No Doubt "Just A Girl"

The word "just" could be severely misinterpreted. When you overhear someone saying, "I'm just going to homecoming with Todd...", it could mean:

1. I'm not very exciting about going to the dance with Todd, but he was available.
2. I was planning to go to the homecoming dance with a group of people but chose Todd.
3. I'm merely attending the homecoming dance with Todd and then going home.

Let's face it, #1 is the only real explanation, right? Unfortunately for my homecoming date (in 1993), my friend (we'll call him "Russell") overheard her and became upset with her. He sternly informed her that she wasn't "just going with Todd" -- instead she was very lucky to be going with Todd. This resulted in a flurry of phone calls from Russell and my date to explain what happened and why. Although we went to homecoming and another dance a few months later, the two of us never exited the dreaded "friend-zone". It hurt at the time, but it showed me how lucky I was to have friends stand up for me. Years later, things with Russell would take a turn...for the worse. I'll explain tomorrow.