Chapter 10

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Chapter 10

Avery

Andy called and invited me to go out with him and some friends for the evening. Andy said Sheila would be there along with some of their friends from school; some of them were also people I knew from high school. I did know some of them, but we hadn't been friends. The truth is that I didn't have any friends back then because of Dave and his group - I still don't have many friends other than Andy and Sheila, who had only recently come back into my life. I was hesitant about meeting up with them, but Andy convinced me it would be fun.

He'd mentioned to some of his friends that he'd run into me recently and they were interested in meeting up. All of the ones from our high school knew me; it would have been hard not to since the bullying was so blatant. Now that we were all out of school and we didn't have to worry about the three stooges, they wanted to get to know me better. I don't know how I feel about that; I guess I still hold some resentment from back then, when they would pretend not to see what was happening because they didn't want to become victims themselves. It just hurts. It hurt back then when I needed them, and it hurts now. I want to forgive and forget, I really do, but it's not easy to let go of all the times they all stood by doing nothing. Now they want to be friends and I don't really know how to feel about that, it's confusing.

Andy picked me up at my apartment at 7 p.m. I still didn't feel comfortable with this, but Pete, siding with Andy, had convinced me that it would be good for me to reconnect with some of the people I had known in the past, and meet some of Andy's college friends. After picking me up, he drove over to Sheila's. When she came out, I climbed into the back seat so she could sit in the front with Andy.

"Aren't you excited, Avery?", Sheila asked, her voice overflowing with excitement. "Everybody is so looking forward to seeing you."

"Uhm, I guess?" I replied, not quite sure what to say; it came out more like a question. I was hesitant to talk about how I felt, believing that it might make her uncomfortable, so I kept that part to myself. I don't know how much Andy told her about my experiences in high school. "I didn't really know any of them very well back in school. I spent most of my time studying and working at the diner afterwards. I didn't go to any parties or hang out much either."

Andy decided to join the conversation at that point, talking about the people who were going to be there. Apparently, only three of them were actually people from high school, the rest were friends of his from college. By the time we got to the restaurant, I was feeling a little better about being there, although I still felt somewhat nervous. Andy always knew how to deal with me back when we were kids, it looks like nothing has changed in that regard. Shortly after that we arrived at the restaurant where the others were already waiting for us.

There were the three guys from our school that I already knew, John, Eric and Todd, and then three other guys and two girls that Andy knew from college that I didn't know yet: Carol, Chip, Roger, Elizabeth and Ben. Chip and Carol were a couple, and like Andy and Sheila, they'd been part of the same group of friends on campus and had become a couple during their time there. Once all the introductions were over, we ordered our meals and the conversation turned to what everybody had been doing since they graduated from school. Most of them were completing internships or starting their careers.

"So, Avery," Carol began after everybody else had talked about what they were up to. "What do you do for work?"

"I work at a small cafe/deli here in town." I replied, expecting someone to snicker or make some comment about it, but nobody did.

"That's so cool." Carol gushed. "My parents own a bakery, and I worked there all through high school and college. I kind of miss talking with all the regular customers. You sort of get to know them, and they almost become like a family after a while."

"What sort of food do you serve there?" Elizabeth spoke up for the first time; she'd hardly said anything so far.

"We serve a variety of things really; sandwiches, soups, salads, and we're open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Everything is sort of old-fashioned style meals. All of our soups are home-made, and everything is made from scratch - we even bake the bread for our sandwiches. We also have different specials that we rotate into the menu for special occasions that aren't on our regular menu."

"So, why didn't you go to college?" John asked me. "You were valedictorian, and I thought you had an academic scholarship."

"I was going to," I answered. "But my mom was in a car accident the summer between graduation and the start of college, and she passed away. I had to deal with that and then I moved. It was a bit much to deal with at the time and I ended up losing the scholarship, so I never went."

"It worked out for him anyway," Andy spoke up. "He's buying the cafe from the current owners and will take it over when they retire."

"Really? That's so cool." Eric said. "I kind of wanted to work in the restaurant business, but my uncle got me into security, and it turns out I liked it, so I stayed." He was the only one besides me in the group who didn't go to college. He's working as a security guard for a local bank.

After that, talk turned to other things, and it wasn't long before there were several different conversations going on at once. People were shifting their attention from one conversation to another and back; it was kind of fun to watch. I joined in here and there, but for the most part, I just listened to the others talk. They made me feel like I was a part of the group even though I had just met most of them. Both Pete and Andy had been right, that coming tonight would be good for me; I hope Pete's poker game is going as well as this get-together.

After the restaurant, we all went to a club where the girls dragged me out onto the floor to dance with them. My dancing was only so-so; like I said before, I've never been to any parties or clubs. It was a new experience for me, and I was unexpectedly having a lot of fun. Eventually Sheila coaxed Andy out onto the floor to dance with her, and then Carol literally dragged Chip over. Todd and Eric decided to join Elizabeth and I, and the four of us danced together for what felt like a long time. I was exhausted and made my way back to the table where the rest of the guys were talking sports. I sat there listening for the rest of the evening, watching my friends dance until they too, wore themselves out and dropped back into their chairs exhausted.

I thanked Andy for inviting me as he dropped me off in front of my apartment building. It was after one in the morning when I dragged my tired butt up the stairs, unlocked my apartment, and practically fell into bed after brushing my teeth and putting on a pair of pajamas. There was no way I was going to be getting up early in the morning for any reason; sleep beckoned me with open arms, and I welcomed her soporific touch upon my brow as I fell deep into her bosom.

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