Are they popular? Are they not? A mysterious conversation between the eldest and second son
I had gone to bed early because I was tired and was drifting off into a daze when the kids came stomping in to go to sleep as well.
It has become my recent daily routine to lazily listen to them chatting away beside me, still full of energy even though they came to bed.
For some reason, the eldest son suddenly said out of the blue.
If there were a train that took you directly to school, would you ride it?
I wouldn't.
Whaaat, why! It would take you all the way to school, you know? It would be easy, right?
Hmm. I guess I'd ride it if I tried it once and it was good...
The cautious second son replied. Then, the eldest son suddenly said,
I get it! You don't want to because you'd be popular and surrounded by girls, right!
I was so dazed that this unexpected retort woke me right up. The second son was surprised too.
No, I'm not popular.
Even though he said that, the eldest son persisted.
Just be honest. You're popular, aren't you?
I'm not popular. If I had to say, I'm just average.
(If you're going to say that, shouldn't it be 'if I had to force myself to say,' second son?)
The second son likes using difficult words, but sometimes he uses them incorrectly. Well, that's cute in its own way, I suppose. Just as I was thinking that, the eldest son said something that blew my mind. 'Huh, that's strange. I'm popular, though.' 'WHAT!!! You're popular!?' ← Second son. '(He's popular!?' ← Me). I was dying to ask him to explain in detail why he thought he was popular, but since I was pretending to be asleep, I couldn't ask, and the conversation ended. It's true that the eldest son is supported by one girl in the lower grades, but am I the only one who thinks that the girls in his own grade don't see him as a romantic interest at all because of his childish personality? Well, whatever the truth is, it seems like you can live a happier life thinking you're popular, even if it's just a delusion (no offense), rather than thinking you're not. Come to think of it, my husband also often says, 'I was popular when I was in elementary school.' I haven't confirmed what the basis for that is. What does it mean to be popular, I wonder? These are the things I think about as I drift off to sleep on a long autumn night. What does being popular mean to all of you?