Michelle walked into the hotel nervously. She looked around for signs that would point her in the direction of her ten-year high school reunion. She heard familiar laughter to her right and noticed two of the girls she went to school with heading toward a banquet hall. She followed the two and stopped in her tracks when she entered the big room.

She saw the people in the room and memories flooded back. Not all of the memories were good. Hell most of them weren't, but this was her past and she needed to deal with it. She heard her name called and forced her lips into a smile.

"Hi, Amber."

"Hi. Oh, this is my husband Brian." Amber waited until the two shook hands before continuing. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing well. How about you?"

"Oh, things are going great. We just got a new car to fit our three kids into and I just got promoted at work. So are you married or anything? You're not wearing a nametag."

Michelle looked down at her shirt. "Well, I just walked in, but, yes, I am married. He just couldn't make it. It was nice talking to you. I think I'm going to go get my nametag and all. Talk to you later."

Michelle took a deep breath and turned to the table in the corner. She knew it was going to be like this, yet she made the decision to come. She also knew that encounters like the one she just had were going to be plentiful tonight. These people thought they knew her but actually never really saw the real her. She'd even bet that some of these people didn't think she had a sense of humor. She had to laugh at that.

Her sense of humor is what drew her husband, Bobby, to her. Michelle wished he was here to bring her through this, but also wished he wasn't here. She could already feel the transformation happening. Her attitude was subsiding and the shy girl was peeking through. She cursed herself as she smiled at the man behind the table.

"Hey, Aaron, how are things going with you?"

The dark haired man looked up in confusion. He looked at her for a minute before smiling. "Michelle, is that you?"

"Yup. It's me. I heard that nametags were over here."

"Yeah. Let me get yours. It's one of the easier ones to find." He smiled up at her as he looked at the bottom of the pile for her sticker. "Here we go. Last as always."

Michelle nodded. "Yeah, that's one thing I miss about my maiden name. I was usually alphabetically last in everything. Easy way to find my name on a list."

"I can imagine. What's your name now?" He looked at the tag. "Ralph?"

"Yup, Michelle Ralph. That's me."

"Cool. Well, before you go I just need to tell you that your table number is in the bottom left corner of your nametag."

"Thanks, Aaron. I'll see you around."

Michelle waved to one of the only guys she never had a problem with in high school and walked toward her table and sighed.

