The theme of the dance was "Great Romances," or some such nonsense. There were projections of supposedly great couples from the past on the walls of the gym. Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, Hermione and Ron, Bonnie and Clyde, etc.
Gabrielle ZevinOur moment had passed somehow. I was different. He was, too. Without our โmadnessโ to unite us, there wasnโt anything much there. Or maybe too much had happened in too short a time. Itโs like when you take a trip with someone you donโt know very well. Sometimes you can get very close very quickly, but then after the trip is over, you realise all that was a false sort of closeness. An intimacy based on the trip more than the travellers, if that makes any sense.
Gabrielle ZevinYou forget all of it anyway. . . You forget who was cool and who was not, who was pretty, smart, athletic, and not. . . You forget all of them. Even the ones you said you loved, and even the ones you actually did. Theyโre the last to go. And then once youโve forgotten enough, you love someone else.
Gabrielle Zevin