Fast Times at Ridgemont High - A True Story

A Late-Night Phone Conversation

“So,” said Stacy Hamilton. “He says all these sweet and wonderful things to me when we’re alone. But when anyone else is around, he’s Mr. Cool.”

“Did you talk to him last night?” asked Linda.

“Yeah.”

“What did he say? Did he call you?”

“I called him. I just called him and said, ‘Guess what?’ He said, ‘What?’ I said, ‘I’m reading our English assignment, and I just realized we’re all going to die someday . . . we’re all dying.’ I said, ‘Do you realize that, Mike?’ And Mike goes, ‘So what?’ I said, ‘Doesn’t it bother you that even if the nuclear reactors don’t react and kill us all, we’re still going to die? Doesn’t that bother you?’ He goes, ‘No.’ He says that pain is what bothers most people, not death. And pain doesn’t even bother him. That’s what he says.”

“Wow,” said Linda, “I didn’t know he was that deep.”