The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

For my family then For my family now For Liz, Maccie, and Theo Chbosky Always

And finally… Dr. Earl Reum for writing a beautiful poem and Patrick Comeaux for remembering it wrong when he was 14.

And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I’m still trying to figure out how that could be.

guess I was pretty messy because he never let me work on his Camaro before.

and only one kid named Sean really seemed to notice me.

“Go for the knees, throat, and eyes.”

and I like to read books twice.

is now my favorite book of all time, but then again, I always think that until I read another book.

I think he will regret this when he looks back on his life.

I write kind of the way I talk.

I guess he stood up to his bully. And I guess that makes sense.

The fact that one of these ladies was my mom made me feel particularly sad because my mom is beautiful.

she’s always on a diet.

Sometimes, my dad calls her beautiful, but she ...

Maybe it’s sad that these are now memories. And maybe it’s not sad.

And years later I found out my brother was wrong.

Sam had a very nice smile.

“Because it was the last one I read.”

But I also felt bad because I saw her naked without her permission.

Wow!

I meant the “wow” though.

And I wonder if anyone is really happy. I hope they are. I really hope they are.

“Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve.”

want to be able to tell my kids that I walked to school like my grandparents did in the “old days.”

“Don’t ever say that about anyone again. Not even me.” That was my mom.

let the quiet put things where they are supposed to be.

I’m sorry I haven’t written to you in a couple of weeks, but I have been trying to “participate”

wish I could describe this a little more nicely without using words like penis, but that was the way it was.

then I looked over to Sam. “He raped her, didn’t he?”

She then explained about all the things you have to go through to prove it, especially in high school when the boy and girl are popular and still in love.

“I feel infinite.”

And you won’t believe it. Bob hugged me!

“He’s a wallflower.”

“You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand.”

And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.

Patrick actually used to be popular before Sam bought him some good music.

he wasn’t sad because at least now, Brad doesn’t have to get drunk or stoned to make love.

To tell you the truth, I love Sam. It’s not a movie kind of love either. I just look at her sometimes, and I think she is the prettiest and nicest person in the whole world.

If you listen to the song “Asleep,” and you think about those pretty weather days that make you remember things, and you think about the prettiest eyes you’ve known, and you cry, and the person holds you back, then I think you will see the photograph.

It’s like he would take a photograph of Sam, and the photograph would be beautiful. And he would think that the reason the photograph was beautiful was because of how he took it. If I took it, I would know that the only reason it’s beautiful is because of Sam.

She really didn’t say any more other than that, although she kept talking.

Maybe these are my glory days, and I’m not even realizing it because they don’t involve a ball.

The greatest thing about this story is that every time my dad tells it, it never changes.

My mom was so upset that she took me shopping for new clothes.

First, I am very interested and fascinated by how everyone loves each other, but no one really likes each other.

which my grandfather always says is “too dry” even if it’s soup.

I don’t know if that’s good or bad. I don’t know if it’s better to have your kids be happy and not go to college. I don’t know if it’s better to be close with your daughter or make sure that she has a better life than you do. I just don’t know. I was just quiet, and I watched him.

“I’m thankful that my brother played football on television so nobody fought.”

Asleep by the Smiths (again!)

very sad quiet.