The night was cold, but the campfire crackled warmly as we huddled around it, the flames casting flickering shadows across our faces. The day had been long, and after stuffing ourselves with deer meat, we all felt a little more relaxed. With the drying rack hanging nearby and the fire warming our bones, the tension in the group eased a bit. Tonight, we weren't survivors in the middle of a zombie apocalypse—we were just a bunch of people trying to distract ourselves from the harsh reality.
Yabe was sitting close to me, her eyes reflecting the firelight as she pulled her knees up to her chest. Daisy leaned back against a log, looking unusually relaxed, while Ethan and Liza lounged across from us, both clearly enjoying the rare moment of comfort.
"I've got an idea," Ethan said suddenly, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "Let's make this interesting. How about we all share the most embarrassing or cringe story from our past?"
Daisy raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. "Seriously? What are we, a bunch of high schoolers?"
Liza smirked, nudging Ethan with her elbow. "Yeah, you trying to get some blackmail material or something?"
Ethan held up his hands in defense. "Come on, it's not like we've got anything better to do. We might as well laugh at ourselves while we still can."
I shrugged, figuring it couldn't hurt. "Alright, fine. But if we're doing this, we're going all in. No holding back."
Daisy snorted, clearly amused. "Sure, let's see who's got the worst cringe story."
We all looked around at each other, waiting for someone to go first. Yabe, shy as she was, hesitated before finally speaking up.
"I'll… I'll go first," she said quietly, her voice a little shaky but determined. "But don't laugh too much, okay?"
We all nodded, trying to look serious, though the anticipation was clear.
"So," Yabe began, looking down at her hands, "when I was in middle school, I had a huge crush on this guy in my class. He was really popular, and I was, well… not."
Liza grinned. "Ooh, middle school crushes. Always a recipe for disaster."
Yabe blushed, but continued. "Anyway, I wanted to impress him, so I decided to write him a love letter. But I didn't just write a normal letter. No, I wrote a whole damn poem about how much I liked him."
Ethan stifled a laugh, but Yabe shot him a look and kept going.
"I was super shy, so I couldn't give it to him directly. Instead, I slipped the poem into his locker, thinking he'd read it and be, like, super impressed. Well… turns out he found the letter during lunch, read it out loud to all his friends, and made fun of me for it in front of everyone."
"Oh no," I groaned, feeling secondhand embarrassment. "That's brutal."
Yabe winced, clearly still feeling the sting. "It was the most humiliating day of my life. I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear."
Liza burst out laughing, unable to hold it in anymore. "You wrote a poem? That's so cute, but also so painful."
Yabe gave a shy smile, shaking her head. "Yeah, it was pretty cringe."
"Well," Daisy said, leaning forward, "at least you had the guts to write something. I've got one that's way more embarrassing."
We all turned to Daisy, surprised she was actually getting into this. She smirked, taking a deep breath.
"When I was about thirteen, I was at this big family reunion at my grandparents' farm. You know, the kind where all the cousins you barely know show up, and there's a ton of food, and it's just chaos? Anyway, I decided I wanted to show off and impress everyone by riding one of the horses. Thing is, I didn't actually know how to ride a horse yet."
Ethan grinned. "Oh, I can see where this is going."
Daisy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, I thought I could figure it out as I went. So, I climbed onto the horse and tried to act all cool, but the second I kicked my heels to get it moving, the damn horse took off like a bat out of hell."
I laughed, already picturing the scene. "What happened?"
"I panicked," Daisy admitted, chuckling to herself. "I was holding on for dear life, screaming at the top of my lungs while the horse was just galloping around the field like it was trying to get rid of me. Eventually, I lost my grip and went flying off the horse, landed face-first in the mud, and—get this—my pants ripped open in front of everyone."
Liza doubled over in laughter, barely able to breathe. "Oh my god, that's amazing!"
Daisy shook her head, clearly amused but also a little embarrassed. "Yeah, well, needless to say, I didn't try riding a horse again for a while."
"Alright, my turn," I said, realizing it was time to share my own cringe-worthy moment. "So, back in high school, I was really into this one girl. Like, full-on teenage obsession. Anyway, I heard she was into guys who could play guitar, so I thought, 'Hey, I'll learn how to play and impress her.'"
Yabe smiled softly. "Did it work?"
I shook my head, laughing at my own stupidity. "Nope. I borrowed my friend's guitar, practiced for like two weeks, and decided I'd play her a song during this talent show at school. I was convinced it was going to win her over."
Liza raised an eyebrow. "Oh no, what happened?"
"I completely choked," I admitted, groaning at the memory. "I got up on stage, started playing, and totally messed up. Like, I forgot the chords, hit all the wrong notes—it was a disaster. And to make it worse, she was sitting in the front row, laughing her ass off the whole time."
Ethan laughed, slapping his knee. "Dude, that's rough. So much for winning her over, huh?"
"Yeah," I muttered, shaking my head. "That was the end of my rock star dreams."
Ethan, now fully in the mood for this, grinned. "Alright, my turn. I've got a good one."
We all turned our attention to him, and he rubbed his hands together, clearly enjoying the spotlight.
"So, back when I was in middle school, I had this brilliant idea to impress this girl by doing a backflip off the swings at recess. I'd seen it done in a movie, and I thought it looked easy enough."
"Oh no," Yabe whispered, already anticipating the outcome.
"Yeah, you can guess where this is going," Ethan continued, chuckling to himself. "So, I get on the swing, start pumping my legs, building up speed, and I'm thinking, 'Yeah, I got this. I'm gonna look so cool.' I get to the highest point, launch myself off the swing, and… I don't flip. I just belly flop straight into the dirt."
Liza cackled, practically falling off her log. "You belly flopped? Oh my god, that's gold."
Ethan nodded, laughing at the memory. "Yep, knocked the wind out of myself, got a bloody nose, and to top it all off, the girl I was trying to impress walked right past me like she didn't even notice."
Daisy chuckled, shaking her head. "Kids are ruthless."
"Alright, Liza," I said, turning to her. "Your turn. Top that."
Liza smirked, leaning back against the log with her usual attitude. "Oh, I've got one that'll beat all of yours."
We all waited, curious to hear what she had in store.
"So, in high school, I was the biggest weeaboo in existence," she began, grinning at the memory. "Like, full-on anime obsession. I even bought one of those fake katanas and used to walk around with it, thinking I was some kind of anime character."
Ethan laughed. "Oh god, you were that kid?"
"Oh yeah," Liza said proudly. "But here's where it gets really cringe. One day, there was this talent show—kind of like your guitar story, Jake—and I thought, 'Hey, I'll do a sword dance with my fake katana and impress everyone.'"
I winced. "Oh no…"
"Yep," Liza said, laughing at herself. "I got up on stage, started swinging that thing around like I was in a damn anime, and halfway through, the sword flies out of my hand and hits the principal in the leg."
We all burst out laughing, the image of Liza accidentally attacking her principal too ridiculous to ignore.
"What did he do?" Yabe asked, her eyes wide with amusement.
"He just stared at me like I was the dumbest person on the planet," Liza said, shaking her head. "Needless to say, I didn't get asked to perform again."
We sat there around the campfire, laughing until our sides hurt, sharing more stories as the night wore on. For a brief moment, the world didn't feel so broken. We were just a group of people, finding solace in our shared experiences, even if they were embarrassing as hell.
Q: What is your most embarrassing story?