I'd come here planning to leave as soon as I could. It was a pit stop, not a destination. I had my whole life mapped out." "So what happened?" "I guess that map didn't turn out to be mine after all.

Maybe I'd just figured out there were some things you were better off not knowing

I got back in my car, starting the engine, then drove off. It wasn't until I pulled onto the highway that it all really sunk it, how temporary our friendship had been. We'd been on our breaks, after all, but it wasn't our relationships that were on pause: it was us. Now we were both in motion again, moving ahead. So what if there were questions left unanswered. Life went on. We knew that better than anyone.

All of my stories, they don't come from my high school experience, but they're definitely based on things that happened to me in high school, or things that happened to friends of mine, or things that I wish had happened to me.

You're not the kind of person who smiles for nothing, Colie. I have to earn every one.

But unfriendly is usually one of those things you pick up on right away. You know, like B.O. There's no hiding it if it's there.

But it was important to simply be sought, even if you didn‟t ever want to be found.