Truthfully, Molly’s back-handed bullying caused me to dissolve into tears on more than one occasion. I was usually able to hold in my crying until I was safely back in my dorm room. But I spent several afternoons and evenings during freshman year sobbing over Molly’s treatment of me. As much as I tried to avoid her, it was nearly impossible on a campus so small. And considering that we lived next do each other in the same dorm, Molly was usually there to terrorize me. I quickly began a habit of leaving events early or just not going to gatherings at all just to avoid her.
By sophomore year, when all freshmen girls moved to another dorm building, Krista and I at least managed to get ourselves a room on a different floor from Molly and Jenn; and then those two moved off campus for junior and senior years, renting a big house with several of their other friends. And as the years of school went on and we all got more heavily involved in our respective majors, I saw less of Molly not only because she lived off-campus but also because my time was spent in the English department while she was over in the section of campus where communications classes were held. Not surprisingly, Molly pictured herself as a television anchor. By our junior year, she was leading the campus newscasts on Monday’s and Thursday’s. The shows aired via a local cable news station that fed into the campus television system; I stayed in my dorm room while my fellow classmates gathered around the TV’s in the common rooms to get their news from Molly.
On graduation day, she tearfully hugged everyone, including me, making me promise to keep in touch. “Oh Leah, what will I do without you?” she said as she cried into my hair. I patted her back and wished her luck before spinning around and losing myself in the crowd of my fellow graduates. I was proud of the diploma I had earned, but I was happier to finally be free of Molly Timmerman.
After college, I had managed to avoid Molly on social media by blocking her on every single site I was on. And since I had not been to the previous reunion, I had almost forgotten about her. But now she had spotted Krista and me and was making her way over with her oh-so-bright fake toothy grin. I put a strained closed-mouth smile on my face and braced for her crushing hug.
“Leah! Krista! Oh my God, it is so good to see you two! It’s been ages!” While Krista had made the five-year reunion and was connected with Molly on social media (“I’m just friends with her online so I can see what messes she’s getting into,” Krista insisted), this was my first time coming face-to-face with my nemesis in ten years.
“Oh, Molly; how are you? I didn’t think you were going to make it,” Krista said as she was embraced by Molly, looking at me over Molly’s shoulder and giving me a roll of her eyes. “You look amazing, as always!” Krista made a gagging gesture and crossed her eyes.
“I’m good, so good! So glad I was able to rework my schedule to make it!” exclaimed Molly, her fake eyelashes blinking a mile a minute as she tried to readjust them with her too-long manicured nails. “I’m so happy to run into you two; it’s been so long! Remember how we used to fight all the time, Leah?” she asked as she reached over and enveloped me in a crushing hug, her perfume overwhelming my senses. “Gosh, we were just awful when we were younger, weren’t we?”
“Um, well,” I managed to mutter before being rendered speechless. Was she really saying we were in cohorts as far as the bullying went? As I racked my brain to come up with a response, Molly pulled back from hugging me, turned around, and said, “Matt, babe; come here, I have some friends I want you to meet!”
Time suddenly seemed to stand still as a handsome man edged his way through the crowd and towards Molly. She reached out to grab his hand, and then turned to Krista and me to make the introductions.
“Guys, this is…”
“Matty?!” I interrupted her, in shock.
“Matthew Boyd?” Krista said a split second behind me.
“Leah? Is that really you?” Matthew stood stunned for a second before coming forward and pulling me to him and hugging me tightly, the same hug I had been on the receiving end of so often growing up. His adult body was different than from when we were teenagers, thicker and more solid; but his scent was the same.
Matthew pulled back and held me at arm’s length. “Leah…. I can’t believe it’s you. It’s been so long. I had…no idea you went to school…here…or with…Molly,” Matthew stuttered, glancing back at Molly before gently letting go of me and stepping back. “And Krista? You, too? I just can’t believe it!” He leaned over to give Krista a side hug but did so without taking his eyes off me.
As Matthew and I stared at each other, my mind reeled as memories from years ago rushed forward. This boy – now a man – who I had once loved so much but never thought I would see again – was now standing before me. It was what I had always secretly dreamed of happening one day, except in my fantasy he wasn’t dating the one person I hated most in this world.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I, um, am just…wow…Matty, how are you? I can’t believe you are
