Behind The Lies by Mark Beckner (the chimp paradox .txt) 📗

“Been thinking about my offer, Aaron boy?” says Brad as he slaps Aaron on the back.

“Not really,” replies Aaron.

“Why the hell not? You know how good I am with getting girls and I hate to see you go your whole four years of high school without ever meeting a girl, especially one who likes you.”

Aaron looks up at Brad, “What do you mean, likes me?”

“Well, I was just talking to her about you; you’ve seen me talk to her before, right?”

“Sure, you seem to be over there a lot,” says Aaron, referring to the number of times he’s seen Brad stop at whatever cafeteria table Wendy is sitting at.

“Damn right!” Brad exclaims. “And she has told me she thinks you are a nice guy. So why don’t you go over there and start a conversation, ask her out?” he says, knowing Aaron would do no such thing.

Aaron looks down at the table, “I’m not very comfortable around girls like you are Brad.”

“I know that numb nuts, so let me help you set it up.” Brad smiles. “Just get to know each other. I’ll help you start a texting conversation, and then if it goes well, set up a meet. Let me see your phone.”

Brad reaches over and grabs Aaron’s phone off the table in front of him.

“Hey!” Aaron protests.

Brad holds up his hand, “I’ve got this.”

Timmy and Harold watch in stunned silence. They are not sure how this is going to work, but it is somewhat interesting. Neither of them has ever dated and could use a few tips as well.

“We are going to text her a message,” says Brad.

“Whaaaat?” Aaron says with a wide-eyed look of fear.

“Don’t worry, she doesn’t have you in her contacts list, so she won’t even know who it’s from,” Brad assures him. “At least not right now anyway.”

Early last year, Brad had exchanged phone numbers with Wendy before she knew who he was or what he was like. He has kept her number in his phone ever since. Brad types a message into Aaron’s phone and sends it to Wendy.

Wendy, I’ve seen you around and wanted you to know I think you have a wonderful personality. I’m not good at talking to girls yet, that’s why I’m texting you this.

Brad hits send and then shows Aaron the message.

Aaron starts to feel his face flush. “I can’t believe you sent that,” Aaron says in a quiet voice.

Based on his past conversations with Wendy, Brad suspects Wendy may ignore a text that talks about how beautiful she is. But, addressing her personality might get a response, as he knows personality is more important to Wendy than good looks.

“I’ll check in with you tomorrow,” Brad says as he walks away.

“Can you believe that?” Harold exclaims. “What are you going to do?”

“If she finds out this came from me, or at least thinks it did, I’ll be so embarrassed,” responds Aaron.

“Well,” laughs Timmy, “at least you’ve started a conversation with a girl.”

Ding-Ding. Wendy picks up her phone to check the new message that just arrived.

“Huh?” who’s this from? she asks herself. At first, she thinks it might be from that obnoxious Brad McGivens. But then she remembers she still has his number in her contacts from last year, so his name would have popped up. Besides, it is not something he would say. Since when does he care about personality? She looks around the cafeteria trying to see if anyone is looking at her. After a few moments, she texts back.

Who is this? No one responds.

Friday, November 6th

On Friday, Wendy and Katy are still talking about the secret text Wendy had received the day before. Must have been a prank of some sort they believe, as no further messages have been received. Still, it is on Wendy’s mind most of the morning. She finds it hard to concentrate in class, thinking about who might have sent the mysterious message.

At 12:15 pm, as is their normal routine, Wendy and Katy meet in the cafeteria to visit and get something to eat. Normally, they would talk about schoolwork, excitement about the upcoming concert, what to do on the weekend, or perhaps any significant news of the day. On this particular day, all they can talk about is the secret text. Why has there been no response back? Has this just been some joke?

Aaron, Harold, and Timmy are also in the cafeteria sitting at their usual table in the corner at the far north end. They find it is quieter there and most people leave them alone, allowing them to talk chess strategy or play games on their Ipads. It isn’t long before Brad McGivens comes strolling through the cafeteria.

“Hi ladies, anyone ready to go out this weekend,” Brad asks as he passes the table of Wendy and Katy.

Both girls just roll their eyes.

Brad gets to Aaron’s table and sits down across from Aaron, next to Timmy.

“So?” asks Brad. “Did you get a response?”

Aaron hands Brad his phone.

“Well, that’s good, at least she is interested,” states Brad. “Let’s see what we can do today.”

“I’m not sure about this Brad,” says Aaron with a worried look.

“Trust me,” Brad quips back.

Brad types a new text message. Thank you for responding. I’m too shy to reveal who I am right now, but wanted you to know I admire how you play the violin and how nice you seem to be to everyone. I also find you attractive and would like to get to know you better. He then hits send.

“This is already embarrassing,” Aaron protests.

“Well why don’t you go over there, sit right down and ask her out then?” retorts Brad.

“That would be awkward for me,” says Aaron.

“Exactly numb nuts,” sighs Brad. “This is why I’m helping you. If she wasn’t interested, she wouldn’t have even asked who you were.”

Aaron didn’t like being called numb nuts, but he isn’t going to challenge Brad either. Besides, he kind of likes the idea that he is communicating with a girl, even though it isn’t him sending