The next school year went as well as I could have hoped. The pain was as stark as the day I last saw her, but I was managing better. I was actually not getting triggered at every place I passed by that reminded me of her. Or of Bethany.

There were even moments when I could forget her.

A couple of friends began to get me out of my funk by always getting me to tag along with them. I let myself be dragged along.

In class, a girl started catching my eye, but I was too afraid to get hurt again. I tried to ignore her as best as I could. My friends noticed, and told me she had been in our class since the first year, I was just too oblivious of her because of the crowd I was in.

Beau, the girl who always got me to tag along, told me the best way to forget someone is to find someone else. Seemed like flawless logic, so I started calling the new girl who caught my eye. Once a week, same time, same day. It seemed like the best way to train someone to miss you.

Naturally, any girl I liked would have someone else going after her. And so it was the case with Lily too. A guy in class was courting her, and they were always together. So I stayed away and stayed aloof during class, only talking to her once a week on the phone.

(The landline phone. At this time, cellphones existed but were not yet popular. They were extremly expensive, large, and clunky).