Love Requiem
By: Jane Barker

I couldn't help overhearing Zack Jameson, Carlson Sanford, and Anne Crawfords conversation. There was nothing I could do that wouldn't draw their attention to me. I was scared that if they saw me they would immediately know who I was. I knew that coming to my high school reunion would be a nightmare.

"I wonder if that Barker kid is here." Said Anne disdainfully, her voice just as shrill as it was twenty years ago. "Remember? Jake Barker?" She laughed heartlessly, as if I were the joke of the day. "Remember when I tricked him into going into the girls bathroom? He flipped out when he realized where he was." She was laughing even harder, attracting the attention of some of the other guests. "And all of those pictures. It's a good thing he didn't press charges on us."

"I don't know what that kids problem was." Zack answered. " But when Chase broke the kids leg in middle school, Chase ended up in juvy for a long time. What was it, three years because of an early release? We used to pick fun at the kid all the time."Zack pointed to Carl. "I don't know why he took it so seriously. It's not like we were trying to kill him or anything." Silence fell on the three of them like a ten ton weight falling from the sky. "We were only kidding?" Zack didn't need confirmation. For the first time in these peoples lives, the intensity of how horrible they were to me became evident. I tried to slink away, but apparently i have to have that fixed too.

Anne's shrill voice rang out "Hey, isn't that his sister? He did have a sister right?" I had been caught. Well, not quite caught. I walked over towards Anne.

"Hello, you probably don't remember me.," Anne stared at me in horror, not because she recognized me as Jake, but because I had just confirmed that I had been listening in on their conversation. "My name is Jane Barker."

Anne cleared her throat before speaking. " Are- are you Jake Barkers sister? ?

"No, but we are related." I said cooly.

"Is he here?"

"No, no. He couldn't make it."

"I see." She replied with a hint of arrogance or smugness in her voice. I gave a polite goodbye and headed for the upstairs bathroom. The empty, upstairs bathroom in which I could have my privacy. I opened the bathroom door. I was suddenly overcome by a wave of emotion and memory.

"Come on Jake, I'll show you what a real woman is like,: Whispered Annie Crawford in my ear. I felt the testosterone in me surge. Part of me was telling me "No! It's a trap!" while the rest of me screeched, "Oh, My God! A girl is speaking to you." Naturally I was enslaved to hormones. There wasn't anything I could do. I blindly followed Anne up a set of stairs. We turned a corner and passed through a door. I didn't see the room number, but still part of me wanted to do this. I smelled the perfume usually attributed to cleaning supplies. Maybe I was in a supply closet?

Anne pulled my jeans down and off. My eyes began to grow accustomed to the darkness of the room. Suddenly, the lights in the room flash on. Cameras flashed all around me. I could hear the giggling of many girls in the room.

"Wha-" I began. Realization poured into me. Everything in the room was pink or white. I was in the upstairs girls bathroom. I panicked and tried to run away. I got to the door of the bathroom, i had no pants on, my shirt was ripped. I put my hand on the door handle to open it when I felt a hand grab my hair.

"Annie!, Let go of me!" But she didn't. Instead, she pulled back, my body following the attached head. I began to fall. "Annie!" I shrieked as loud as I could, But nobody would help me. I continued to fall. My head hit the bathroom's tile floor, and I blacked out.