Hey, Cherie! by Cherie Bennett

Hey, Cherie!

I broke up with my boyfriend, Devon, of two years. That was three weeks ago. Well, actually, I didn't break up with him; we just knew that it was over because I got into trouble for having a boyfriend. I am 14 years old. My parents are really strict about boyfriends — about not having a boyfriend until I am 15. I think about Devon every day and every night. I even write songs about how much I am missing him. I don't know if he still likes me because he started going out with another girl exactly one week after we broke up. I thought and still think that we are soul mates. I still love him and have a feeling he still loves me.

I want to say this about the new girl. She has been trying to get him to go out with her forever, and he never wanted to go out with her when we were together. But his parents don't care if he has a girlfriend, and I guess he must think it's crazy to wait until I'm 15, which is like eight months away. I do not think this other girl is for him. I still love him. Do you think I am crazy? Do you have any advice for me?

— Sad, Lonely and Very Confused

Hey, Sad!

Tough situation. Very "Romeo and Juliet," except it seems like Romeo's parents don't have a problem with the relationship. But Juliet's parents have a big problem with any relationship that their daughter would find herself in, even if the boyfriend could be described by every agreeable adjective in the dictionary.

Meanwhile, you're sad, lonely and very confused. I don't blame you a bit. It doesn't help that Devon, the Romeo of our little play here, has decided to date Ophelia. (Yeah, I'm mixing up my Shakespeare, but what the heck. It's my column).

You must feel incredibly trapped. Trapped by your parents, and trapped by Devon's inability to wait a decent interval of time, like a couple of months, before dating the new girl.

For my part, I don't have a problem with 14-year-olds having a boyfriend or girlfriend. Sex at that age? Yikes. Double yikes. But a relationship when you're in, say, eighth or ninth grade? I think it's natural and a heck of a lot healthier than so-called hooking up.

Here's what I hope. I hope you don't turn your frustration and anger against yourself by letting grades drop, etc. I hope that Devon gets a dose of maturity and has a few serious conversations with you. And I hope that your parentals read this column, realize how much their daughter is hurting, set a few smart grounds rules for the boyfriend-girlfriend thing and go from there. Good luck.

Hey, Cherie!

I hear that you wrote for a soap opera called "The Young and the Restless." I never watched it, but I did watch a soap opera called "The Guiding Light." I was a fan and my mom was a fan and my grandmother was a fan. We always would talk about all the characters like they were real. You may not know this, but the show went off the air on Sept. 18th. How can we get the show back on the air? Who can we protest to?

— Lost Without Springfield

Hey, Lost!

To fill in non-GL friends, "Guiding Light" was set in a town called Springfield. And the show was on the air, first on radio and then on television, for about 75 years. That's incredible. There are literally people who were born and died during the show's run.

Alas, there's not a whole lot you can do to bring it back. It was a corporate decision by the TV network. Believe me: If there had been a money-making way to keep "Guiding Light" going, they would have done it. They tried. While you might not want to try another soap, there are a lot of great new shows on TV this year. My personal favorite? "Glee."

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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