CK & KK Ficlets and Non-Ficlets

Yasmine's Letter to Demetri

Dear Demetri,

I look back at how I became the outcast I am now, and I view it as a much-needed blessing in disguise of sorts for me. It was also like waking from a nightmare, and I never want to go back, either — back to being that mean popular girl I once was.

And there's a good reason for that; I'm not exactly proud of who I used to be. I'd eventually realized Sam and then Moon had obviously grown tired of my cruel behavior towards others.

But I do want to apologize for how I'd treated you then, Demetri; I was having a bad day, but that doesn't justify my looking down on you. I will do my best in making it up to you for what I did, even if it means offering to help you in calming yourself when it's your turn to have a bad day (although my hunch tells me you can relate to how that feels).

Now, I see you as a cool guy — the kind of person who the old me would've looked right past. The new me, on the other hand, took a second look at you and liked what she saw then (and still does, even now) while finally releasing and embracing her own nerdy side. I felt you were different too. Different in a good way, good different.

Do you recall the time I admitted to loving how you talked nerdy? Well, I meant every word of it then, and I still do now. I might as well be honest; before then, I had discovered my own secret nerdy side, deep down where almost no one else ever saw it. Ever since then, I am so, so glad I took the opportunity to fully embrace that part of me.

Thanks, Demetri, my love. If it hadn't been for you, your genius intelligence and your strong capacity for forgiveness (as I well know from how you showed me kindness after I'd admitted I knew how it felt to be a laughingstock), let's just say I don't even want to know where I'd be, or where I would've ended up.

Now that I think about it, my downfall from being the mean girl I used to be was definitely my own fault. The way someone treats others usually has a way of coming back to that person, and I've since learned that the hard way. I deserved to simultaneously lose my popularity and become an outcast on the night of my "sweet 16" birthday after I was introduced to the front wedgie thanks to Aisha during the beach party at the lake.

Losing my popularity had hurt only a little, but losing Moon's friendship had hurt a lot; I left her behind the one time she wanted something for herself.

When I recall that fateful night, I remember Moon's showing me she rejected my bullying ways with her actions when she stood up to me the way she did. I've never forgotten that — and I never will, either.

I told her, "Come on, Moon. Let's go" (as I'd noticed the presence of the students who had gotten to the lake before me because I hadn't invited them to my birthday party).

Moon's reply, however, was something which initially surprised me (although I did my best to hide it). She firmly disagreed with me, saying she chose to be at the lake (along with your friend Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz, who was also there with her), and had apologized to Aisha for both the bullying and the prank from the Halloween Dance (which was what she meant when she said, "No. I'm staying. I apologized to Aisha for what we did, and you should too" while I initially remained silent, letting my eyes do the talking). Basically, she showed me she'd had it with my treating others badly, and had also vowed to stop being the kind of bully I formerly was. Good for her.

As for Kyler, I now see him as an enemy on my end, mostly because I didn't find it one bit funny when everyone else (except myself, along with Miguel, Hawk, and the Miyagi-Do students) laughed at his vandalism of your cast when he drew male genitalia on it. After seeing what he did to you, I felt a slightly sharp twinge of guilt for my past actions zip right through me, while also realizing that Sam had been telling the truth and Kyler had been trying to make her look bad. Plus, I look back at that now, and I simply cannot believe I'd been friends with Kyler the whole time; heck, he was more respected among my friend group than I had obviously been.

When the video of my introduction to the front wedgie went viral after it was uploaded to YouTube, things went from bad to worse for me. For one thing, Kyler and Brucks made it painfully clear they didn't want anything to do with me, and dropped me like a bad habit.

Thankfully, Moon still stood by me (despite sternly telling me I'd have to prove I would change for the better if I still wanted to be her friend after I'd returned from Paris, which she was right on point about). But the other girls who were regulars at the "rich girl" table were a different story. Believing I deserved my outcast status in a way (which I obviously did, to be honest), they gave me the cold shoulder by not only leaving my texts unanswered, but also making sure I wasn't invited to the parties and concerts they were going to (which I recall had happened during the weeks before my trip to Paris).

Saddened by this, I then realized how Sam must've felt when Moon and I disinvited her to the concert we posted selfies and videos of.

I've since learned it hurts to be on the other side as the target of bullying. But, Demetri, I'm glad I eventually swallowed my pride and began to warm up to you when we were paired together for the science project. And I meant it when I said your diorama showing what scientists believed the Valley looked like during the time of the dinosaurs with a volcano using Legos was not bad. In fact, it was amazing; I knew my hunch was right when I saw how hard you worked on it, and it definitely showed you have a strong passion for creativity too.

Every time I look at the picture of your science project, I smile as I think of it, and how much work you put into it (which I recall you said had taken you three weeks to make).

I wish you all the best, Demetri. I love you, and I know you'll stay true in who you are a hundred percent of the time; William Shakespeare was right when he said, "To thine own self be true."

~Your loving girlfriend,

Yasmine 💐😘