeen, I know what I want from life. I’m not stupid. I know myself and I’m a good judge of character. Why can’t my parents just trust that they did a good job bringing me up and let me try to prove to them that I can be a good kid and take care of myself.
For God’s sake, I am graduating third in my class. I have straight As. I spend my spare time reading mythology for crying out loud. What do they want from me? I am like the perfect daughter. They could at least let me have a boyfriend, the one I want. This is my only chance.
I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m really upset. Thanks for listening. Maybe I’ll get a chance to talk to you tomorrow at school, okay?
LYLAS,
Sarah
From: Dana
To: Sarah
Date: Thu 20 Feb 2003 7:19:32
Subject: i’m sorry
it doesn’t sound like a whole bunch of fun. i know ur parents can be a pain, but listen sarah, u’ve only got to live with them for like a few more months and in the fall u’ll be off to college. and ur going to your first choice, sarah lawrence, with like a huge scholarship. try to focus on that. and i mean, when u leave, what are u going to do about eric? are u guys going to stay together forever?
i know u don’t want to hear this, but maybe ur parents are right. maybe it would be best to just let this whole thing go and call it quits with eric. u would be much happier. it’s just making u miserable right now.
i’m saying this because i love u girl, i hope u understand that. don’t be mad. just think about it, okay?
l8er,
dana
From: Eric
To: Sarah
Date: Thu 20 Feb 2003 7:49:25
Subject: how are you doing?
Hi Sarah.
I miss you. My friends hate me. Today, I got in this big discussion with Heath and he was like, dude you got us into this mess. I guess the fact that everybodys taking sides against mick and tristan or against me is really annoying everybody. Heath’s girlfriend is particularly upset, because now their party circuit’s all screwy and odin and adam’s girlfriends won’t speak to her. Even odin’s chick penelope, who’s usually really cool is way mad about the whole thing and is just mostly mad because odin’s all scheming with mick all the time and she’s got all these guys checking her out. They’re practicall
y sleeping in her living room. you can just bet though, when this thing blows over, if odin finds out, he’ll massacre those guys. Anyway, this is all upsetting to heath, cause he likes odin alot and stuff. And now all our friends are fighting.
My parents are riding me. They’re worried about my grades and stuff. You know, basically everything blows. But I’m done grounding on Saturday night. Okay, now, hear me out on this before you totally flip out. Don’t you have some poetry field trip for your AP English class on Saturday night? Won’t you be out late? Look, tell your parents that your going to pick up one of the girls in the class and then blow the whole thing off. Tell your teacher your sick and you can’t come. Then, let’s hang out.
I have to see you. You’re the only thing that makes this whole nightmare my life has become worth anything. It’s like in Star Wars when Han comes back to blow up the Death Star and he says it’s because he felt guilty, but you know it’s because he’s in love with Leia? Sometimes you have to take risks to be with the person you love. um, yeah. I guess I’m saying that. I love you, Sarah. Please, find a way to see me on Saturday.
i’m out,
eric
From: Sarah
To: Eric
Date: Fri 21 Feb 2003 12:42:21
Subject: It’s done.
Eric,
I’ll meet you at about three on Saturday. I lied to everyone and I felt sort of guilty, but you’re right. Sometimes you have to take risks for love. Look at Lancelot and Guinevere. That last night in Camelot, when they knew that Mordred was watching them closely. They had to see each other, even though they knew how risky it was. So they did.
So, I’m risking this to see you. I just hope that unlike Lancelot and Guinevere, this doesn’t mean you get banished and I get nearly burned alive. :)
Sarah
From: Ken Rook
To: Gary Menel
Date: Mon 24 Feb 2003 3:42:58
Subject: (none)
Hi there, Gary. Listen, my daughter’s been sulking around the house for a week now, and I just want her to get out a little. Why don’t we set up a little date for Mick and Sarah? I know your son likes my daughter and I approve of him. So let’s just get the two of them together next weekend.
Ken
From: Gary Menel
To: Ken Rook
Date: Tue 25 Feb 2003 8:21:34
Subject: (none)
Excellent idea. I know Mick will be thrilled. They can go to dinner Friday night. Mick will pick her up at eight o’clock sharp.
Gary
From: Mick
To: Tristan
Date: Wed 26 Feb 2003 4:09:34
Subject: gess wat dude?
hey tristan my man wat is up? so i am going to go on a date with sarah b/c my dad set it up w/ her dad and i’m pysced. i’m going to prove to her that i luv her and and that she has to be w/ me. what shuld i tell her b/c u are realy good w/girls and sometimes i am not. not that i need help or nothing b/c i am a very smooth playa but a few litle tips wuld not be a bad thing. tell me tomorow at school. i will see u their. right dude. well i gotta go mess around w/some video games so ill catcha l8er.
