Word: Mythomane

   

mythomane

\ MITH-uh-meyn \  , noun;

1. a person with a strong or irresistible propensity for fantasizing, lying, or exaggerating.

adjective:

1. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a mythomane.

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             “So, Barry, where were you last night?”  Karl asked.  The group of three guys listened to their fourth friend’s answer as they walked through the courtyard.

                “I was on a date.”  Barry said proudly.

                “A date?  You?  No way.”  One of the group, Mike, said in surprise.  Barry had never been one to be with a girl for very long.  Not only were his looks subpar, but his social skills with people outside their small group was severely lacking as well. 

                “It’s true.  I was out with a lady last night.”  Barry puffed out his chest with pride.  “A real one.”  He continued, anticipating the inevitable question from one of his friends.

                “Oh yeah?  What’s her name?”  Karl asked.

                “Lisa.”  Barry said.

                “Hm.  Pretty common.  Could be real or fake.”  Said Greg, another member of the group. 

                “I don’t know.  He usually has to think about it for a sec.  I think he’s telling the truth here.”  Mike replied.

                “I am.  I totally am.” 

                “Well, I guess congratulations are in order here.”  Karl said.  “So, tell us about her.  She hot?”

                “Oh yeah.  Really hot.”  Barry said, “She could be a bikini model if she wanted.”

                The rest of the group looked at each other skeptically.  Then they looked at Barry’s short, pudgy form.  There was no way he could score a date with a girl like that. 

                “What do you think?  He telling the truth here?”  Greg asked.

                “Hm.  Well, this could be an eye of the beholder thing.”  Todd, the last member of the group, said.  “On the other hand, this could be one of those times.”  He continued, stressing the word “those.” All four of them looked at Barry with complete understanding.

                “Uh, what was that?”  Barry asked.

                “You sure you’re telling the truth?”  Mike asked.

                “Definitely.”

                “You sure it’s not like the time you said you beat a bunch of guys at a tug-of-war single handed, when it was just your little cousins?”

                “Or the time you said you got the all time high score on a bunch of games, when it was just on your home system?”  Todd chimed in.

                “Or how can we forget the time he read three comic book series in a night, when each of them only had six books between them.”  Greg said.

                “N-No way!”  Barry exclaimed before anyone else could say anything.  “This is totally real!”

                “Really?  Then show us where she is.”  Karl said.  The others chuckled.

                “I would, but I don’t know where she is.”  Barry said. 

                “Barry, hey! Over here!”  As if on cue, the voice of a girl chimed out from across the courtyard.  She ran up to him and wrapped her arms tightly around him.  Barry didn’t seem nearly as pleased to see her though. 

                The other four members looked at her with interest.  She was slightly shorter than Barry was, but much thinner.  In fact, she was pencil thin just about everywhere.  Her face was cute, at best, especially with the large, round glasses she wore.  She wasn’t an unattractive girl, but she wasn’t anything particularly special either.

                “I take it this is Lisa.” Karl asked, trying to suppress the laughter that was welling up in his throat.

                “Yeah, this is her.”  Barry said.

                “Hi!  It’s really nice to meet you all.”  Lisa said without even waiting to be introduced.

                “Likewise.”  Mike said, casting a sidelong glance at the others.

                “I’d like to talk more, but I’ve got to get to class.  I’ll see you all later.  Especially you Barry.”  Lisa said before running off as quickly as she came.

                “So, what do you guys think?  Model material?”  Greg said, struggling to contain his laughter.

                “Oh yeah, definitely.”  Todd said.  “I’m sure she’d do real well.”

                “S-shut up!”  Barry said.  The other four couldn’t contain themselves anymore and burst out laughing.  Barry turned bright red with a mixture of embarrassment and anger. 

                    “Sorry, man, but really.”  Mike said, patting Barry on the shoulder.  “You could’ve gone a bit lighter on that one.  I mean, seriously.”

                “You guys are jerks.”  Barry said, brushing off his friend’s hand.  He stormed off, muttering to himself.

                “Think we were too hard on him?”  Todd asked once Barry had gotten far enough away.

                “Meh.  No more than usual.”  Karl replied.

                “Yeah.  He just needs some time to cool off.  Ten he’ll come back and make up some other wild story.”  Greg said, nodding to himself.

                “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”  Todd said.  “So, should we go after him?”

                “Nah.  He’ll catch up in a few minutes anyway.”  Karl said, “’Sides, we gotta get going too.” 

                The group headed off towards their destination.  It wasn’t long before Barry came back, keeping his distance behind the others, still acting mad at them for making fun of him.  The other four just kept walking, knowing he would eventually forget all about it when he came up with another of his highly exaggerated stories.
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Ok, I admit, I'm a little worried I included too many characters for a story of this length.  That and the ending might not be as good as it could be, but that's how it is for a lot of things, right?  Either way, I hope everyone enjoys it, such as it is.