The Rom-Commers

by Katherine Center

“Every morning?” Charlie challenged, like I had to be exaggerating. “Yep.” “Even on weekends?” “Yep.” “Isn’t it tiring?” I shrugged. “Life is tiring. Swimming is just swimming.”

There was a good writing lesson in there—that being dismissed is worse than being scorned. In a different frame of mind, I might have paused to think about it: Of course not mattering is worse. It means you didn’t even register. It means you’re not even worth getting mad about. It means you’re literally nobody.

“You want to know why you shouldn’t be worried right now?” “Why?” “Because the bad thing you’re worried about is never the bad thing that happens.”

Holding out hope for too long was one thing. Giving up too soon was quite another.