Bonnie Bear buried his face into the cradle of his arms placed flat on the table surface and bawled like a three-year-old. His best friends Angie, the sweet mild-mannered girl from his History class, and Dex, a fiery mean boy from his football team, took a seat each on either side of him.
Angie asked, “What’s wrong, Bear?”
“I don’t know. Something must be terribly wrong with me,” Bear said.
Dex split open an orange that was in a fruit basket in the middle of the table but a moment ago. “What d’ya mean?”
“Sally won’t return my call. All the girls I’ve gone out with won’t return my calls after the first date.”
Angie patted his arm gently, “That’s okay, dear. You will find the right girl someday.”
“And she’ll reject you too,” Dex said with a guffaw.
“Don’t listen to Dex. He has no idea what a good person you are.”
Not to be outdone, Dex said, “But I do know how pathetic you are.”
Angie glared his way before turning to look meaningfully at Bear. “No you are not. You are a kind and considerate person.”
Between squirts of orange sections Dex said, “I think you’re impotent. That is why you are extra nice.”
Angie insisted, “You are a good person, Bear. And one day some lucky girl is going to realize it.”
“Yeah, your mother,” Dex said, “Everyone else thinks you are a loser.”
“You become what you think you are,” Angie said, “You must believe in yourself.”
Dex snorted. “That’s right. Believe that you will fail because you are failing.”
“That’s not true,” Angie said vehemently to Dex. Then turning back to Bear, she said in a gentler tone, “He is lying. There are a lot of good things in your life.”
“But nothing a girl wants to be part of,” Dex chortled.
“Alright, alright,” Bear said, his voice dripping with frustration. “I’ve heard enough of your opinions. Tell me the truth, what is wrong with me?”
Angie said, “Nothing’s wrong with you. You are just like everyone else.”
“Yeah,” Dex said, his face open and honest. “You are pretty average.”
Bear stared from one to the other. Then Dex patted his shoulder and left. Angie, too, shrugged and left him to his thoughts.
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