I sat underneath my favorite tree in the park by my house, reading like I always do when I don’t want strange men or nosy kids coming up to bug me. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Today’s book of choice, Anna Karenina. It’s my second time reading it.

My English teacher thinks I read too much. I think the books she assigns are dumb. I mean, come on, how many times do I have to read Romeo and Juliet? I get it, already, people. Jeez. There’s only so much of those star-crossed lovers a person can take.

So anyways, there I sat, leafing through the book because for some reason my mind was restless and couldn’t settle on the same page. After a bit, I gave up and placed the book on the warm grass by my feet. I looked around me and noticed the tree directly across from me had some carving on it:

Jonathan ♥ Kate
Jonathan ♥ Mary
Jonathan ♥ Lisette
Jonathan ♥

I wondered if it was the same Jonathan. I wondered, What kind of loser does that?

I never expected to learn the answer to that question.