Their Favorite Joke | Teen Ink

Their Favorite Joke

September 20, 2010
By hancampbell GOLD, Woodside, California
hancampbell GOLD, Woodside, California
19 articles 0 photos 36 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you will join us, and the world will live as one." <3

"Not all who wander are lost"


Wanna hear a joke? This one’s been going around my school for a while now, and it still hasn’t worn out. Everyone else laughs at the story, I’m sure you will too. It goes something like this:

Once upon a time there was a girl. Brown mousy hair, pale blue eyes--you know the type. The shy girl in the back of the room who needs glasses to see the board. The one who usually gets As on her assignments, and all the teachers like her. Funny how the teachers always like the ugly ones, isn’t it? Maybe it’s pity, maybe it’s because they tend to do better in school… But that’s beside the point. The girl had a small chest, large thighs, and a normal sized butt. She wore a purity ring on her left hand--more a promise to herself than to anyone else-- and she looked at her feet when she walked. Her nose was slightly larger than normal, and her lips on the thin side. Her eyes squinted when she smiled, and braces lined her teeth. She had had the braces for eight years, and she never learned to speak properly, so she lisped. She was skinny, and her chin slightly receded back. Highly self conscious of her laugh, she merely smiled when a funny situation occurred.

All she ever wanted was to fit in. Protected by a heavy shell, she rarely let anybody close to her. Yet everyone who didn’t know her whispered. The whispers danced tauntingly around her, begging for her attention. She knew her fellow classmates laughed when she mispronounced the ‘S’ sound. She saw them advert their gaze in the hallways--and she pretended she didn’t care. When, really, she did.

All she ever wanted was to fit in. To have a real friend--a best friend. She’d never had a best friend. Over the years, she’d befriended a mere handful of people. Even then, they were never that close. She rarely hung out with them, as social situations made her feel awkward. She’d never had a boyfriend, never been kissed… She spent her weekends doing homework, knitting, writing, reading. She sought refuge in the lives of the fictional characters she had grown to love and care for. While everyone else was at a party, or the movies, or a dance, she would sit at home, reading one of her favorite books for the umpteenth time. She pretended she didn’t care when she heard people talking about their adventures on Friday night. When really, she did.

But she wasn’t always like this. Years of depression and suicidal thoughts led her to believe that everyone was against her. Her voice shakes when she speaks to the class because she knows that they’re all making fun of her. She looks at her feet to avoid the scrutinizing and judging stares. She’s never, not once, been told that she’s beautiful. But she hangs on…

Deaths of loved ones shatter her heart. Lost friendships make her want to scream. Lonely nights and haunting nightmares replay constantly in her mind. All the fears, all the stolen promises, all the broken dreams, all the ashes of the yesterdays she longed to forget-- they made her shell stronger, stronger, stronger… And if you look at her neck, observe it, closely, really look at it… You can still make out the marks of the noose in which she tried to take her life.

Well, that’s the joke. Was it funny, did you laugh? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one who finds it hilarious… You’re not the only one who laughed… They all laugh at me.


The author's comments:
This story is based on real life events, but it is not entirely factual: merely an exaggeration of those events. Hope you all enjoy(:

Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 26 comments.


on Sep. 22 2010 at 10:52 pm
hancampbell GOLD, Woodside, California
19 articles 0 photos 36 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you will join us, and the world will live as one." <3

"Not all who wander are lost"

Thanks guys! (: 

(PS: Babylufin, I commented and rated Hidden Lives(: )


on Sep. 22 2010 at 10:42 pm
hancampbell GOLD, Woodside, California
19 articles 0 photos 36 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you will join us, and the world will live as one." <3

"Not all who wander are lost"

Thank you so much! (:

on Sep. 22 2010 at 6:42 pm
MyConstRuctd_IdentiTy SILVER, Chardon, Ohio
7 articles 56 photos 356 comments

Favorite Quote:
"One heartbeat."

"Our scars remind us of where we've been; they don't dictate where we're going."
-SSA David Rossi, Criminal Minds

*absolutely not absoutely

 

(bad typing skizzlez lately. Sorry.)


on Sep. 22 2010 at 6:40 pm
MyConstRuctd_IdentiTy SILVER, Chardon, Ohio
7 articles 56 photos 356 comments

Favorite Quote:
"One heartbeat."

"Our scars remind us of where we've been; they don't dictate where we're going."
-SSA David Rossi, Criminal Minds

.mouth drops virtually. This writing is... absoutely brilliant! I could never have done better, and wow, you have got some serious talent. I couldn't agree more with Babylufin and singergurl12. It's just brilliant!

Babylufin GOLD said...
on Sep. 22 2010 at 6:32 pm
Babylufin GOLD, Liberal, Missouri
13 articles 2 photos 229 comments

Favorite Quote:
"'For I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11. Thank you Lord, for this future you've given me.

I absolutely love this. And that <-- is not a joke. I absolutely love it. The end is AMAZING. The writing is beautiful, outstanding, priceless. The detail is unbelievable. You are an amazing writer, I have to agree with singergurl12.

Please take a look at some of my work, if you have the time. :) I hope you'd like mine as much as I liked yours, but I HIGHLY doubt it.


on Sep. 22 2010 at 5:51 pm
singergurl12 GOLD, Jacksonville, Florida
15 articles 0 photos 190 comments

Favorite Quote:
Fairy tales are true, not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten.

i love this... you are an AMAZING writer. you really hook the reader with your imagery and details, and this is a great story in general. if you have any more questions, feel free to ask, and whatever you do, dont stop writing.