Kyle: A somewhat true story about seemingly idiotic teenaged affections

Introduction:

During my teenage years, I had a friend who I’ll refer to as Kyle. Kyle was a great Christian guy who remains that to this day. However, during our high school years, Kyle went through a series of events that were particularly dramatic and challenging for both him and me. It is from these events in his life that I base this story.

Along with my own eye-witness accounts, Kyle gave to me his journal from this season of his life shortly after the conclusion of said events. Though this journal is not quoted extensively, know that entries from it greatly influenced the information found herein. His reason behind the donation of his journal is, as he put it; “I remember it well enough on my own.”

So, it is with the confidence of honesty and integrity that I present this story to you from my own point of view, along with information and deeper understanding provided by Kyle’s own pen. And, of course, since this is based in truth, names and places have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved.

I believe there is value in what is written in these pages and I plead with you to read with an open heart and a learning spirit. We can learn much from the trials of others and I feel the episodes that I will discuss provide ample opportunities to be challenged in our thinking, feeling, and perception of both ourselves and others.

My goal in writing this is to present you with honest truth and to challenge you to consider yourself within the pages of this book.

I feel, though, as if I must make some clarifications about the words written down here. In an effort to stay true to the actual events while trying to convey the general message which Kyle and I hope to, I am inclined to inform you that certain events and situations may not be recorded exactly as others may remember.

Kyle and I decided that there must be some element of artistic freedom taken in order to capture the emotion and to convey what we see as a general, over-arching significance in the series of events.

For those who may have been there during this season, please do not lose the forest for the trees. That is, if a certain episode is not recorded exactly as you recall don’t let it detract from the greater meaning within these pages.

That being said, I’ve tried to write with integrity and accuracy. Kyle thinks I’ve done a pretty good job.

With that, let us begin on this journey.

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Chapter 1: The Confession.

For a teenaged Christian boy, going to a public high school; Kyle Banks had it pretty much going on. His locker was in the right place, he sat at the right table at lunch, and his yearbook was always signed by the most popular people.

Quite startling was that he was able to manage walking this social tight-rope all while maintaining his own personal integrity.

I vividly recall an October afternoon (days from my birthday) where Kyle came over in his usual unannounced manner and informed me of a crush that was developing in his adolescent heart. This was not an unusual occurrence as Kyle and I would often swap stories of girls who were stealing our attention.

But this one boyish moment is significantly engrained in my mind because as Kyle sat in my basement on the gross grey hide-a-bed, wearing his dark blue Levi’s and black zip-up, he explained to me, with a disturbingly convincing tone, that the girl who was slowly but surely stealing his heart was none other than the girl with the most colourful reputation in the school.