2024-11-27 “Weird In A Cute Way” for Devon (born 2002)

Devon held up his phone to show Merritt and said, “Liza asked if I wanted to see her in lingerie, and before I could say no, she sent this.”

Merritt looked. “Cute?”

Devon shrugged. “Kinda. But it was sort of weird getting to the cute part.”

He showed Merritt the Snapchat discussion. 

L: 😀 Hi.

D: Hey! Whats up?

L: Just chilling in my apartment. U?

D: Cleaning up dishes 🙁

L: LOL You got to do that!

D: IKR?

L: I’ve been practicing Snapchat.

D: Practicing?

L: I made a ChatGPT character to be a cool guy and to give me pointers.

L: Is that weird?

D: TBH, a little. But, did you have fun? That’s the important thing.

L: Yeah.

L: I googled what popular girls do in text messages. It said they sometimes send pictures of themselves in lingerie. Want to see?

[ Devon told Merritt he was typing that it wasn’t necessary but she sent the picture before he could send the message. ]

L: Ha ha! It’s a joke. 

D: LOL You scared me!

L: I was just trying to be funny. I’m really just a dork and don’t know how I’m supposed to act.

D: Just be you. Have fun. But be you.

L: Well.

D: ?

L: Being me hasn’t worked out very well up to now.

D: OK People can change, so maybe now is your time.

L: Yeah. Well thank you for being nice to me.

D: Everyone should be nice to you. That’s what I think. 

L: I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I want to try and make friends with your friends. Especially Merritt and Hannah from work. So, I’m really excited.

D: Okay, awesome. See you then.

L: Bye.

Merritt shook his head. “She made a GPT to practice Snapchat?”

Devon shrugged. “Hey, she had it rough during high school… Middle class homeless when dad lost his job. COVID. Homeschooled… I get where she’s coming from.”

Merritt smiled. “If you believe, I’ll believe. I hope we all get to know her better.”