I got my ear pierced last Friday. Since then, I’ve been hiding it from my boss, and I haven’t told my parents.

Why?

It’s not because I think they’d care. My boss hired me with long hair and a scraggly-ass beard. I looked almost homeless on some days. My parents don’t care, either. When I got a tattoo last year, their reaction was, “Cool! What is it and where?”

I think I’m hiding it because I like to feel rebellious without actually being rebellious. I like to pretend in my mind that my boss will make me take it out or fire me. I like to pretend my parents will be distressed or upset by it.

I know they won’t care. But it’s fun to pretend, to get a little bit of that rush that we’d always get when we’re TPing someone’s house. Even if it is all in my head.