Crazy By, Carly

Growing up, me and my sister, Casey, we best friends with the girl who lived across the street from us, Bridgette Samuels. Bridgette spent more time at our house than her own. My mother used to always joke that Bridgette was her third daughter. She very could have been. She would go out to dinner with us every Friday night, join us on our family vacations, was pictured on every Christmas card, and had her own place at our kitchen table. When my mom went grocery shopping, she not only bought Casey’s and my favorite snacks, but Bridgette’s as well. She was like a sister to us. Bridgette was the first of us to take an interest in boys. You might say she was a little crazy when it came to them. Bridgette would chase around the boys in our neighborhood in her miniskirts and platform flip-flops, while Casey and I would stand by, completely disinterested. We still held the mentality that boys were stupid, and we ignored them while boy-crazed Bridgette tried to convince them to kiss her. But by the following summer, the summer between third and fourth grade, things had changed. My mother took up a job at the local hospital, and the three of us were enrolled in day camp. It was there we met our summer heartthrob and the focus of our desire – Danny Barkler. The three of us obsessed over Danny, daring each other to talk to him and drawing his name in hearts with chalk. We pined over ways to get Danny’s attention, despite none of our efforts ever succeeding. Even Bridgette’s charm fell short when it came to Danny Barkler. One day, we were on the playground watching Danny play basketball with his friends. “I dare you to ask Danny for a hug,” Bridgette challenged. “No way,” Casey copped out. “I dare you to,” I retorted as I tugged down my shirt, which had been riding up over my soft belly. We all wanted to be the first in scoring a hug from Danny, but there’s no way I was going to ask him for a hug, especially in front of all his friends. I was going through that awkward chubby phase of adolescence when you feel out of place in your body. I knew that I would surely be rejected by Danny, although I didn’t want to admit it to Bridgette or Casey. “Fine,” Bridgette shrugged, sliding off the playground and skipping over to the basketball court. Me and Casey watched her in anticipation as she approached Danny. He denied her, once again. Bridgette made her way back to the playground. “I’ve got to do something to get his attention,” she pouted. “I know he likes me, too.” Since the time we’re little, adults are always telling us that when a boy is mean to you, it’s because he likes you. By the age of ten, it’s pretty much drilled into our heads. We’re convinced that we should keep trying instead of just taking the hint that he’s just not into you. Danny’s latest rejection led to desperation in Bridgette. “I know there must be something I can do,” she thought aloud. Five minutes later, Bridgette was standing at the highest point of the playground yelling out to Danny. “If you don’t give me a hug, then I’ll jump!” I didn’t think that she would do it. Sure, Bridgette could be a bit crazy at times, but not that crazy. Danny must have been thinking the same thing, as he went back to playing basketball, leaving Bridgette with only two choices – jump, or risk never getting Danny’s attention. It’s crazy the things that people will do for love. They’ll throw everything away. Or in Bridgette’s case, throw herself off the edge of a 10-foot structure. One second she was standing atop the playground, the next, lying among a bed of woodchips, clutching her right arm and sobbing. This caught the attention of the counselors, who rushed over to see what had happened. Kids gathered around Bridgette to see what all the fuss was about, even drawing Danny away from his basketball game. The counselors shooed off the campers and disappeared temporarily to phone Bridgette’s mom and locate some ice, leaving just me, Casey, Bridgette and Danny. “Can I have a hug now?” Bridgette asked, looking up at Danny with her best sad face. For a second, I thought he might give her that hug. After a summer of fantasizing about Danny Barkler, Bridgette would be the first to successfully get his attention. It would be monumental. “No,” he scoffed finally. “You’re crazy.” And with that, he ran off again, leaving Bridgette with not only a broken arm but also, ironically, a broken heart.