Crg Rfngs Jrmngsl

Subject: "cgt jmflx rrspt".

It looked like email spam, but I opened the message anyway.

"I'm not sure if I spelled it right, but are you that Brian?"

John

I smiled and then started to laugh out loud. John. That was 25 years ago. I typed my reply:

"The correct name is Crg Rfngs Jrmngsl, and I am that Brian."

After all these years, he remembered out prank.

- - -

John and I hatched the plot on our way up the stairs, just before we reached the party. We didn't have a plan, just an idea. The rest we made up as we went along.

John introduced me as Crg Rfngs Jrmngsl (pronounced Craig Arfnugus Jeromnigossle), a Greek student at the University. The Greek alphabet, as you know, has no vowels. I didn't speak or understand a word of English. All baloney, but the other students at the party bought it.

Whenever I spoke, I talked in articulate gibberish and used body language and hand signals. John made like he understood what I was communicating.

I was a big hit with the girls. They catered to me, bringing me drinks and snacks. They communicated with me using hand signals, gestures and speaking loud and slow directly into my ear.

"How can he play bridge?" Asked one of the girls as we moved to the highlight of the evening. "How can he communicate and understand the bidding?"

John gave the answer. "Hand signals. A shoveling motion for spades, touch your chest for hearts, touch your ring finger for diamonds, and pound your fist for clubs." We were set.

We played for over an hour. The girls kept fawning over me. I continued to babble away in "Greek" even swearing in "Greek" when the hand didn't go my way or if my partner misbid.

One of the girls offered me tea. She heard I was the driver and didn't want me to drink too much. When she brought it, she shouted in my ear, "It’s hot!" I feigned shock and anger when she did this. John explained that I thought she was getting mad at me. She apologized and tried to win back my affection.

Finally, the evening ended. John and I headed out the door. Linda asked for a ride home. I was driving, which didn't seem to draw much scrutiny. We got stuck in the snow while trying to maneuver out of the back alley. I motioned for everyone to get out and push. That included Linda, who was not impressed. But we got unstuck and dropped Linda off at her place.

John and I laughed and congratulated ourselves on a very successful evening. The next day we went back and revealed our hoax. Everyone was furious with us. The girls, especially Linda, tried for months to get back at us. But none of their attempts ever measured up to our ruse.

---

Now, 25 years later, John saw my name on an email list and took a chance that it was me. We were now in different parts of the country, so we talked by phone a couple of times. It was great to reminisce about our youth. We talked about what had happened in our lives since then. But we had nothing in common except our youthful past, so we again lost touch. I enjoyed reliving the past – even just for a few moments.

(500 words approx)