It looked like she'd have to talk to Amber and Brian again.

~~~~~~

"So there we were at three o'clock in the morning, in the freezing cold, and he says," the woman paused to recollect herself, "'Honey, is it cold outside?'."

Michelle managed not to roll her eyes. She had only been sitting at the table for fifteen minutes but it was the second time she heard the story. It wasn't that funny to begin with and the second time around it was even worse. She would have moved but this was her table and dinner was about to be served. I wish Bobby could be here so I'd have someone interesting to talk to.

"So, Michelle, what do you do?"

Michelle pulled out of the thoughts of her husband and planted on the fake smile she used so much years ago when she worked for Disney.

"Oh, I'm a personal assistant."

"Oh, really?" She saw the disappointment in Kendra's, the woman who was telling the story just moments ago, face. "What does that entail?"

"Well, I have to make sure Bobby keeps to his schedule. With all the appearances his sponsors make him do and the charities on top of everything else I just make sure Bobby's where he needs to be when he needs to be there and I just make sure other little things are done."

"And who's this Bobby guy? Anyone I know?"

"Unless you're a car racing fan I'd doubt it."

Kendra raised an eyebrow. "Car racing? Really? Not a real sport then?"

Michelle saw the look on the other woman's face, along with those on most of the others at their table. She took a deep breath but that didn't help. She looked up and the people at the table didn't know what to expect.

"Not a real sport?" She took another deep breath in hopes of calming down. It didn't work. "Excuse me but racing is more than just putting the pedal to the metal, so to speak, and driving around an oval. It takes lots of concentration and knowledge to do it well. You're going up to about 200 miles an hour with maybe a car above you and a car below and have to navigate a turn and have to know how your tires are doing on the track, the timing in the race also matters here, the track is different after a few laps have gone by. Don't forget about thinking about fuel, wondering how you can pass somebody and keeping in constant contact with you crew. Oh and I bet that the fact that one small move can result in death a lot easier in the sport didn't cross your mind either. The drivers are smart. They have to be. They have a million and one things going through their minds during races."

Kendra blinked a few times. "Sorry. I guess this is a sensitive subject with you."

"Well...it's my life. I'm just sick and tired of people not considering what it really takes to make it in racing. I'm sorry if I came on strong but you're not the first person I've come across who's completely ignorant on the subject."

"So...umm...how did you decide on this job?" Amber asked.

"Well, it all started when I met Bobby a few years ago. We hit it off very well. He was a new driver for the team and I had a friend who worked for the team owner. We met one time when I was visiting her and the next month I made another trip down just to see him, but I didn't tell him that. He still thinks I went down to see my friend again."

"You went out with this Bobby?"

Michelle smirked. "Not only did I go out with him, I married him." She lifted up her left hand and wiggled her ring finger for emphasis.

"You're married to a race car driver?"

"Yeah." Michelle shrugged. "That's why he can't be here tonight. He has a race tomorrow. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go to the ladies room. Just tell them I'm having the chicken."

Michelle quickly stood up and made her way to the bathroom. After she flushed the toilet she stood in front of the mirror and sighed. She had been there almost an hour and had already lost her temper. At least now she knew she wasn't going to regress completely into the shell of the girl she used to be. Michelle tucked a stray strend of hair behind her ear and left the restroom.

"We still don't have a last song."

Michelle looked to her right and found the senior class president talking to Aaron.

"Don't worry. We'll figure something out. Hey, Michelle, maybe you can help us out here. We're trying to figure out what the last song of the reunion should be. He," he pointed to the man beside him, "thinks it should be Vitamin C's 'Graduation Song' but it's just not sounding right."

There was laughter behind them and Michelle spotted three boys from her senior Physics class. An idea started to form in her head.

"Actually, I do have the perfect song. I heard it on my way over here."

"What is it?"

"Do you trust me?"

"What?" the taller man asked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just answer the question. Do you trust me?"

He shrugged. "I guess. Aaron, should I?"

"I guess. Why?"

Michelle smiled. "Because the song I have in mind is so special I want to surprise you. Come on, you said you trusted me. I won't pick anything inappropriate," she continued as the men stared at her. "Come on, Aaron, you know me. As we said earlier, I'm alphabetically last, who else should pick the last song?"

"Just let her do it, man."

The other man looked at Aaron before looking at Michelle and repeated his actions. "I guess."

Michelle smiled and began to turn around.

"Oh, Michelle."

Michelle turned when she head Aaron call her name.

"I saw that smile. I know something's up but don't worry. I think I'm going to like what you have up your sleeve. See you later."

Michelle returned to her table as the food arrived. She noticed the weary looks from some of the people at the table and decided if someone needed to start a pointless conversation it might as well be her.

"It looks like I'm going to be able to be picking out the last song of the night."

~~~~~~

After dinner Michelle had talked to the d.j. and made sure he had the song. When he told her he did she smiled at him and just asked him to call her up the song before so she could prepare her speech to introduce the song. She was on her way back to the d.j. booth when she was intercepted.

"Hey, Michelle, I heard you were picking out the last song. What did you decide on?"

"I guess news still travels fast around here. Don't worry, Heather, I've got the perfect song to end the night. It's next so I've got to go because I'm going to introduce it." Michelle turned away, hoping to escape Heather and the other girl with her. Too late.

"I heard you were married to a race car drive. Any way you can help me meet Dale Earnhardt, Jr?"

Michelle sighed and closed her eyes.

"Tara, Bobby's not at that level yet. Almost, but not yet, so I don't know him very well. I've barely met him." With those words she turned and left the two females. She was lying but they didn't need to know that.

She made her way behind the small stage that was set up and upon getting a thumbs up from the d.j. she took the stage and spoke into the microphone.

"Hey, can ya' all hear me out there." She waited for a minute until things started to quiet down. "Okay, if you don't want the last song of the night to be played we can sit here all night." The room got quieter and she smiled. "I was entrusted with the last song. Don't you people know not to anticipate what I'm going to do?" She smiled.

