Hey, Cherie! by Cherie Bennett

Hey, Cherie!

I'm writing to you because I don't know whom else to write. None of my friends want to hear from me. Here's why: This past weekend, I ruined the surprise party of the year. Me and my big mouth!

Here's what happened. I'm a 16-year-old girl. I am really not a popular girl. I mean, I'm not unpopular, but I'm not one of the cool kids. I am friends with Magda, one of the cool girls. There's another girl, Candice, who is Magda's friend, and the surprise party was for Candice. Candice is one of those girls that everyone wants to be friends with because she is so cool. The amazing thing is, Magda got me invited to this surprise party, which was supposed to be at a roller rink.

I went shopping with Magda at the mall on Saturday for something new to wear. I was in the dressing room, and I called out to Magda, "I can't wait to wear this to Candice's party tonight!" Here's what I didn't know: Candice was at the mall. She had texted Magda and was outside the dressing room, too. Candice heard everything. The surprised was ruined. Wrecked. Finished. Needless to say, I didn't go to the non-surprise party.

Cherie? I don't even want to show my face in public.

— Embarrassed Beyond Belief

Hey, Embarrassed!

There was a time, way back in the early days of "Hey, Cherie!", when I'd get a lot of my-most-embarrassing-moment letters.

If I were still doing it, I'd have to stop with your letter. That's one of the most embarrassing teen moments I've ever heard. It's the whole shebang, too. How it happened, whom it happened to, that it's a party that you wouldn't usually attend, and that you really wanted to go.

So the question is, what do you do now? The answer is: not much.

I wish I could console you. I wish I could crank the clock back and we could be in Alternate Universe No. 4, where you heard Candice say hi to Magda and you would know to keep your mouth shut. I wish I could tell you about some of the embarrassing things that happened to me, like swallowing a bug while singing at an outdoor concert and choking in front of hundreds of people.

But it's not the same as what happened to you.

All I can advise you to do is accept what you did, apologize once and then hope that everyone moves on. Normally, that's what it will be until the next high- school scandal of the moment.

Magda, if you're reading this, it easily could have been you in the dressing room. Accept your bud's apology and help everyone move on.

Hey, Cherie!

Last summer, it was really hot and we didn't have an air conditioner that worked. So, I started to sleep in the nude. No one in my family knew because there was no reason for them to know. I kept doing it.

My mother found out last week, though, because she was in my room and made me get out of bed one morning. Yes, I'm a girl! She wasn't very happy, but I'm not changing.

— No Clothes At Night, Please

Hey, No Clothes!

I'm going to tell you a story about a couple of grown-ups that I know from Northridge, Calif. They also slept in the nude. In fact, they were sleeping in the nude on January 17, 1994, at 4:31 a.m. … when the big Northridge earthquake struck Los Angeles. They had to run outside with no clothes on. They don't sleep in the nude anymore. I'm just sayin'!

Cherie Bennett is a best-selling author of books for teens and young adults. Visit her website at www.cheriebennett.com. To find out more about Cherie Bennett and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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