It has been 6 or 8 years since fidget toys were fashionable. 6 or 8 years ago, I was still going to school, the epicenter of all such fashions.
To any child that age, a toy you can take into class certainly appeals on a subliminal level, whether you fidget or not. But as was and is my way, I was less interested in the trend and more interested in bucking it. Thus I went online and I looked up alternative fidget toys, something other than a glorified gyroscope. I discovered worry beads.
It was perfect. It broke just enough from trend to make me especially fashionable, they were great for showing off, and no one at school knew they existed. Even better, I could make a shoddy pair from beads I had lying around my room. (I did and still do refuse to purchase anything I can make.)
The teacher gave me permission to use them during class when I would be most visible. This was particularly fitting because worry beads also classify as a skill toy, one thing I had none of. Many times a day I found my worry beads flying into the aisles by my desk during class. The eyes of several students and one teacher fixed on me in the most humiliating manner as I apologetically hustled in and out of my seat to retrieve my stylish toy. I found my dreams of grandeur slowly melting into a puddle of errors.
With all the tomfoolery of that age, I had at least one nugget of wisdom: when to call my battles. Realizing I would inevitably get into trouble for distracting the class, I put the beads away in a drawer, and I still have them somewhere if I haven’t lost them (though I probably have).
My one shot at being trendy was a flop, but that’s okay. If I ever found out what being popular was like, I probably wouldn’t have liked it anyway.