Blog 8: Everything Is Not As It Seems
Her name was Victoria Jarmon. The most popular girl at my elementary school, soon-to-become second- and third- grade class president, she was a pretty normal kid. With big brown eyes, long dark brown hair, and a family so large I lost count (she had about seven siblings, I think), middle-child Victoria had a face and personality that could convince just about anyone.
So, when she finally revealed one of her proudest accomplishments to our class, it made sense that she would be believed. One day, during free time, she announced to us all: she was Selena Gomez’s little sister.
It was too good to be true! Selena. Gomez. Disney Channel star. Alex Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place. Lead singer in Selena Gomez & the Scene. THE Selena Gomez. I was awestruck. I was standing in front of the little sister of someone I’d only seen on TV.
Unfortunately, as a six-year-old, I never stopped to consider that Victoria’s last name was Jarmon, not Gomez. Not to mention that her parents and siblings were all American and white, not of Mexican or Italian descent.
However, even in my naïveté, I had some doubts about Victoria's story and told her so. And yet, somehow, she answered my questions confidently enough that I came to believe her every word.
Once it was solidified with all of the girls in our class that Victoria Jarmon was, in fact, the baby sister of the infamous Selena Gomez, Victoria decided to reveal to us her second biggest secret: that she… was a mermaid. A real-life mermaid!
Now this was something even six-year-old Lydia could not wrap her head around. How could someone with legs be a mermaid? I cannot remember whether I accepted this story as truth, too. But one thing I do know: for years, I believed that she was Selena Gomez’s little sister.
But could this ruse have some factual background to it? If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the class presentations on Victor Lustig, who sold the Eiffel Tower twice, and George C. Parker, who sold the Brooklyn Bridge and many other iconic New York landmarks, it’s that people can get behind anything with two key elements: confidence and believability.
Victoria Jarmon had the confidence, for sure. As one of her classmates, I thought I knew her well. She never got into conflict and was one of the kindest, friendliest kids in our class. She was sure of herself, too. She knew, from the moment she entered the classroom, that she was a tomboy, through and through, and she let everyone else know, too. For all of elementary school, that was what she was known for: kindness, popularity, and being a tomboy.
She also had some believability. For one, her marks were six- and seven-year-olds. We were all still convinced that an old fat man wearing a red suit watched over us all year, read our letters, and came down our chimneys on the night before Christmas to eat cookies, drink milk, and deliver impeccably wrapped presents for the kids on the “Nice List” to enjoy. In other words, we’d believe anything. And secondly, she was nice, popular, and pretty. The most liked girl in our grade, who every guy had a crush on, would definitely be believed in a situation like this.
After some in-depth Wikipedia research, it turns out that Selena Gomez actually does have a half-sister named Victoria on her dad’s side. Unfortunately, however, many sources say that Victoria Gomez was born in 2014… three years after Victoria’s scheme began.
In the end, Victoria Jarmon was not a thief like Charlie Croker or a swindling mastermind like Victor Lustig. She was just a seven-year-old tomboy who liked to pretend she was the sister of a Disney star or a young mythical mermaid. There was nothing malicious about her. I just find it amusing that the first time I found out I was swindled was not by a man in a red jumpsuit or a tiny teeth thief with wings, but by a member of my first grade graduating class. I guess Everything Is Not As It Seems after all.
References
https://clip.cafe/the-italian-job-2003/well-ive-been-a-thief-since-i-baby-teeth/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Lustig
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_C._Parker
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selena_Gomez
This is great, thanks. I love this account of your first swindle. Thinking back, I guess all of us have had similar incidents of gullibility and vulnerability at a young age. I don't remember much about the 1st grade, but I do remember a girl in the 3rd grade who constantly made up stories about her life and family, most of which we all believed because she was convincing. Gullibility is a sign of innocence, and that's not a bad thing. Thanks for sharing your memories of Victoria Jarmon.
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