"Fit body – you were always handsome, you know. Nice car, nice house. But Manchester?" I worked for a bank in London until just under two years ago....It's cheaper and less stressful up here." Different job?" she asked. It was an offhand question, but I thought she was eager to know all about my life. Why?"You could say that," I said, but no more. She would have to work harder to get whatever it was she wanted."Enough about me," I said, wanting to frustrate her aims whatever they were. "What. I wanted to ask more, but the cold was starting to get to me. Even with the jacket and its magical enhancement to keep the wearer comfortable regardless of the temperature.The fog pulled away from the ice, but the ice kept me from seeing what was going on. I could hear things, however.I heard yelling, a scream, and various moans from Maria. A second scream followed by more yelling, and then the ice around me began cracking.I struggled to move and speed up the breaking. When I was certain enough. I'd never had that happen before, but it had happened. I knew what had to happen next, and how I could move forward, with Deanna and with my life in general.Now I just had to do it." ... Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday, dear Treeeeyyyy, happy birthday to you!"Deanna smiled as the singing trailed away, and the wait staff dispersed to other duties. They were sitting in Morton's steakhouse, in Rosemont, and had just finished a great steak together.The wait staff had brought out a little cup. If only…—So fast forward through my remaining school years. Mr Stevenson (thankfully) transferred to another school the next year so my agony was only prolonged for a few months and in the four years up till I left school I had fun. I flirted, dated and fucked boys from school and when I got older – around 15, 16 – me and my friends started going to bars and clubs which opened up another new world of opportunity for me to have even more fun. By this point I was barely concerning myself with.