Friends of School Days Past

I made my usual trip back home for Christmas to spend time with my family and friends. This Christmas was quieter than usual but that suited me, it gave me some quiet time for reflection on what can only be describe as a year of two halves. Lots of positive experiences with an equal amount of negative ones.

On one of my days back home, I had some paper work to file at Belfast City Hall. I put on the casual of casual clothes, more for the warmth than to make a fashion statement, considering the -6oC temp outside. I didn't put gel in my hair as it would've been frozen before I got to the car. Though I do remember days when frozen gel was a regular occurrence as I wouldn't go to school without it. I hadn't shaved, had cheap fake ugg boots on hidden under my jeans. Lets just say i was looking a bit rough!

On walking towards City Hall the one thing that I was dreading started to walk towards me. It was an old school friend. My brain went into over load, turn the corner, put your head down & walk on by, look into the shop window, ignore, ignore, ignore. My conscience quickly got the better of me and I waved from a distance and as he approached both our face lit up and we greeted each other with a proper Belfast "Well, whataboutye?" This followed by a good twenty minute conversation about how our lives have changed since school and what we are up to now. We said our goodbyes and I walked with a new spring in my step, having been uplifted by our conversation and relieved that he clearly didn't give a shit what I looked like but was genuinely pleased to see me.

Fast forward 90 minutes, leaving City Hall, walking towards car I seen another old school friend walking towards me! "Of all days that I don't want to meet anyone, here comes another" I thought. Feeling uplifted by my earlier chat I walked confidently in the direction of the on-coming old friend only to be shot down by the "head to the ground and pretend you don't see him stance" So we past each other totally ignoring the 7 years that we spent in school together, probably wondering what each other was up too and feeling totally embarrassed by how he dealt with a ghost of school days past.

So, the next time you get the urge to put your head down and ignore the oncoming friend fight against it and lift your head up, smile and say "Well, whataboutye?" in the strongest Belfast accent you can muster!

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After thought, maybe he was ashamed to talk to someone with fake Pennys ugg boots on or didn't recognise me without gel in my hair but hey my feet were definitely warm and my head wasn't frozen!