When Wishes Come True

Chase Vespasian. Cool name right? Well everyone around me always thought that. My whole life, I had friends and someone to play with. In elementary school, the first thing any of the other 2nd graders would say to me was: "WOW! You have an awesome name!" But after I got older people didn't want to just hang around me because of my name but also because I had a handsome face, rich parents, and, good grades. I know this might all sound like bragging. I am not trying to show off what I have. But everything that I have feels like it belongs to someone else. Like I was living some other person's life. My classmates never really got to know the real me. The real me is an introvert who has trouble talking to anyone, especially girls. The real me likes to sit in my room and watch comedy movies. The real me likes to read mystery novels. The real me would rather hang out at a cafe all the time and read. But according to everyone else, I am a handsome, rich guy who just has to exist for people to like me. Sometimes I wish that I had a normal name like Ryan or John. All the Ryan's and John's in my school are normal guys they can do whatever they want and don't have a standard to live up to. Or that I wasn't good at school that I was just like the kids who have already given up at going to school. Sometimes I even wish did I was loud and annoying like some of the cheerleaders or the kids from The Debate Club. No one really likes them. And I'm not just saying those things because I want to feel like I'm sympathizing with people who are less privileged than I am. I actually, truly wish that I didn't have as many friends, I wasn't as popular, and my parents didn't have as much money. Well, a week ago that's exactly what happened. I woke up like how I normally do. But when I went to the bathroom to get ready to go to school my face seemed different. It wasn't like I was cursed overnight by a wicked witch or wizard. It was a totally natural thing. I had gotten acne on my forehead and my left cheek. Normally I had very clear skin. But today it was different. I thought that it was great maybe now fewer people would find me attractive or cool. And later as I was heading out to school I realized I had forgotten to finish my homework. But in the car on the way to school, I could not figure out how to do it. It seems like I had forgotten how to do geometry. Even though I was normally very good at it. Maybe it was because of yesterday night. We had won our soccer game and I went over to Jason's house to celebrate with the rest of the team. I was there way later than I should have been and the guys probably put something on my face to make it break out. I had gotten home very late last night and I guess my head was still foggy from winning such an important game. I was overall shocked because we didn't win very often and the other team was a fierce competitor. I think remember being injured at some point during the game. A ball to the head most likely. When I had gotten to school I could tell some kids were very surprised at my acne breakout. I also didn't see a lot of members of my team at school. Most of them weren't all that serious about school. They just go so they can be on as many sports teams as possible. However, nothing changed dramatically until geometry class. Geometry was the only class I had Jason in and I asked him what had happened last night. He said that after we went to his house I was super tired and dizzy because I got hit in the head with the ball at least two times. And as I was sitting on his couch I asked everyone to stand around and listen to me tell them about how I don't like being super popular. I told them about how I had different interests, like mystery novels and comedy movies. And that I never went out on a date because I never dared to ask someone. Last, of all, I told them that the only sport I ever really liked was soccer and that I never really liked going to any other sports games. I was sort of relieved, I thought the whole team now I knew that I wasn't as cool as they thought I was but it turns out that they didn't like that I prefer reading books to playing every sport imaginable. Or that instead of talking to girls I want to watch funny movies. Jason dropped me off at my house and went back to his. So now, I haven't talked to the rest of the team since the party and I know this has been the first week where the people I talk to didn't want to talk to me just because I was popular. I don't know if things will go back to the way they used to be. But I do know it's a lot more fun to talk about your favorite novel rather than going to a sports game that you barely know anything about.