A short story by Hannah Sarah Abraham


*Carrie's Diary Entry (Dated 25th March, 2025)*

I won't lie..... Caleb Carmen is quite a handsome guy. But, in all honesty, he has the brain of a muskrat or a bobcat or an old-world fruit bat.

He doesn't comprehend how hard it is for an average hot-blooded American male to make it as a famous underwear model for top brands like Calvin Klein.

He has skimming through those Men's catalogs ever since he came out of his mum's womb. He probably was reading those Man About Town magazines in Mrs. Carmen's belly. It could be true. Who knows?

He also has the most unrealistic ambitions or impossible standards! He wants to date only Victoria's Secret models. Like that's ever going to happen.

If I have to describe this bobcat-brained guy, I would say he has the face of Harry Potter and the character of Draco Malfoy. Looks super nerdy and sweet but is actually very unpleasant to be around!

It's true, I used to like him.....that is until he told me one day to get lost.

He told me I look ridiculous because I wear oversized T-shirts like Billie Eilish and wear a somber expression on my face like Lana Del Ray.

I left him for good on that day.

Two months later, Candace Owens, our high-school classmate and Miss Social Butterfly invited me to her Sweet Sixteen birthday party.

All I did was wax my eyebrows, put on some makeup, change my sloppy hairstyle and wear contacts instead of glasses and Caleb was all over me.

On the day of Candace's birthday party, Caleb really thought I was another girl. He told me I looked like I could easily be a Victoria's Secret model.....

I never understood his obsession with Calvin Klein and Victoria's Secret models. They are just buff or skinny models who make the rest of the people who are not buff or skinny feel bad about themselves.....

I always told him he doesn't have to try so hard to look like Tom Cruise or David Beckham or Zac Efron. That he looks perfect just the way he is. And he told me I was capping.

He responded snappily that I should try to look more like Kendall Jenner or Gigi Hadid or Ariana Grande and not like Velma Dinkley from Scooby Doo. I was so offended when he said that. Looking back, I probably shouldn't have......

I love Velma Dinkley from Scooby Doo. And what is so wrong in looking like her?

But now that I look like Madison Beer, he wanted to date me. I turned him down without a second thought. I had had enough of him.

I remember him in his ridiculous neon-green underwear approaching me at Candace's party. I was standing in my skimpy Barbie pink bikini near the crystal blue pool.

We were like Nancy Drew and Ned Nickerson, except I didn't like him one bit for hurling remarks and shooting slighted comments like bullets at me.

"Hey, I wanna get with you, Give me your number, Shawty. Or lemme just slide into your DMs."

When I showed him the faded scar on my left elbow, his jaw dropped down.

"Carrie Christen, is that really you?" Caleb asked, still bearing a shocked expression.

"You tell me...." I said, grinning.

"I like you, Carrie.....We should get together. You like me. I like you too and -" Caleb said, twiddling his thumbs nervously.

"Let me stop you right there. I don't like you anymore, Caleb. No," I said, wagging my finger in front of his dazed face.

"Why not?" He cried out.

"Because you are a douchebag. A prick. A vainglorious idiot. A total nincompoop. Do I need to give you any more reasons, huh?"

He left the place looking as dejected as ever. Like a sad puppy with its tail tucked between its legs.

That was so satisfying to watch lol!

He thought he could have me just like that.

When I was myself, he didn't want me, but when I changed my appearance, he suddenly couldn't get enough of me.

He is a narcissist who thinks too highly of himself. No doubt about that. He just needs to pipe down and realize he is not the eye candy that he thinks he is.

I am not going to go out with a vain man who only likes me for my looks. No!

I have a mind. I have thoughts.

I have a heart. I have feelings.

I have a conscience. I have deep intuition.

I am a strong woman who doesn't need to rely on a man to feel good about herself.

I didn't change my appearance to impress Caleb. I did it for myself.

I strive to impress no man. I only strive to impress myself. That is the cold hard truth.

THE END