"Aaron," she sought him out, "you were right. I do have something up my sleeve. Now some people aren't going to get this. To some it will go right over your heads, while others won't want to think about the song's implications and will let it go over their heads. And others," she sought out another girl named Tara she went to school with, "will be behind me all the way and loving it. You might hear the song and just say to yourself that I should be over it by now. This is my closure for the hellish period called high school."

She nodded to the d.j. and got ready for the song to come on. She lifted her head to the audience when the first words came out.

Michelle took a deep breath before leaving the stage. That felt great. It felt amazing when she looked at the people who used to make her feel like nothing during the song and telling them that they didn't have a hold over her. She'd never forget what she had been through and it would always be evident, at least to her, in some decisions she will make but from now on she was free of their chains.

As she had expected when she looked at some of her old tormentors they stared back with blank faces. There were also the few who were surprised she felt the need to do what she just did, they never knew what it was like back then for her.

She also glanced at the Tara she got along with and found her mouthing the words with a big smile on her face. It was the faces like hers that helped her make it through the song. As she passed Tara the woman stood up.

"That was amazing, girl. I've always known you had it in you."

"Thank you." Michelle hugged her. "It felt great."

"I'm sure it did. Do you want to get some coffee or something after we're one with these drab people?"

Michelle laughed. "Yeah, that'd be great. Uh-oh."

"What?" Tara glanced around and groaned.

"My thoughts exactly. Let me just deal with them quickly and then we can leave. I think I've had about all I can of here. Plus then I leave when it's fresh on their minds, and not give them a chance to ask questions."

"Just remember that you're stronger than before."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll just do what I always did back in school. Let them think they are winning when I'm not giving them anything worth giving."

Tara laughed and turned to get her purse.

~~~~~~

"You actually called them ignorant? Where was I during all this?"

Michele and Tara left the reunion and went to an all-night diner. They had been sitting there for a few hours catching up and reliving the event that just happened. Michelle passed Tara the sugar.

"Oh, you were at your table having undoubtedly a better time than I was having. Why am I always associated with those people when I'm nothing like them?"

"Maybe it's because you were nice to everybody and you talked with them all the time. Yearbook didn't help that one either. Hey, I'm still associated with band and some of those people and I parted ways years ago."

"I guess. I'm just glad that it's over with."

"Well, what are your plans for tomorrow, Britney?"

Michelle laughed and looked at her watch. "Don't you mean today? Anyway, I'm flying out because there's a race and I try to miss as little of those as possible."

"Cool. Do you think I maybe I could get tickets to a race sometime?" Tara pushed her plate to the end of the table for the waiter to pick up.

"Sure. I'll even do better than that. Since you live in Miami you can come be my guest at Daytona next time we're down there. How does that sound?"

"Great. You know what I miss when I'm home in Florida? Diners. They just don't exist down there."

"At least you're in one place all the time. Sometimes the traveling gets to me."

"But it's worth it, right? To be with your husband?"

"Yeah, it is." A phone rang and Michelle answered hers. "Hello?"

"Hey, honey," her husband's voice carried over the phone.

"Do you know what time it is? You have a race tomorrow."

"I know. I just couldn't sleep and figured-"

"That I couldn't sleep either? That's presumptuous of you."

"Well, were you asleep?" he asked, humor in his voice.

"No, I wasn't. I'm at a diner talking to someone from the reunion."

"Well, I haven't been able to sleep and I just wanted to tell you why, except for the fact that you're not next to me."

"Flattery will get you nowhere. Now what is it that's keeping you up?"

"Have you checked our messages?"

"Sorry, I haven't really been thinking today. Why?" She nodded her thanks to the waiter for the water he brought and waited for Bobby's answer.

"Well, there was a message from a Dr. Linus. Isn't that the doctor that..."

"Yeah. What did she say?" She held her breath.

"She said that the test came out positive. Anything that you want to tell me, Shell?"

"Well...ummm..."

Tara saw her ex-classmate's red face and mouthed 'what?' across the table. Michelle took a deep breath and told her husband and her friend at the same time, "I'm pregnant."

"Well, congrats, Brit." Tara made her voice louder for Bobby to hear her. “You too.”

Michelle slapped her forehead. "Oh god."

"Umm, hun, why did she call you Brit?"

"It's a long story."

"Well, I need a bedtime story so you're in luck."