Description
Leeann Mitchell regarded her high school yearbook as a torture device rather than a piece of nostalgia from an important time in her life. As she turned over page after page of senior photos, classmates expressed more happiness in a useless book rather than in their real lives. She understood how true life falsely was projected. She knew the people who were proudly displaying their best forced smiles. There was a nice smile from Joy Trenton. What wasn’t shown was that she was six months pregnant from a former boyfriend who denied being the father. Adam Thoren looked great in his suit. They made sure to cover up his tattoos. The only reason that Sara Wiley was smiling was because she was hitting on the photographer. Danny Hanlon and Kurt Bowen posed together as best friends and would later come out of the closet and express their love for each other. She couldn’t look at the pictures of herself. A pair of scissors was her accomplice in casting away these memories, especially the pictures with him next to her. She couldn’t even say his name. Anyway, the cast of characters was plenty. The lies were abundant and well hidden.
There were also the titles. A graduating senior of Perrysville High School would forever be known by the judgments of others, regardless of reality. This would be a cross that they would bear for eternity. “Most likely to succeed,” probably didn’t. “Most dramatic,” most likely takes anti-depressants. “Most energetic” was probably fat and lethargic. The list could go on and on. As for living up to these titles, well, Leeann thought that this was … most impossible. She agonizingly remembered the titles bestowed to her—“Most Beautiful and Most Desirable.” The five years since graduation hadn’t been the most kind. As for her beauty and desirability, they had somewhat tarnished.
Last month’s mail had delivered the ultimate device of torture—the five-year class reunion invitation. She could not feel the lure of a “one night only” gathering of people who would pretend to be happy to see one another. Leeann believed that the true reality of a class reunion was to make certain that you were doing better than your classmates … and that they knew it. Everyone was prey as the carnage had the potential to damage the meek for years to come. She just wasn’t sure that she had the bloodlust or desire to endure the hunt and kill within the coliseum that the class reunion was in reality.
The ringing of her phone pulled her away from her trip down memory lane. Breathlessly she offered her words. “Well, good evening, stud. Oh my, it’s been so long. A couple of days without you seem like an eternity. Now slow down there, tiger. Business first and then all the pleasure that you can handle. Go ahead, stud. Give me that credit card number of yours. Oh, I love it when you use that card. Hold on just a moment. I’m almost ready for you. Oh dear! Your card has been denied. You’re just going to have to solo this one tonight, stud. Bye,” Leeann seductively teased as she hung up on her client.
After exhaling a deep sigh, she got up and walked over to a sink full of dirty dishes. Leeann had a feeling that this was going to be a slow night. She looked briefly at her reflection in the mirror on the wall while she also looked around her run-down trailer. Her dark brown hair had lost some of its curl and style. Her tank top and torn shorts were far from high fashion. As for makeup, she didn’t even bother with that. She wasn’t sure that she could have fallen farther from “Most Beautiful and Most Desirable” if she had tried.
