I grinned. "Remember that one talent show our high school had?" I said. "The principal- what was her name? Montez, that's right- was so angry when you came out unannounced with that electric guitar and practically started a riot!" I laughed. "Remember that?"
"Yeah, that was great," I chuckled. "She looked like her head was about to explode. And then I had the volume so loud the speakers nearly short-circuited. That poor custodian...he was standing right by the speakers..."
I laughed and looked around me. I remembered everything about this place, these people. They had no idea how I'd changed. I was half expecting Sunny to ask me where I'd been all those years, but part of me was afraid of answering. Because honestly, even I wasn't sure.
"This is actually really cool," I remarked. And it was--I hadn't seen Rose in forever, but suddenly we showed up at the same cafe. "I know I kind of fell off the edge of the map after high school, but it's good to be back for a change. So do you write for a living?"
I smiled a little sadly. "I used to," I said. "I used to write for the New York Times, but I quit to come back here." I gestured around. "I was mostly just a fact checker anyway."
"Oh, yeah, okay," I replied. "Journalism, and stuff. If you don't mind my asking...do you have something you wanted to do here, or did you just want to be someplace familiar?"
I bit my lip. "Well I guess you could say I came here to forget," I said. It sounded much more melodramatic out loud. "I mean, I don't really have a plan now that I think about it. So yeah, I guess I do just want to be somewhere familiar." I talked too fast. I always talked too fast when I wanted to cover something up.
I could tell Rose didn't want to talk about it, so I tried changing the subject. "Sure," I said. "I don't really have a plan, either. I was just supposed to be here for a few days, but then Cass asked me to watch the cafe for her...she's the owner."
I knew Cass from somewhere, but I couldn't remember where. Cass...Cass...I mentally snapped my fingers and nearly shouted, "Eureka!" "Cass...wasn't she the class president back in high school or am I dreaming?"
"Yup," I replied. "She was the class president. She was pretty much the class everything." Cass had been (and was still) a nerd--the kind that studied day and night for fun. She was a good friend, but she could be an overachiever sometimes.
