Lessons learned

Michelle Kleeman stopped being my friend because of a phone call. It was a stupid thing to do now that 20 years have gone by. Stupid on my part, not hers.

I knew Michelle since freshman year, but we became much closer friends our senior year. She was the only girl I knew who was pregnant while still a high school student, but in a way, I think that brought us closer together. Michelle was a popular girl, dated one of the popular boys, and she found herself a statistic early on during the school year.

I liked Michelle. Not like as in I wanted to be her boyfriend, but I truly liked being her friend. She was nice to me, and we had fun whenever we were together. It was kind of weird being close to a person who was brewing a child. I was the youngest in my family so I never knew what it was like to see someone go through the pregnancy stages.

Just before Christmas, my friend, Gregg Manglaris, had a brilliant idea, which involved using three way calling. His idea was actually pretty stellar, but I think we tried it on the wrong person. The plan was to call someone using the three was calling feature and during the general conversation, Gregg would comment on things we were saying. Basically, he would put down or contradict whatever the other party said. He would whisper his comments ever so slightly, so as to make the person think that what he/she was hearing was interference. I would claim that I could not hear anything, which of course, was not true.

I was sure that Michelle would love to be a victim of this kind of prank. Gregg was at his house, I was at mine. I dialed her number and brought him on the line. Michelle and I bantered about nothing for a while, and then Gregg began commenting on whatever she said (their words long since forgotten).

Throughout the conversation, Michelle would stop and ask, "Can you hear that?" or "Who is talking?" I pretended not to hear anything, making it seem like she was hearing things. This went on for about 10 minutes before she said that she had to go because the intrusion bothered her. She told me to call her back later, hoping that the phone problem would be fixed.

We hung up, but Gregg was still on the line. Gregg and I immediately began laughing, at her expense. We replayed the conversation, laughing harder and harder as our replay unfolded. After a while, we ended our call. Moments later, my phone rang. It was Michelle, very angry and very hurt. It seems as though when you hang up with a three way call, if the other person picks the line back up shortly after the call ended, the line does not disconnect.

Michelle heard our entire replay. "I never want to speak with you again," were the only words she said before hanging up on me. They were enough. Who needed more? I desperately tried to call her back, but each time she answered and heard my voice, she hung up.

This continued for days and weeks after the incident. I'd call, she'd hang up. She truly never wanted to speak with me again.

Stupidity comes in many forms. Sometimes lessons come when it is too late.