Reunion7 -

Lena stood near the punch bowl, feeling seventeen again in the worst way. She had spent an hour on her dress—deep green, fitted, confident. But the moment she walked in, she became the girl with the too-loud laugh and the secondhand backpack.

She almost laughed. Julian, who had sat behind her in AP English, who had once passed her a note folded into the shape of a paper crane. Do you think we’ll remember any of this in seven years? she had written back. He had replied, I think we’ll remember each other. reunion7

“What happens now?” she asked.

“I’m not here to make a speech,” he interrupted gently. “I just wanted to see if the girl who wrote that note still existed somewhere. And she does. You’re just… a little taller.” Lena stood near the punch bowl, feeling seventeen