AJ sighed and rummaged through the desk drawer. Damn scrapbook project, he thought. Do I really want to think about all the stuff I did when I was younger? I mean, I’m not the same as I was back then, but I think I’d rather forget that side of myself.

With a sigh, he pulled out a large stack of photographs and began flipping through them. Photo after photo from various dances and other events, showing him with whatever girl had caught his attention, at least, momentarily. And I can’t even remember most of their names, that’s how little they meant to me, he thought. They may have all looked different, but inside, they were all the same: airheaded, self-absorbed, and superficial.

He began organizing the pictures by grade, then smiled when he came across a picture from when he and Emily were in kindergarten. Their mother had taken a picture of them playing together.

Maybe I should give this one to Emily. She might be able to use it in her scrapbook, he decided. With the photograph in hand, he left his room and walked down the hall to Emily’s room. He rapped at the door. “Hey, Em,” he called out. “I have a picture you can use.” There was no response. AJ shrugged and let himself into the room. He carefully set the picture on the desk, where he knew she’d be sure to see it.

“Back to sorting through the pictures,” he muttered.


Tiffani stuffed the chocolate chip cookie into her mouth, wiped the crumbs from her fingers onto her pants, and continued sorting through the pictures. She frowned a little at the pictures of herself as a child, all dressed up in frilly dresses and her hair elaborately styled.

Mom wanted me to be a beauty queen, like she was before she got pregnant with Nikki-- apparently, it totally ruined her figure. I was a real disappointment, she thought. I put on a good bit of weight when I entered high school. She nibbled at another cookie. So, I guess I’m not going to live out my mom’s plans for my life. Good.


Ophelia and Emily entered Z’s; Emily was a great deal more cautious than her friend was. She’d heard stories of all kinds of unsavory characters frequenting the place, but the patrons of the place looked normal enough.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be here,” Emily whispered.

“Relax, Em,” Ophelia replied. “I come here all the time. These are nice people.”

“Nice,” Emily echoed.

“Yeah. You’ve been here before.”

“Because AJ wanted to stop here to talk to you. And to meet up to do that thing.”

“Look, nothing bad is going to happen to you,” Ophelia said firmly. “Now, come on.” She dragged Emily over to where Valo, Jade, and Tacita were chatting, rather animatedly. Jade looked a little tired.


“Hey, it’s Ophelia and Emily,” Valo said, interrupting Jade and Tacita’s bickering.

“Hey, kiddo,” Tacita greeted Emily. “Here, take a seat. What’s up?”

“We have a project for class where we have to put together scrapbooks,” Ophelia explained. “I thought maybe you guys could make some suggestions for stuff Emily could put into hers.”

“Well,” Valo replied slowly, “I have a scrapbook from when I was in high school. I put it together my senior year.”

“Yeah?” Ophelia asked. “What’s in there?”

Valo grinned and responded, “Some pictures of me, and lots of pictures of guys.”

“What?!” the others exclaimed, in unison.

“Okay, I know what you’re all thinking, but let me explain it,” Valo added quickly. “Most of my friends were guys, and I liked to bring my camera to school with me and take pictures. And, of course, most of the pictures were of people I liked to hang out with. And that meant I had pictures of lots of guys who I was friends with-- only friends.”

“So, pictures of people who were important to you then?” Ophelia spoke up.

“Yeah.”

“See, Emily, you could do that.”

Emily shrugged and said, “I guess, but there’s not really that many people who are that important to me.”

“I also put in pictures from vacations and outings,” Valo added. “My dad and I went to Disney World during Christmas break of my senior year, and I had a lot of fun pictures of myself trying on goofy hats-- no pun intended-- and just having fun.”

“I have a bunch of phone numbers in mine,” Tacita spoke up. “Lots of people’s numbers and e-mail addresses. I didn’t bother to actually keep in touch with most of them, but it was a nice gesture. Oh, and ticket stubs from movies I went to. I went to a lot of movies when I was in high school, and I saved all the ticket stubs. What about you, Jade?”


“I didn’t save anything from high school,” Jade replied sharply. “I don’t want to remember anything about that time period.”

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” Valo muttered.

“Shut up,” Jade snapped. “I just didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Regular insomnia, or assisted insomnia?” Tacita asked, smirking.

“I don’t need to sit here and take this,” Jade griped, rising from her seat. “I’m going home.”

“Say hi to You-Know-Who for me,” Tacita called out to Jade, who whirled around and gave Tacita the finger.

“What was that about?” Emily asked.

Valo sighed and shook her head. Ophelia turned to Emily and said, “It’s a long story. If you’re smart, you’ll stay away from strange men, and you’ll remember that all men are strange.”

“Okay…”