Pretty Ugly

Image by Thorsten Frenzel from Pixabay

Dion stared out the window, replaying yesterday’s football game in his mind. He found visualizing the things that worked and those that didn’t improved his game. It was a trick his first coach had taught him.

“Are you even listening to me?” Tracy shoved his arm.

Dion’s elbow slipped off the table and he startled back into the present, the hum of the school cafeteria replacing the roar of the football game. “No, sorry, babe. What were you saying?”

Tracy pointed her chin at Leslie, one of her favorite targets. “Look at what she’s got on her plate. French fries and a hamburger. No wonder she’s fat.”

Something snapped in Dion. He had started dating Tracy last year because that’s what quarterbacks did, right? They dated the head cheerleader. And she was gorgeous. But some things only went skin deep.

“What does it matter what she looks like?”

“Seriously? She’s a loser, Dion. No wonder no one likes her.”

“She has friends, Tracy. Just not your friends.”

“But that’s what I mean. No one important likes her.”

“And you’re important? Why? Because you bounce around in a cheerleader’s uniform and all you care about is how you look?”

“Why are you getting at me?” Tracy glared at Dion with that look that took all the prettiness out of her face. The one that showed the ugliness inside. “I take care of my body for you.”

“No.” Dion shook his head. “No, you don’t. You take care of your body for you. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s good to care about your health. Except that’s not why you do it. You do it so everyone will admire you. You do it so you can lord it over everyone else.”

“What?”

Dion turned his eyes to Leslie. “Do you know what Leslie does?”

“I don’t care what she does.”

“I know. Leslie studies. All the time. She wants to study some genetic disorder that makes kids die before they can grow up. She does what she does to try to make the world a better place. Who cares if she weighs more than you do? She cares about something other than herself.”

Tracy spluttered. “Are you saying I’m selfish?”

“I’m saying I’m not sure what I ever saw in you.”

“You don’t mean that. This discussion is getting out of hand. Why don’t we blow off the rest of the day and head to…”

“No. I don’t think so. Not this time. You and I don’t fit. We never did.”

Tracy’s face went cold. “Maybe you fit better with Miss I’ve Got a Cause over there.” She sneered at Leslie’s back.

“Maybe I do.” Dion pushed back his chair, grabbing his drink as he stood. He headed to Leslie’s table. They hadn’t spoken much since he had started dating Tracy. That had been a mistake. He really missed her sense of humor and all the ways they had connected when they were kids. Maybe she’d be up for a study date.

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I woke up with this flash hanging out in my head, demanding to be written. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Sometimes it just takes a while for us to realize what’s really attractive.