High School Reunion Horror Stories: Bursting With The Belated Eloquence Of The Inarticulate

This weekend, so-called adults will have awkward high school reunions all across America. We asked you for your worst high school reunion horror stories. We're publishing our favorites during the holiday. Here's one, from a reader who wants his name withheld.

I went to high school in an at-the-time exurban area outside Houston. I had a steady GF throughout, and due to our academic prowess and friends within the jockocracy we were among the best circle at the school. In my eyes, the most spectacular girl in school was an all-state volleyball player and all-around wonderful girl we'll call "J." She had a very steady BF who was rugged and handsome, a hunting/fishing type of redneck common in the area.

By the time of my 10th reunion, I'd broken up with my HS GF, who was unable to escape the rural side of exurbia while I was drawn towards the urban aspects of life. It was an amicable parting, but that's not especially relevant here. As with many of you, when thinking about my 10th reunion, I wanted very much to impress my classmates. I'd been dating an attractive girl from Australia, casually. I decided to invite her to the reunion, so I wouldn't look like a loser. I can also tell you that I had filled out nicely since HS and was not unattractive.

I can tell you the rest of the story, if you haven't guessed it. At the reunion, "J" was there unattached. She had married her BF and then they got divorced due to the whole drinking/fighting thing. And there's more. "J" was an exceptional student, and she'd gone on to get her Master's degree in the same scientific field as I studied. A Master's for a girl from our area was unheard of. And she was teaching the subject in HS (I was teaching in a local university).

And, she confided in me, during an alone moment when my date had slipped away to the restroom, that I was handsome and she's always liked me, a lot. Again, bear in mind we are talking Amazonia perfection here—six feet tall, blonde hair, blue eyes—the works. After the reunion, I literally marked my calendar for 60 days. I was going to call her after an appropriate period of time to chat her up. I didn't want to call right away because I wanted her to think my date and I were a bit serious so she wouldn't think I was a cad. So, 60 days later, I eagerly called her. And, she informed me she had just met someone and they were beginning to see each other. And, the rest of the story is, she would go on to marry the guy and they are presumably living happily ever after. To this day, the lack of self-confidence heading into that reunion is the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life.

Image: Konrad Bak/ Stockfresh.