When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Bluff It
I did a quick calculation as they were discussing how they were going to get to the cinema and what they were going to eat. I’d need money for the movie. Bus fare. Snack. Coke. Nope. No way I could do it on my pocket money. I get about a quarter of what my mates get and some weeks when things are really tight, Mum can’t give us anything at all. I took a deep breath and got ready to apply my usual philosophy-
When the going gets tough, the tough bluff it.
“I can’t make it tonight. Mum got me and Dan and Will tickets for the Cyber Queens gig.”
“The Cyber Queens? Wow! You lucky thing!” said Georgie.
“You’ve kept quiet about that this week,” said Megan.
“Those tickets are like the hottest in town.”
Hannah playfully punched my arm. “Yeah. Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Mum only told us last night. It was a surprise for us when we got home.”
“A surprise? That’s so mint,” said Georgie. “She’s so cool your Mum. I wish my Mum did stuff like that. I bet my Mum hasn’t even heard of the Cyber Queens. Can she get the rest of us tickets?”
“Don’t think so,” I replied. “I think she got the last ones.”
“Take your digicamera,” said Hannah, “Take lots of pics to show us.”
“Sure,” I said.
I felt guilty when the bell went for afternoon lessons.
Not only did I not have tickets for the Cyber Queens, I don’t have a digicamera either even though I’d told everyone that my gran had got me one as an early birthday pressie. I lied. I don’t really like doing it but sometimes it’s necessary. I have to make things up so that they don’t think I’m a total loser. My mates all have rich parents who buy them the latest gear: iPods, mobile phones with cameras, computer games, designer gear. They’ve all got their own telly and their own computer in their bedrooms. I don’t have my own bedroom. Not even my own bed. My mates would surely dump me if they knew the truth about my situation and how poor we really are compared to them.
Extract from the book Discount Diva, Zodiac Girls Series
By Cathy Hopkins
All Rights Reserved.
London: Kingfisher, 2007
Call Number: J English HOP
Extract submitted by Jaclyn Teo
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Title: Small Steps
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Is it acceptable to tell white lies in order to fit in with your friends?
Download the poster in PDF (right-click and choose ‘Save Target As’)
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:14 pm
some lies are safer than others.
June 10th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
No – we must be honesta nd be ourselves – if the friends cannot accpet you as who you are then too bad for them!
July 15th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
If my friends befriend me because of my money, I’d rather be a normal person. Whenever someone uses me for my money, I feel angry and pissed off. If they accept my money, rather then accept me for who I am, I’d be better off without them.
July 29th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Last Monday it was holiday me,my brother and his friend going to sentosa.We reach vivo city and than we buy seven tickets and take the tains. While we reach there we walk to there.do you know who is it, It was shuman,andrea,me,brother,cindy and jun hao.Than we play at the beach there,there’s a huge water.
July 29th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
If I am rich and get eight to ten dollars everyday and my friends will usally get a dollar or two.I bet they will ask me out to eat,I should know that they will ask or even beg me to buy food and drinks.I would rather be a normal person and bring enough money for myself to eat during recess.
October 1st, 2008 at 7:15 pm
If we cannot even accept ourselves, how can we expect others to accept/respect us as friends? Being alone is not as bad as to feel extreme loneliness in a crowd – emotionally divorced from it and yet pretending to enjoy it. What’s more, one lie will inevitably lead to another – in order to cover up the previous lie.
November 4th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
If my friends can’t accept me as who I really am, Thry are not true friends. Besides, when you loose a friend, go and make more friends. It is not the end of th world anyway…
December 31st, 2008 at 2:37 pm
It depends on who you befriend with.If they don’t mind you coming from a poor or an average income family,then its better for you to tell the truth.But if they are not, it would be safer for you to not be friends with them.They might want to ‘investigate’ your life in order for them to ‘take you in’.But as far as I know,there is no such person in Singapore.THeyy accept who you are.Take my friends for example.There are popular students,nerds,loner and alot of other groups but all of us talk to each other.We may have our own groups but sometimes I think that we are all the same.We never care who each of us are or what our background is like.We are normal friends even if we tend to hate each other, we never say it straight in anyone’s face.