I was so excited. It was my birthday today, and Robert had told me yesterday that we needed to “talk”. Now, I know this sounds bad, but I was convinced that it was about the “next step” in our relationship. Rob had always been generous with gifts, but I had a gut feeling this was something else.

I met Rob when I was a sophomore and he was a junior, being transferred from a school in Montana. The Vermont climate and the n0-friend factor was too much for him, and eventually he turned to me. I had been attracted to him all along, but he had never shown interest. Suddenly, though, he was right there in my life, as though he had always been there. He fit. He was perfect.

I walked down the dimly lit hallway, pausing only when I got to Lissa.

“Hey! Guess what?” I tried to suppress my words, but they all came tumbling out. “Rob wants to ‘talk’ and you know what that means!” I was so excited, I had to tell my best friend. She would be excited, too, of course.

Her eyes held nothing but disdain.