021 Freak the Geek

So you all know about John Green. Or most of you do. If you don't know who he is, check out our Book Corners page and you will see pretty much all of his books. And after that, you can click on our links page and there are three links dedicated to him.

He's known for his writing because he speaks the truth, he has quirky, unique, and lovable characters, and he has a fantastic sense of humor. In The Fault in Our Stars, he swells up our hearts and make us love and adore the characters... and then proceeds to stomp on them (both our hearts and the characters) with the heel of a stiletto. In fact, John Green describes Hazel describing Augustus's cancer as "a one-legged fat man wearing a stiletto heel standing on the middle of his chest". But you and I know this isn't true. It isn't John, or Hazel, or Augustus that's being described. It's those of us stupid enough to open the book, fail to realize that the book could blow our feelings apart, and keep on reading to the end. And I am one of those people.

In any case, here's a quote I found from one of his lesser known works, a short story called "Freak the Geek" from an anthology of short stories called Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd. It's about two girls in a private school: a geeky, shy girl named Lauren (the narrator) and a geeky, not-shy girl named Kayley, her best friend. The ritual at their school is for the the popular kids to "freak the geek", or, in other words, massively prank the girl(s) they find the geekiest. Lauren and Kayley are 'freaked' by a paintball war in which (surprise surprise) they are not the ones wielding the guns. As they run into the woods and hide under a bridge, Kayley sort of blows up on Lauren by telling her that the reason they're running from their own classmates and considered the two least liked girls in the entire school is because Lauren is "meek". Lauren responds by telling her the following:

You know, you're a total know-it-all. And it's incredibly rude sometimes; I mean, you're not perfect either, and you act like it's my fault but it's not my fault for being quiet or your fault for being a know-it-all. It's not your problem or my problem; it's their problem. They're the demented ones, not us, so don't take it out on me, because the only thing that holds anything together for me is having someone else on the Not Demented Team.
(Lauren to Kayley)

- John Green, "Freak the Geek", Geektastic

This quote sort of intrigues me. Because it's interesting to think that being the way you are isn't your fault if someone doesn't like it. It's their fault for thinking that way. Me, I don't think any opinion can be wrong or right, and I really don't think an opinion can be someone's fault, but it's an interesting thought to consider.

- Quibbles 8/7/14

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -