One time at band camp…
Maybe in order for me to figure this out I need to delve back deeper into my past. Maybe right back to the beginning?
Back in elementary school I used to play various stringed instruments (predominately the violin and the double bass). I was auditioning for the City Orchestra where I met my first ever real crush. We were sitting in an auditorium of a high school facing the stage with its curtains closed. They would call us up individually and play behind the closed curtains in front of a jury panel for everyone to hear. This auditions for those TV dancing shows.
I spotted Wendy out right away and sat next to her and her friend. This was probably my first attempt at talking to a random girl. I have no memories of what was said, but I did remember her asking if I was going to the summer band camp. If I wasn’t going, I sure was after that. Just before I was called up, I remember giving her my number.
I made the City Orchestra and she didn’t. We kept in touch, but never met up because she lived on the other side of town. Well, it may have well been the other side of town to a 13 year old. We would talk on the phone probably once a week, but I have no recollection about what.
The next time I would see her would be at camp. We hung out the entire week doing all the activities together and she was my music partner. I found out she was thinking of attending the same high school I was planning to, and I was ecstatic.
Wendy was on her school volleyball team, and so was I. We played beach volleyball at camp almost every day from what I remember. She went on to become the first girl I had a slow dance with and the first kiss on the cheek I ever gotten from someone not related to me.
At the end of camp, I had arranged for my dad to drive her home from where the bus had dropped us off.
I don’t remember why, but we didn’t talk the rest of the summer. She may have went on a family vaction, or I was too busy playing baseball, but either way it wasn’t anything of significance that I could remember. I just knew that it was only going to be a few weeks until high school started and that I’d see her again.
I spent the first day or two running around the entire school trying to find her, but no luck. Whatever the reason, I didn’t have the courage to call her up and ask. I did eventually meet someone who went to elementary school with her and found out she chose to go to another high school. And that was it. I never called her again.
I did do my best to make the volleyball team, hoping that maybe by playing at different schools, I might just run into her again someday. I also stayed with the strings program.
A couple of years later, I went on to work as a telemarketer for the Symphony. I was a superstar there. Even though I only worked there in the summers, I had been the leading sales person the months I was there. One month I was even the top 10 sales person in all of north america. This company represented all the major Symphonies in North America.
Even though I was only 16, I was asked to train the new staff. It was a call center and most of the new staff were all teenagers like myself. Right away I remember being drawn to this tallish Asian girl from the group. She was gorgeous and seemed very familiar. It was Wendy! She came over to report to me, but it was obvious she had no clue who I was. I went through the whole training routine and she went on without once giving any indications she had remembered who I was.
At the end of the shift as she left, I bolted after her.
“You went to band camp a few years back right?” I asked her.
She seemed surprised and responded yes. I told her who I was, and that we had spent that whole time together. She was friendly about it but didn’t show any of the excitment I had running through me. We chatted while she waited for the bus. We talked about life in school, and what was happening. I found out she had given up volleyball and music all together. We didn’t get into too much before the bus came. We said our goodbyes. This was on a Friday, and I remember thinking I’d get another chance on Monday. To this date, 20 years later, I remember how excited I was that weekend. I had barley slept. Monday couldn’t come around fast enough.
Monday came, and I was at work early and ready to continue training the new crop of recruits. Wendy didn’t show up. She never did again. I was informed she decided to drop out and that the call center was not her thing.
That was the last time I ever saw her. Crazily enough, I still think about her. I tried doing a search on Facebook and Google. Not that I’d call her or do anything about it, but I’m just curious to see what ever happend to my first real crush.
