At First I Was Afraid. I was Petrified.
I originally planned to use the title “Reunited, and it feels so good” but that felt too obvious for a high school reunion.
Anyway, as common sense told me (but my anxiety-ridden brain simply wouldn’t accept) the reunion was great fun and nothing to be worried about. Randy could tell I was nervous in the car as we drove to the event since I just kept rambling, saying stuff like “this is where Carolyn used to live, this is where we used to mini-golf, this is the Melody Tent, our prom was here.”
The poor guy…he does have to put up with a lot.
Though, the second we entered the reunion, the bastard excused himself to run to the bathroom, leaving me along with what, at first glance, appeared to a a mobbed bar full of strangers. But in the few minutes he was away, I got hugged or greeted by 4 or 5 people. We then made the rounds and for the first 15-30 minutes or so, it felt like a constant parade of people screaming “KARL!” and running over for hugs. My fears of coming off as the least popular person at BHS were quickly dismissed and it all put me into a comfortable space.
Although a few people looked completely diferent, most people ended up being recognizable. Certain cliques still kept together, but I can’t judge. For the most part, I also kept with the people I hung out with in high school. But I did manage to mingle and reconnect with people I was friends with in elementary school but lost contact with by the time high school came around.
All in all, it was great fun…with great food, too. The coordinators did a bang-up job. Though, one thing I could have done without was a slideshow presentation being projected on 20 (or more) TV screens placed throughout the sports bar. Since I had so many photos from elementary school and high school posted on Facebook, the planners just took them all an uploaded them. Consequently, I seemed to appear in substantially more photos than other classmates. UGH
And despite an almost guaranteed sarcastic response in the comments section from Randy that he hated the event, he admitted to me that he did enjoy himself. Well, he enjoyed himself as much as a guy could around 155 complete strangers. Even still, at least 10 people ran up to him screaming “RANDY!” since they all seemed to know him from my Facebook profile and photos.
Now I actually look forward to my 25th reunion. Though, in the weeks before I’m sure I’ll still be riddled with anxiety. It’s part of my charm. And I hope next time a few other gay classmates show up (or come out). I was the only one at the entire event. I do know of two other gay guys from my class, but they’ve seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth over the past two decades.
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