Today at work was awful. I’m glad it’s over.

I won’t go into it here because I already unloaded on Dan.

Now I am home and relaxing and scrolling through social media. I came across a post from an author whose high school bully rated one of her books one star before it was released. They are both in their 30s now, and the high school bully is an author also.

Kind of a long time to hold a grudge, right?

It brought me back to a memory, though. The summer before my junior year of high school, I got a job at Winn-Dixie. I instantly hated it, but I wasn’t going to be there for long. Once school started again, I was going to quit the job.

Another girl from high school worked there also. Let’s call her Tricky. Tricky had already worked there for a while. I was a cashier, but one night the manager talked to me about being a stocker because they had enough cashiers and they needed more people to stock groceries.

Ok, whatever, I don’t care. This isn’t my career.

The next day Tricky and I came in at the same time. Tricky was stocking. I was on the register. Tricky made sure to stay within my eyeline, and once in a while she pantomimed laughter. It was weird, and I didn’t get the joke.

Also, I need to mention that I had never once in my life talked to Tricky. She was younger than me, and we had different friend groups.

At the end of the night, the manager told me Tricky got promoted because she had been there longer, and he was sorry he couldn’t promote me.

I absolutely gave no fucks.

A week before my last day, Steve asked me on a date. I don’t know what Steve did at the store. I do know that he spent a lot of his time talking to me. We were the same age, and he went to a different school.

The date was weird and uncomfortable. We ended up at his parents’ house with his invalid grandmother and his brother’s wife? Or girlfriend? I never figured out, but she wasn’t related. She took care of the grandmother, though, so maybe she was just a nurse? Anyway, we were outside in the backyard with a fire and listening to music, and she kept saying, ‘Tell the old people who say we are too noisy to take some Geritol and go to bed.’ Then laughing like it was the funniest thing anyone in the world ever said.

I wanted to go home, and Steve’s very drunk brother drove me home.

Then came my last day at the store, and I just turned my stuff in and left. As I was leaving, Steve pulled up, and Tricky was in the back seat of his car. His brother was in the front. Steve said hello, and Tricky stared me down.

I was glad to be away from all of them and thought ok that’s the end of it, but no, while I was at dance practice, Steve called. I called back to tell him I was not interested, but Tricky answered the phone. I said Tell Steve I called. Didn’t even ask to speak to him.

Then life went on. I started a different relationship; I forgot all about Tricky and Steve.

Now we are going to fast forward almost 15 years. I had a family by this time and was married and divorced.

I bumped into Tricky at a store close to where I was living. Here is what happened.

Tricky, “Edna?”

Me, “Tricky?”

Tricky, “I haven’t seen you in forever. What are you doing now?”

I gave her a brief synopsis of my life.

Tricky, “Remember how jealous you were of me?”

Me, “No.”

Tricky, “You were so jealous. I was a stocker, and you had to stay a cashier.”

I had no idea what she was talking about. I replied, “At school?”

Tricky, taken aback, “At Winn-Dixie. When we worked there.”

Me, laughing, “Tricky, I absolutely didn’t give a fuck about that. I hated that job and only took it to save up money for a car. I had a different job at a different place the next summer.”

Tricky, “Ok, well, you remember Steve, right?”

Me, “No,” then I said again, “from school?”

Tricky, clearly agitated now and I don’t know why, “NO! From Winn-Dixie.”

Me, “Sorry, no, I don’t remember a Steve.”

Tricky, “You tried to date him, but he loved me. We got married.”

Me, “That creepy guy? The one with the alcoholic brother? I don’t remember dating him.”

Tricky, “Well, you did, and you were jealous because he loved me.”

Me, “Tricky, I say this with the utmost respect, I was never jealous of you. I’m happy for you, and congratulations on getting married.”

Fifteen years later, Tricky thinks I still care, even though I had a steady boyfriend who was not Steve the entirety of my last two years of high school.

I said bye after that and left. However, I still think about that sometimes. How she thought I was jealous, but I never talked to her. The longest conversation that we ever had was the one in the store 15 years after high school.

It’s more weird to me than upsetting. I hope Tricky had a beautiful and fulfilled life.

Ok, well that’s all for now. Have a good Tuesday.