Rose has recently become more social, having found a group of kids she enjoys hanging out with regularly (they call themselves "Team Thundercats"). They're a good set of kids and still have a great deal of innocence in their play and, of course, naivete in their perspective. But, as C.S. Lewis says, a group of friends can be a force for noble behavior, as among soldiers going into battle, or a support for evil behavior, as among the criminal element.
Yesterday, without provocation, she asked me, "Mom, did you have a fake ID when you were in school?"
I asked her what made her ask me this question. She said something about how Papa had said something about having one and she wondered if I had. I said no, but after thinking about it, I remembered that I had one for all of two hours. I was given one by a friend one evening before going out. The ID was of a girl with blonde hair (I have brown), a round face (I have a long face) and blue eyes (I have brown). I pointed out these items out to my friend, and he said that it's usually too dark for the bouncer to see all the details. I naievely agreed and went with my group of friends down to Five Points.
Alas, the bouncer had a flashlight and the jig was up within minutes. The flashlight might not have been an issue if the bouncer hadn't simply also asked my name and address. It was all over at that point: "Sharon? No! Susan Whit-- No! Will--."
And then, within minutes of Rose asking me about having a fake ID, she asked if she could go with her friends to see a friend of theirs play the piano at a local bar. "...They let kids my age in, but they just stamp their hands. We'll be going with A's & G's older brothers so you don't have anything to worry about."
I pointed out this curious coincidence and she protested that the topics were entirely unrelated--not at all connected--I swear.
I then asked her what would possess her to ask me about a fake ID before asking me if she would be allowed to go to a bar, if they weren't connected. She told me that another friend of hers had told her "Of all of the girls I know, you seem like the one who would have a fake ID."
So for the remainder of the day--as I will the rest of her adolescence--I did my best to point out to her that it is not a good thing to be considered "the girl most likely to have a fake ID."
Lord have mercy.
