A Tale Of Two Wades

How well do we really know people?

Let me tell you a story about two guys named Wade.

Wade No. 1 was someone everybody knew. He liked everyone, and everyone liked him. He was a straight-A student and a talented athlete, a rarity in any school. Even more rare was that despite his notoriety, he was also one of the nicest students in the school. He always had a kind word for everyone. As a result, teachers loved him, students loved him and all the parents who came every Friday night to cheer the school on loved him.

Now, Wade No. 2 was a guy that was almost completely unknown. He spent a lot of time in his room by himself trying to numb his pain and loneliness with whatever he could find. If he couldn't find something good on Netflix, he would search for porn. If he tired of porn, he would swipe some liquor from his father's cabinet. He would only take one bottle a night, tops. What difference did it make anyway? His dad was always passed out at this time anyway, and it's not like he'd be in any condition to count the bottles in the morning! He almost wished his dad would notice just once. Even if he was pissed off about it, at least then Wade would know that his father knew who he was!

Well, it was time for the Homecoming elections! Nobody knew why they were having elections...Wade No. 1 had been the winner for the past three years and seemed a shoe-in to finally be elected Homecoming King his senior year! Nobody minded, of course, because he did seem the most obvious choice. What they did find awe-inspiring and irritating simultaneously is that he didn't even seem to care. If he didn't win, he would probably just congratulate the guy and move on with his life! But, it was obvious that that would never be a problem. He would be in that parade, sure enough.

Wade No. 2 was finishing season 2 of "Friends," or "How I Met Your Mother"...he wasn't sure which. They all blended together after awhile. These shows always produced simultaneous laughter and depression because he knew he would be called back to his reality later. "You know what," he thought. "Why not cut to the chase, so to speak?" He opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out his secret albeit oft-used razor. He pulled off the blade and cut as deep into his arm as he could without destroying a vein. He didn't want to kill himself...not yet, anyway.

Wade No. 1 had pulled an unprecedented move...He had, of course, won the Homecoming election. What nobody expected, was that he had relinquished his title to the runner-up! "I've had three chances. It was time to give it to someone else," he told everyone. "Besides, I won't be needing this anyway." Nobody quite understood what he meant by that statement, but his generosity had made him more of a hero in everyone's eyes!

Wade No. 2 had had enough. The previous night, his dad had come in, drunker than anything, and said, "You think I'm a @#%&ing idiot, boy? I know you've been stealin' my drinks!" then proceeded to beat his son senseless. Thankfully, the blows had been mostly below the head, and the ones that were on the face were nothing a little cover-up couldn't cure, so nobody had noticed at school. Wade sat at his desk for a long, long time before he reached his final decision. He reached for a different drawer than the one he had reached for the other nights. He pulled out the handgun that he had swiped from his father's dresser drawer months earlier. Wade chuckled, "I guess you're more of a @#%&ing idiot than you know, Dad." With that, he placed the gun under his chin and pulled the trigger...

The school heard the news the next day and was stunned! Everyone's hero, Wade No. 1 was now dead...A guy everyone loved and who loved everyone, except apparently himself. Who would have guessed a guy like that could have been dying inside for so long a time?

This is me. This is you. This is everyone!