I stood up so fast I sent the chair over backwards. “I don’t need this shit, Gail. I can’t believe you are the same girl I loved. Have a good life.” I stormed out of the library, staring down the students staring at me.

Outside, the brisk cold air slapped a little sense in me. What the hell was wrong with me? I hadn’t seen Gail in four years. Why was I being bent? Ego? perhaps.

The bell rang. A wry smile, as I thought, saved by the bell

Van was in my speech class. I waited for him at the classroom door and punched him on the arm when he arrived. “I got a new chapter, on the Matt and Gail soap opera,” I said to him before we found our seats. He just raised his eyebrows. “I’ll tell you after class,” I said.

Speech was the last class for the day. After class Van and I walked to our lockers, and I related the meeting with Gail in the library. Van shook his head. “Why are you even bothering with her. An old flame—in grade school, even.”