I don't think she knew what she was getting into when she admitted to us about her "problem" with people touching her knees, and asked us to avoid contact. Of course to a group of 17-year-olds you might as well have said, "I love it when people grab my knees! Go ahead, touch them!" That is when the torture began. I don't think a day went by without one of us trying to see if we could touch her knee without her noticing. When we were really bored or feeling malicious someone would start in, "Hey do you know what would be awful? If someone tried to take out your kneecap with a spoon!" Which would cause her to jerk into the fetal position and cover her ears, as we all start discussing forms of knee torture. At parties sometimes one of the guys would pin her down as someone else would proceed to grab her knees.
Looking back on it now she probably should have pressed charges or gotten new friends. But without our "help" she probably would be in some mental institution in a straight jacket trying to fight off the people in her head that are attacking her knees. But fortunately the last time I asked her about it, it seemed as though she had come to terms with her knee problem and coping quit nicely. Now that I think about it we did her a favor, we were kind of like her form of rehab. Maybe that is all a person needs to do to get rid of their phobias is to have good friends that will just torture the phobia out of you. This could be the next Oprah special!
I like that form of rehab! Although it did seem cure it made me laugh. That might be mean of me but I would probably do the same thing to one or many of my friends. Does she still tell people she has a phobia I wonder? Or has she learned her lesson? I'm glad she got the help she needed.
ReplyDeleteThis piece makes me laugh, Meagan, but what I like best about it is the way it creates real tension and then releases it. By the end of the second paragraph, even though I'm smiling, I'm feeling a little anxious too. You push your reader's buttons by escalating the possible threat in the attacks on your kneephobic friend. You take us from brief, sneaky touches to "malicious" spoon threats, to boys holding her down... And then you say exactly what a little whisper in the back
ReplyDeleteof my head is starting to say: "She probably should have pressed charges or gotten new friends." And I'm with you again! Beautifully
structured.
I really liked this piece. It was funny and relatable. We all have that one friend who because of a habit or in your case a phobia makes them an easier target for jokes. I liked the part about "press[ing] charges." The piece really depicted the siutation with your friend and her knee phobia. Very entertaining piece overall.
ReplyDelete