Max and I finished watching the movie, and I went home, thinking.

I’d had several crushes on boys over the years. If they were ever returned, I wouldn’t know. I distanced myself even more from boys I liked. Max was the only one that had ever tried hard enough to be my friend.

I was thinking about this on the way home, playing music loudly in my car to prevent falling asleep on the road.

When I got home both my parents were already in bed, but there was a note on the kitchen counter telling me that they were glad that I’d gone to the party with Max, and they hoped that I had fun, and maybe, just maybe, me someone nice.

Of course they would be glad that the daughter that everyone feared would end up as a hermit had gone out that evening.

I was my parent’s only child and so they worried about my way too much. And it didn’t help at family reunions when I hid from all of my cousins.

I got myself a glass of water and went up to bed, taking the note with me.