~m
From: Sarah
To: Dana
Date: Wed 26 Feb 2003 5:24:46
Subject: Dana, this is horrible
Okay, Dana, no matter what you think about me dating Eric, you do not think it’s a good idea to date Mick. I know that much. Well, guess what? My dad has set me up on another fipping date with the dude. This time on Friday. I haven’t told Eric yet, because I haven’t been able to get to the computer since I snuck out to see him on Saturday. (Which by the way, was one of the most awesome nights of my life. I know you hate him, but he is really just so wonderful I wish we could all work this out.)
I hate Mick Menel. I depise him worse than any creature on the face of the planet. And if he tries to kiss me again I will kill him. I really do not want to be anywhere around him. God. I gotta go. I’m in study hall. I’ll talk to you later.
Sarah.
From: Dana
To: Sarah
Date: Wed 26 Feb 2003 6:39:32
Subject: (none)
sarah, hey, i’m sneaking this in because my class is in the computer lab. u know, maybe u should give mick a chance. remember how much u didn’t like eric before? now u love him. maybe mick is better for u. just think about it.
l8er,
dana
From: Sarah
To: Dana
Date: Wed 26 Feb 2003 7:00:37
Subject: dana!!
look, let’s just not talk about this anymore. you obviously don’t understand.
(Can you tell how mad that just made me? I didn’t capitalize my sentences.)
Sarah
From: Sarah
To: Eric
Date: Sat 1 Mar 2003 1:04:43
Subject: He he!
Hi Eric,
You are never going to believe what I did to Mick. Okay, so when I talked to you on the phone, I told you about how I had to go on that dumb date with him. So, he picks me up last night and I get in his car and I’m just totally and completely silent. He keeps trying to start conversations with me and I just ignore him. I do this the whole evening, all the way through dinner. (I had to talk to the waiter to order something, which I kind of regretted, but whatever).
Then we leave the restaurant, and the dork takes me out somewhere in his car. Like he actually thinks I’m going to make out with him. Ugg. He makes me feel so icky. Like I’m going to throw up. Gross. I hate Mick. I hate Mick.
Anyway, we’re sitting in the car and he starts talking about you. He says you stole me from him and everything was going fine before that and he says that he’s going to get his dad to fire my dad and then he’s going to have everyone beat you up. So I just go off. I tell him that he’s stupid and that no one would ever be friends with him if it weren’t for the fact that they’re afraid of his dad. I tell him that anyone with the brain power of a flea, which is what he has, needs something to compensate, and he’s lucky that he’s got daddy, because he’s too much of a wimp to be strong, too ugly to be sexy, and too sad altogether to make it anywhere in the world.
It was like no one had ever insulted him in his life. He started the car and we drove home. When we got to my house he kept locking my door so I couldn’t get out. And then he called me a fucking cunt and said he was going to destroy me. I told him, “Mick, anyone who has to get his father to get him a girlfriend is obviously insecure and probably compensating for the fact he has a small penis. No one will ever like you, and if they do, you’ll never know because you’ll always wonder if they’re just trying to suck up to you because of your dad.”
Eric, he started crying. Mick Menel started crying. And I got up out of his car, and left him there, sobbing and a mess and I’ve never felt so good in my entire life. Anyway, I just thought you should know.
And hey, in case he’s not kidding about the beating up thing, don’t wander around alone. If a whole bunch of guys jumped you, then I’d feel horrible. (I’m not questioning your bravery or whatever. I’m just saying five on one isn’t a fair fight anyway, okay?)
I love you. Talk to you later.
Sarah
From: Mick
To: Tristan
Date: Sat 1 Mar 2003 4:05:47
Subject: that cunt
tristan, man, i am so going to kill that fucking biatch. i cant beleve wat she did to me. u have to help me dude we are going to masaker her i hate her so much she is not worth anyhting i dont no why i ever thogt i liked her please help me dude lets get her lets get both of them. get
odin to send eric a virus he won’t now wat hit him i now that odin can do it espesally if he makes eric think we are trying to offer him peace or watever.
~m
From: Odin Ciyus
To: Eric
Date: Sun 2 Mar 2003 2:26:43
Subject: Let’s stop this dumb stuff, dude.
Attachment: apology.doc
hey eric,
this is odin, im writing because a bunch of us feel really bad about what’s going on, tristan included. he didn’t think you’d open up an e-mail from him, so he asked me to send this letter to you as an attachment. just open it up and see what he has to say. we just want this whole mess to be over.
Odin
From: Eric
To: Sarah
Date: Mon 3 Mar 2003 12:20:39
Subject: greetings from the depths of the underworld.
Hi Sarah. I’m writing this message to you from school, because my entire computer at home was destroyed by a virus that Odin attached to an email he sent me. I’m told the method by which he did it is called a Trojan Horse, because it looks friendly but is actually really fucking horrible.