I'd like to tell Dee about this, but I'm not sure how. Other than Melanie, I've never had a very close friend and I'm not sure how to make one. It's silly, I know. I have seen other people do it. They make it look so easy: Have fun, open up, share stories. But how am I supposed to do that when the only story I really want to tell is the same one I'm supposed to clean up? And also, the last time I opened up to someone. . . Well, that's precisely why I need a clean slate in the first place. It just seems safer to keep things as they are: friendly, cordial, nice, and simple.
At the end of February, my parents come over for Presidents' weekend. It's the first time they've been up since parent's weekend, and having learned my lesson, I do my best to maintain the image they expect of me. I turn
