High School Reunion

High School Reunion By Megan E Bean Tonight was our ten-year high school reunion. It was also the first time I’d stepped foot in Indiana since I moved away at the age of eighteen. I wasn’t close with my family, though they had flown out to see me occasionally. My friends and family loved Indiana—hardly any of them had even left the county, let alone moved away from it. I heard the class clown, Jared, shouting across the room at one of his buddies. His chiseled figure had bloated up a bit. He barely fit into that letterman jacket he still wore. Clinging to his arm was Lacie—the queen bee of Union County High School. She once resembled Britney Spears. She picked on me relentlessly in high school, as I stuck out like a sore thumb. I had dyed my hair in crazy colors, wore band T-shirts, and had piercings. Now she wore sweatpants and a tank top. She wasn’t even trying anymore. If I wanted to be bitter, I could say that I got the last laugh. I was sitting at one of the fold-out tables that our school had set up for us. We were in the school gymnasium and I rolled my eyes at how cheap our school continued to be. “Oh my God, is that Keith?” Bertha, my high school best friend, asked. I don’t know why her mother named her Bertha, of all things. The funny part is, her siblings had plain, ordinary names. I followed her gaze and saw Keith. My jaw dropped. The kid that was once a scrawny, glasses-wearing, never-had-a-drink, virgin nerd, was now…hot. He wasn’t exactly ripped, but he had filled out. He finally won the battle that was him growing a beard. He still had glasses, but he finally had frames that fit his face. “Holy s**t! Keith!” I called out to him, despite the bashful protests from my friend. He looked over and us and a smile grew on his face as he made his way over. “Elizabeth! Ber! How have you guys been?” He grabbed a chair and sat down, scooting in close to us. I noticed Bertha’s face grow flush. “We have been great. Better question—what have you been up to? You’re all Clark Kent.” “Oh gosh,” he chuckled and glanced down. It was always a nervous habit of his. “Well, I’ve got a few online companies. I just got back from China, actually.” “Oh wow! How was it?” The brunette had broken out of her shell. Talk of travel always did. She yearned to get out of the States. She was one of the few from Union County who had left Indiana. The thought of China bored me and I zoned out as they rambled on. Don’t get me wrong—I was happy to see this little matchmaking session, but international travel never interested me. “I’m going to go grab a drink, do you guys want anything?” I politely interrupted and they both shook their heads before continuing their conversation. I made my way over to the cloth-covered table that had a terribly clichéd punch bowl in the middle of it. “Liz! What’s up?” I heard a belligerent voice behind me and a grin made its way to my face when I saw who it was. “John! No way. What’s up, dude?” I gave him a big hug. He was my partner in crime back in the day. I still remember the time we ran naked from the cops on a dare. To try and ditch them, we ran into an alley that had hundreds of thorn bushes. Our bodies were cut up, but we went back to the house and drowned our pain with Canadian whiskey. “I was hoping you would be here. Ms. Hot Shot, too-good-for-Indy,” he joked and I slapped his arm. “Oh, shut up. You know I just hate these cornfields. It’s nothing personal.” I matched his grin and we spent awhile catching up. He was now a tattoo artist, which was amazing. I remember at our parties he used to spend hours drawing and ignoring everyone whenever they told him to battle them in Guitar Hero. They all wanted a shot at the master. He tried teaching me how to play, but I could never get past playing on Easy. The extra button threw me off. I was even more surprised to realize that he was married. I had missed so much. His wife joined us and introduced herself. She was an artist, as well, but she hadn’t made it big yet. She was working full-time at PetSmart. They had a family of exotic snakes and lizards. They also had a dog named Dave Mustaine. I was so happy that he had finally found love. In high school, he was in love with the idea of us being together. I was in love with the idea of being with his sister. I went back over to my table, where Bertha and Keith were still talking. I think I saw hearts in her eyes. “What are you lovebirds talking about?” I laughed to myself when Bertha’s face turned white. “We were talking about who all peaked in high school,” Keith said and pointed at the stage in the gymnasium where the old football players and cheerleaders were hanging out. None of them had aged well, it seemed. Was I a bad person for laughing about it? They’d all been jerks in high school, so I decided that I wasn’t. “So, who is making the reunion speech or whatever?” I paused before continuing, “Wait, is that a thing?” Bertha laughed and answered, “Well, the student council president is in charge of that…” She trailed off, leaving me to put the pieces together. She chuckled as what I’m assuming was a look of terror came over my face. The student council president. A.K.A. my ex-girlfriend. “Oh God, so she is going to be here?” “Word on the street is, she’s dedicating the speech to you.” The brunette burst out into laughter and I shot her a death glare. “Real funny,” I smirked. She hadn’t changed a bit, thank God. As if on cue there she was, walking onto the stage. My breath caught in my throat. She had aged like a fine wine. “Hey, guys. Thank you all for coming here tonight.” I barely heard her words over the drunken cheers. “Okay, yes, we are all excited.” She smiled, but seemed slightly annoyed. “I wanted to toast all of you. Especially the ones who took time out of their schedules and flew in to be here.” Loud clapping overtook the room and she fought to get the crowd back. “Okay, okay. Anyways, just letting you know, we will be having a bonfire out by the field in about an hour. Go Vikings!” She still had a great smile. And a great body. She still had her long, brown curls. Her eyes were so bright blue that I could make out their color from my seat. Was she married? I looked at her left hand and saw no ring. Good. Wait, why was that good? Why did I care? I got another look at her face before she exited the stage. Her eyes caught mine and she hesitated for a moment or two. It seemed like forever. Did she forgive me? Did she miss me?