Catfish: The Other Side of the Screen

Chapter 2

Christmas is and always will be my favorite holiday. Everyone becomes so cheerful and nice. Going to the mall in December is a whole new experience as opposed to going any other time of the year. You can even spend outrageous amounts of money and you feel like you didn't because it's for those you care about or even for yourself.

On Christmas day of my sophomore year in high school, I got a message from a very good-looking guy in New York asking for my phone number. His name was Brody. He was tall, had black flowy hair, the best-looking nose I had seen in my entire life and from what I could see in his pictures, he was very tall. I went through his profile and I saw no signs of him having anything close to a girlfriend. Because come on, I had limits. At least one thing I respected.

Mind you, that was the first time anything like that had ever happened to me. An unbelievably attractive guy was asking for my phone number. Completely ignoring the fact that there would probably be terrible consequences for my decisions because duh, the pictures, I gave him my real phone number. He then proceeded to text me.

Brody: Hey, Amanda.

I can't explain the excitement I felt. I wanted to come up with something witty and memorable to answer because I wanted him to be lured in.

Me: I'm assuming this is Brody.

Brody: What? Were you expecting anyone else? Anything less? Yes, it's me, Brody.

And just like that, Brody and I had a day long interchange of text messages. I don't know if it was the fact that it was Christmas or the combination of that and the fact that he was actually a gentleman but it was one of the best conversations I've had to this day. This had never happened to me. He was into me just as I was into him. He kept messaging me and I didn't even know how to handle all of the attention this guy was giving me. Not only that but he was also very attractive. I was ecstatic. Weeks went by and along came New Year's eve.

Brody: Good morning, Amanda. Are you ready to receive the new year? What are your goals and resolutions?

When I got this text, somehow, I completely forgot who I was pretending to be and I answered honestly.

Me: I am ready to get into the new year. I want to lose weight.

Brody: Lose weight? Your body is literally perfect. Why on earth would you want to lose weight?

FUCK! I almost gave myself away with that one. I went numb for a couple of seconds and realized how much of a dumbfuck I was for almost burning myself.

Me: Oh no no, I mean I want to tone up.

Tone up? Who even says that? But as stupid as I sounded, I thought I was off the hook.

Before that new year arrived, we were still texting. And then, I got the text message that actually made me tear up.

Brody: You know Amanda, I wanted to mention something to you. There are a lot of things I'm thankful for in this past year. Many good things happened in my life. But without a doubt, one of the best things that happened was getting to know you. I feel like you've been around in my life for so long even though we've only been talking for a couple of days. I hope you stay in my life for years down the road. I feel good and comfortable talking to you and that is a lot more than I can say from anyone else.

Was this too much? Should I have told him the truth right then and there? I probably should have. He would have been mad at me, probably, but I wanted to keep this game going. I was having fun. Anyway, this story wouldn't be the same if I had told him the truth.

These texts eventually led to phone calls and they went from being friendly and cute like they were in the beginning, to romantic and sexual. After having spoken with him a couple of times, this is the conversation I remember most distinctly.