Here’s an invaluable lesson I learnt at a really early age. I was seven, at Redhill Primary School and I had a friend called, Andrea Birse. Everyone, including the teachers, just loved her. She was blonde, always wore a long ponytail, and she was very loud and opinionated. I was the opposite but I admired her because she was pretty and popular.
Glen Carlyle was in our class and he was a real goody-two-shoes who would always talk when the teacher had her back turned but then blame someone else. He had blues eyes and brown hair and an annoying habit of flicking his fringe to the side even though it was never in the way. (Imagine the Justin Bieber flip but in the 70’s wearing a blue zip up top and tan corduroy’s.) One morning during interval Glen wrote a note to Andrea asking if she would go around with him. We were all like, “Wow, Andrea has a boyfriend…wow”. Half an hour later she was bossing him around and making him hold her books and sit next to her. Girls learned fast at that age.
During the afternoon Glen came up to me: -
Glen: “Natasha, I have a present for you”.
Me (excited), “Okay, give it to me”.
Glen: “No…um…..I have to give it to you outside.”
Me: (sigh) “Okay let’s go”
We get outside and my impatience gets the better of me so just outside the classroom on the asphalt where we played netball I go:
Me: “Give me my present”.
Glen: “NO, I have to give it to you behind the handball wall”.
Me: “Why?”
Glen: “Just cos, come on” and he went to grab my hand which I shook away.
Me: “Give it to me now. I want my present NOW!”.
Glen: “Oh…okay then” and he moved his face towards mine and went to kiss me on the mouth. I saw his face coming because he flicked his head to the side giving me a chance to shove him and he fell over backwards.
I ran into the classroom and without even thinking went straight up to Andrea and said, “Ewww yuck Andrea, your boyfriend Glen just tried to kiss me but I pushed him over”. I thought she would find it gross and funny. Unfortunately she didn’t.
She got very angry and walked right up to him screaming, “You’re dumped” and then she cried. Andrea never spoke to me again and whenever she did it was loudly to her friends that I broke her and Glen up because I was “easy”. Sure enough they got back together; he told her I kissed him. I “accidentally” gave him a bloody nose during bull-rush a week later.
From that moment I learnt to a) never get myself in that situation ever again and b) when someone says they’re going to give me a present, to do it with witnesses.
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