The Break-Up

I was at the park the other day pushing the girls on the swings. School is out, so there are now older kids hanging out there. I got to witness an official pre-teen breakup. Allow me to share it with you.

There were three boys messing around on the swings next to me, and two girls 15 or so feet away. They looked about 12 years old, maybe 13. From the pieces of conversation I couldn't help overhearing, it seemed that one of the girls was breaking up with one of the guys, although neither the guy nor the girl ever spoke to each other. All of the communication was done through the friends. "So it's over?" the girl's friend asked. "I guess so," a boy replied. "Well, she's gonna go find another guy." And the two girls walked away, as the girlfriend flipped them off. Then I listened to the boys discuss their options. "You should get back together with her," one said. "Why?" said the ex-boyfriend. "Because she's rich, and I'm sick of buying your sodas." Wow. Let's hope this young man isn't an accurate sample of the male population at large. "Hey! He wants to get back together!" the tightwad friend shouted. The girls turned around and came back to negotiate, but the ex-girlfriend's spokeswoman declined the offer.

Later, as I walked downtown I spotted the girls outside the Jamba Juice, apparently drowning her sorrows in some sweet calories as women tend to do. As I passed, I told her, "You're too good for him." I felt it was my duty, as a fellow woman, to tell her how it is. "Thanks," she said. I only hope she remembers that when the dude and his posse come crawling--I mean biking--back.