It always starts with a look- the deep stare of disbelief like an anchor of the dumbfounded silence that has suddenly fallen around us, the subtle shaking of their head like a tree in the breeze staring down at a littered sidewalk, maybe a small eye roll or an exasperated sigh. I'm supposed to understand everything with this look.
Disgraceful. I get that. And why am I suddenly such a huge disgrace? Once again my ability to be completely oblivious has caused me to miss some important detail of some important situation.
I respond to the look with a look of my own- scrunched and slightly raised eyebrows, my lips curled into an unhappy smirk, my hands raised and shoulders shrugged as if to say, "What is it this time?"
To my relief they provide a verbal response.
"You are so clueless," They say. Okay, not so helpful. A montage of faces passes through my mind whenever someone says this to me. My friends, my family. They're the people I care about the most and who, in return, care about me the most. For this reason, I'm always understanding of their, at times, harsh criticism.
"About what?" I whine back in response almost afraid of the answer.
They might as well just say "life" because, really, that's what it all boils down to, but they tend to be a little more specific for my sake.
"He likes you!"
"You're being rude!"
"You really don't understand the joke at all..."
I have a whole army of friends and family guarding me from every side to make sure that I don't make a complete fool of myself, but I know I have to face the facts. I'm clueless.
