No one likes a high school reunion. Ok, maybe some people do. Those who are born with the rare amalgamation of genes that allow for a Disney movie version of secondary school. It wasn’t the case for Jenny then, and it certainly wasn’t the case for her now.

Ongoing fights with brain cancer left her with a permanent bad hair day for her teen years and the only thing worse than disinterest from an adolescent peer group is pity. Nothing sexy about that. Not then, not now.

Luckily, most of the time, high school feels very far away. Ten years away. Except it’s not anymore. The reunion is looming, and Jenny has already RSVP’d with a plus one. Finally, a chance to show up looking decent, image vastly improved by the date on her arm. Or it would have been, had he not dumped her.

She’d cancel, but she can’t. She’s got a job teaching in the same school as of January, so this Christmas party is a must. A holiday high school reunion? What could be worse? Maybe, it’s finding out the date her best friend pulls together last minute is actually her high school boyfriend. Back, and hotter than ever.

Madeline Starr