ot with a gentle fade, but like a ha

eunion, Jessica' s mocking laughter ech

oom window, the familiar scent of my m

ctly as it was b

riend, and his venomous girlfriend,

oother, no calluses from the de

the mirror showed seventeen-year-old Sara

fe, the one they stole, burne

n, Mike hacking the school servers

p for Computer Science

ted by him, e

a direct result of their c

mouth, I was back, months

d on my phone, a group cha

ke and Jessica at t

deo

t, my stoma

all game, the whole sc

arrogant as ever, l

ed the announc

ross the field, "You' re the only girl for me! W

n the cheerleading

, over-the-top display

gaudy promise ring sparkli

the mic Mike offered her, "We know th

od ran

now t

lar girl boasting, th

re rebo

remem

re tech bro after stealin

reveled in

med with the same

confidence, told me they tho

d a cheat code to li

e of it all wa

wasn't naive, this time,

sn't theirs

ting, and so was