Joan scrolled through her school album remembering what her thoughts were back then. It had already been twenty years since graduation, but Joan still remembered the boy who broke her young heart. In anticipation of meeting him at the reunion, she didn’t know that he hadn’t been the one to blame.
As I sat flipping through my old school photos, I couldn’t help but feel a wave of nostalgia wash over me.
It had been 20 years since I graduated, but looking at the pictures made it feel like just yesterday.
There I was—young Joana Cooper, with that silly, hopeful smile plastered on my face, and beneath my yearbook photo, a cheesy quote I once thought was so profound:
“Love is a two-person job.”
I laughed at how naive I had been back then, but my laughter quickly faded as my eyes landed on his photo.
Chad Barns. My high school crush. The boy who had captured my heart for years.
I had been head over heels for Chad back then—leaving secret love notes in his locker, trying to flirt in my awkward teenage way, and even stuffing valentines into his backpack when I thought no one was looking.
I was convinced we’d end up together, that he was the one.
I imagined our future so vividly, right down to our wedding day. But here I was, 38 years old, still single, and still wondering what had gone wrong.
Why had Chad suddenly shut me out all those years ago?
He had ghosted me just before graduation, leaving me confused and heartbroken.
I hadn’t spoken to him since, but the memory of him still haunted me, even after all this time.
Just as I started to sink deeper into my thoughts, the doorbell rang, pulling me back to the present.
I set the photo album aside and went to open the door.
My best friend Lora stood there, her usual bright smile lighting up her face.
“Ready for the school reunion, bestie?” she asked, her excitement contagious.
I hesitated, leaning against the doorframe.
“Honestly, Lora, I’m not sure I want to go.”
She raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.
“Why not? What happened?”
I let out a deep sigh.
“I was just going through my old photos, and it brought back a lot of memories. You know, about Chad.”
Lora rolled her eyes dramatically, crossing her arms.
“Chad Barns?
You’re still hung up on that after 20 years?”
“I know it sounds ridiculous,” I admitted, feeling a bit embarrassed.
The story doesn’t end here –
it continues on the next page.
TAP → NEXT PAGE → 👇
