The Notebook | Teen Ink

The Notebook MAG

March 18, 2008
By Anonymous

Football, red meat, power tools. Football, red meat, power tools. These three things played over and over in my head. Three manly things that kept me from thinking about …

“WE DID NOT WATCH ‘THE NOTEBOOK’!”

You could hear Key from across the Quad. He was pointing at Alex. The 15 feet of sidewalk took three strides and less than a second for me to cross to reach them. I grabbed Key’s arm and thrust it to his side, whispering so only they could hear.

“Keep your voices down, idiots. We said we would never talk about it. If anyone asks, we put it in for two minutes, realized how girly it was, and watched ‘Fight Club’ instead.”

“I’m sorry,” Alex murmured. “I can’t help myself. It was such a good movie. I can’t get over the …”

“I don’t want to hear it!” bellowed Key. “Stick to the plan, Alex. I promise you if anybody finds out what happened last night I will kill you.”

I looked into Key’s eyes; I didn’t think I had ever seen him look so serious. For a second it actually frightened me. Nonetheless, Key was right – this was not a joking matter. If word that three highly regarded senior men had watched “The Notebook” together the previous night, their reputation, masculinity, and sexual orientation would no doubt come into question.

It is not a matter of how perfect “The Notebook” is, or how it made the three of us experience a state of compassion, anger, and mourning that gave us a new appreciation of love. This was a matter of Man Law.

Chick flicks are well-known for their effect on women, and naturally, girlfriends are notorious for their countless attempts to trick us into watching these horrid films. Imagine the social suicide that would come if the campus was aware of the crime against masculinity that the three of us had committed.

Throughout the day I was constantly honing in on neighboring conversations for the slightest mention of my name. My body tensed when teachers asked us to take “notes” or open our “books.” I approached every group of friends prepared to ­defend my actions. Then the worst happened – one fatal mistake that we had overlooked: the person who had lent us the movie.

My girlfriend was thrilled that I had asked to borrow “The Notebook.” She made it her duty to tell all her friends. The gossip spread faster than wildfire. At this point we had no other option than to enter survival mode: Deny ’Til You Die. We were perfect, the three of us denying everything in harmony. We were prepared for the worst, but it never came. In fact, the reaction was the exact opposite of what we had dreaded all day.

“Are you kidding?” Christopher exclaimed. “I loved ‘The Notebook’!”



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This article has 63 comments.


on Oct. 2 2018 at 9:19 am
Dani_Higareda PLATINUM, Hanahan, South Carolina
20 articles 0 photos 109 comments

Favorite Quote:
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.”
- Winnie the Pooh

This is a very entertaining piece to read. The dialogue makes the characters come to life. The whole scene of the senior boys watching The Notebook made me laugh, but this is something that should definitely not embarrass them. We are all humans and must not be ashamed of our feelings. Awesome job on the story!

on May. 20 2012 at 9:47 am
Aeliss-Novak-the-Zombie-Space-Pirate BRONZE, That Place With All The Trees And Stuff, Oregon
1 article 3 photos 150 comments

Favorite Quote:
Impossible is not a word, just a reason not to try.~Kutless

I'm going to smile and make you think I'm happy, I'm going to laugh, so you don't see me cry, I'm going to let you go in style, and even if it kills me - I'm going to smile.~Anonymous

I'm a girl and I'm afraid to be caught watching girl movies. I hate most of them, espesialy stuff like Pride and Prejedice. D8

This is really funny, even though they are guys I know exactly how they feel.


on May. 5 2012 at 9:46 pm
corazon.de.cielo, Billings, Montana
0 articles 0 photos 7 comments
Hahahahahahahahaha this was hilarious I actually laughed out loud while reading it... all I had to do was picture the three macho-est senior boys (football, red meat, power tools) weeping as they watched "The Notebook" and...hahahahah

on May. 5 2012 at 9:39 pm
i_am_so_very_large_and_towering SILVER, Mililani, Hawaii
5 articles 1 photo 114 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Yet what is any ocean but a multitude of drops?"

i just love this ha ha ha hahahhaahhahhaha HAHAHAHAHAHA ha

on Feb. 29 2012 at 1:30 pm
TakingFlightxx GOLD, Bristow, Virginia
14 articles 0 photos 16 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Believe you can and you're halfway there"

haha, this really funny. I love the tone you used, it adds excitement to this story.

on Feb. 7 2012 at 10:01 pm
Pamplemousse SILVER, Gilbert, Arizona
7 articles 1 photo 69 comments

