Dad: ”Are you ready for tomorrow’s test?”
Me: ” Yes”
Dad: ” Study more tonight before you fo to bed”
Me: ” I thought all-nighters weren’t good for you?”
Dad: ” Nonsense, everyone can do what they best for them selves”

(He never liked all-nighters and people who do them, so this was weird)

When I was in college, I worked in an arcade at a local mall. One day, a guy and his buddy came in. Things happened and we started chatting and then he asked me for my number. He was kind of cute, so I gave him my number and said yes to a date the next Friday (this was Saturday). Hindsight being what it is, I should have just stopped at the flirting and chatting.

About 5 minutes after he left, he started sending me random inspirational/chain message things like “I’ve got an angel watching over me”, etc. It admittedly weirded me out, but I just started ignoring those messages. Throughout the week, he’d randomly text me the messages and also seemed to get a little huffy if I didn’t respond immediately. I’d told him that I was still in school, and didn’t answer during class outside of specific circumstances (i.e. Family emergency) and I also have a habit of setting my phone down when I’m at home, so I don’t always answer right away. Every time he’d complain about me not answering, I’d repeat the thing about classes.

The day of the date arrived and we were going to a movie. He showed up late, in shoes with holes in them, torn shorts and a dirty wife beater. (I’m not a fashionista, but I mean, come on, try a bit, please! I was wearing jeans and a sweater and I’d grabbed a fancy scarf). During the movie, he fell asleep twice. When the movie was over, I had to go to the bathroom and was gone maybe five seconds before he’s texting me asking if I’d run away. I’ve never wished for a back door out of a bathroom so much in my life. I said no to another date.

You would think that was the end of it…it wasn’t

A few months later, I’m at work and I get these random text messages on my phone in the vein of “Hey, how’s it going”, “What are you up to”, etc. I didn’t realize it was him, because I’d deleted his number. I attempted to ignore the messages, but they kept coming, so I finally sent a “who is this?” one. I got a response “Oh, it’s [name], ha ha.”

Took me a minute to remember and I sent back something like “oh, how are you?”. We chatted back and forth for a moment and then he got to the reason he was texting me: His mom was in the hospital and not expected to make it through the night and he had no way to get there. He wanted me to come give him a ride. I told him no because I was at work (I also hadn’t driven myself that night, but I wasn’t about to tell him that). He started begging me, asking me to please come get him. I stayed firm on the whole “I’m at work” thing and started giving him other ideas: Take a bus, call a cab, call his cousin, ask a neighbor. He shot down all my ideas: no money for bus or cab, cousin unavailable, neighbors aren’t home. Then he asked if he could get to me, if I could give him a ride to the hospital. In my mind, I’m wondering if he can get to me, why can’t he get to the hospital, but I just reiterated that I was working.

He finally left me alone. I have no idea if his mom really was in the hospital or what his end goal was, but man did it creep me out.

(I have a form of anxiety, undiagnosed, because my parents swear it’s all in my head and refuse to take me to a mental health specialist to find out. I know they’re trying to save money, as I turned 18 last month and will be going to college soon, but it’s really messing with my social life.
They also don’t like that most of my friends are online, a lot of whom I trust with more sensitive information than my parents. Trust me, all this information is needed for the story.)
So one night I was feeling especially anxious, on the verge of a breakdown and with no one to talk to IRL (in real life). One of my online friends noticed I was having a hard time and private messaged me, asking what was wrong, if he could help, all that wonderful friend magic. And it helped, a lot, thankfully.
The next day, I told my mom I had had a mental breakdown (which I did have just before my friend texted me) and she wouldn’t believe me, called me dramatic and asking what my breakdown was about just to prove me wrong.
But here’s the thing: Not all breakdowns have a single origin point. Mine stemmed from stress, anxiety, “adulting”, and so many smaller things it would have taken me a while to count them all.
I explained this to her and she still wouldn’t believe me. Is it that hard to recognize when someone needs your help? I’ve been trying to prove to them that I have anxiety and white possibly depression for the last two years of high school. Apparently I’m so untrustworthy because I trust my online friends more than my parents that I can’t possibly be telling the truth.
It’s going to be a long summer.

(My brother got a cat as a present, and he likes to bully it. He doesn’t hit it but he likes to sneak up, make a loud noise and scare it, and he likes to throw punches at it, and stop right before contact. Naturally, this upsets me to the point that I’ve nightmares about him throwing his cat to dogs. I’ve had a special understanding with cats since I’m nervous to any aggression too.)

Me: “Dont be a bully!”

Brother: “I don’t want no scaredy cat. I want a big mean tough alley cat as a pet!”

(Later, we’re on his bed talking, and his cat jumps up on the bed and goes directly to a fuzzy blanket and starts kneading.)

Cat: “Prrrp prrp prrr.”

Me: “Aw, it’s missing its mother.”

Brother: “What?”

Me: “I read that cats do that to their mothers, so he’s remembering her.”

(Brother was silent, and then after that he was more gentle with the cat.)

(My BIL just got married to my sister in a shotgun wedding and none of us like him very much, but are still polite to him nonetheless. If he’s not strung out, he’s grumpy. One day, he decides to buy us some Chinese food.)

BIL: “Did you like the food?!”

Me & Sis: “Yes we did, thanks!!”

BIL: *screaming* “I’m not asking for thanks, I don’t need it!!”

Me & Sis: “Uh, Ok? We take it back then!”

BIL: *growls*

(This happened when we were on vacation and I was paying for the stay and travel. He didn’t thank me even though he knew. Guess he really hates thanks! My sister later said he acted like that because he did a lot of drugs! Nice, sis!… Thankfully, years later, they divorced.)