Favorite Quote:
"To be happy, Don't do whatever you like, Like whatever you do" -James Barrie (author of Peter Pan)

Haha, I love this so much! You have such a great natural style that makes your writing so entertaining. I think any guy who watches the Notebook and is on Teen Ink should get a reward :)

on Feb. 7 2012 at 9:41 am
Phoenixfire BRONZE, Goshen, Indiana
3 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The Caged Bird Sings
Of a fearful trill
Of things unknown
But longed for still
But his tune is heard
On the distant hill
For the caged bird
Sings of freedom"
-Maya Angelou, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"

This really made me laugh. I'm a girl and I don't like chick flicks very much but my sister who does made me watch the notebook and I loved it. She did the same with my little brother too with the same results. Nice story!

on Jan. 16 2012 at 5:28 am
kate12345me GOLD, Sydney, Other
11 articles 0 photos 69 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth." - Thoreau
"Sometimes you're flush and sometimes you're bust, and when you're up, it's never as good as it seems, and when you're down, you never think you'll be up again, but life goes on."

This was a good read, for sure! I liked how you put humor into it but also made it sound completely real (did this actually happen?!). I loved this and found it sweet that the three guys were going through that to hide from society, which is very realistic! Keep writing, I've given this 5 out of 5! Katie, x

Hobbles SILVER said...
on Nov. 28 2011 at 6:40 pm
Hobbles SILVER, Merritt, Other
5 articles 0 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
Either you love bacon or your wrong!----unknown

this is sooooo funny. I love it. sriously though,

you must keep writing. :P


on Aug. 12 2011 at 8:39 am
VampyreEclipse, Burlington, Massachusetts
0 articles 1 photo 1 comment
So true. (:

on Jul. 11 2011 at 1:07 pm
WickedStarcatcher DIAMOND, Massapequa, New York
67 articles 1 photo 55 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I don't damsel well. Distress, I can do. Damseling? Not so much."
— James Patterson
"This is the very first page, not where the storyline ends, my thoughts will echo your name until I see you again..." ~Taylor Swift "Enchanted"

Oh, god this is hilarious! :D

on Jul. 2 2011 at 4:07 am
AyeshaMuzaffar BRONZE, Lahore, Other
4 articles 0 photos 98 comments
notebook <3

on Jun. 27 2011 at 12:04 am
writerchik_123 BRONZE, Miramar, Florida
2 articles 0 photos 32 comments

Favorite Quote:
When you can live forever what do you live for?


-Edward Cullen

Why? Guys should know that if you tell a girl that your into chick flicks it just make you seem more attractive. Well if that girl is into chick flicks

on Jun. 10 2011 at 5:31 am
IAmWhoIWantToBe PLATINUM, Manila, Other
41 articles 0 photos 650 comments

Favorite Quote:
‎"I’m learning how to drown out the constant noise that is such an inseparable part of my life. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I only have to follow my heart and concentrate on what I want to say to the world: I run my world." - Beyoncé

Man Law? There is such thing like that?

By the way, I like this article. Good job, man!

PapasGirl GOLD said...
on May. 19 2011 at 6:06 pm
PapasGirl GOLD, Wahiawa, Hawaii
12 articles 6 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
You never lose by loving, but you always lose by holding back.

The Notebook was a great movie. My Friend watched it with me and he was in tears at the end of it. Any guy that watches "The Notebook" Is a REAL man. :)

OneHotMeS4L said...
on May. 19 2011 at 7:19 am
OneHotMeS4L, Cinci, Ohio
0 articles 0 photos 4 comments
Haha. I got my boyfriend to watch that movie... He told me he cried. It was sweet(:

Nickster said...
on Apr. 28 2011 at 9:04 am
guys never want to admit they like chick flicks! haha

on Feb. 25 2011 at 1:25 pm
Ha! that was great! Us guys try to follow "Man Code" as much as possible, but The Notebook was a great movie. I like how it is easily entertaining.

on Feb. 20 2011 at 9:28 pm
writefromtheheart BRONZE, Knoxville, Tennessee
4 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
Stand up for what you believe in, even if that means standing alone.

If you liked 'The Notebook' you'll love 'A Walk To Remember'!

vocabgirl said...
on Dec. 19 2010 at 11:40 am
vocabgirl, Carson, California
0 articles 0 photos 3 comments
In fact The author of the movie The Notebook is a man, His name is Nicholas Sparks.