{"id":87107,"date":"2024-10-29T08:55:36","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T01:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/?p=87107"},"modified":"2025-02-10T15:10:06","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T08:10:06","slug":"i-went-to-my-school-reunion-to-take-revenge-on-my-childhood-crush-until-i-learned-what-really-happened-back-then-story-of-the-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/i-went-to-my-school-reunion-to-take-revenge-on-my-childhood-crush-until-i-learned-what-really-happened-back-then-story-of-the-day\/","title":{"rendered":"I Went to My School Reunion to Take Revenge on My Childhood Crush, Until I Learned What Really Happened Back Then"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I sat flipping through my old school photos, I couldn\u2019t help but feel a wave of nostalgia wash over me. It had been 20 years since I graduated, but looking at the pictures made it feel like just yesterday.\n

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There I was\u2014young Joana Cooper, with that silly, hopeful smile plastered on my face, and beneath my yearbook photo, a cheesy quote I once thought was so profound:\n\n

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“Love is a two-person job.”\n\n

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I laughed at how naive I had been back then, but my laughter quickly faded as my eyes landed on his photo. Chad Barns. My high school crush. The boy who had captured my heart for years.\n\n

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I had been head over heels for Chad back then\u2014leaving secret love notes in his locker, trying to flirt in my awkward teenage way, and even stuffing valentines into his backpack when I thought no one was looking.\n\n

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I was convinced we\u2019d end up together, that he was the one.\n

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I imagined our future so vividly, right down to our wedding day. But here I was, 38 years old, still single, and still wondering what had gone wrong.\n\n

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Why had Chad suddenly shut me out all those years ago? He had ghosted me just before graduation, leaving me confused and heartbroken.\n\n

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I hadn\u2019t spoken to him since, but the memory of him still haunted me, even after all this time.\n\n

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Just as I started to sink deeper into my thoughts, the doorbell rang, pulling me back to the present.\n

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I set the photo album aside and went to open the door. My best friend Lora stood there, her usual bright smile lighting up her face.\n\n

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\u201cReady for the school reunion, bestie?\u201d she asked, her excitement contagious.\n\n

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I hesitated, leaning against the doorframe.\n\n

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\u201cHonestly, Lora, I\u2019m not sure I want to go.\u201d\n\n

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She raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.\n\n

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\u201cWhy not? What happened?\u201d\n

I let out a deep sigh.\n

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\u201cI was just going through my old photos, and it brought back a lot of memories. You know, about Chad.\u201d\n\n

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Lora rolled her eyes dramatically, crossing her arms.\n\n

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\u201cChad Barns? You\u2019re still hung up on that after 20 years?\u201d\n\n

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\u201cI know it sounds ridiculous,\u201d I admitted, feeling a bit embarrassed.\n\n

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\u201cBut it still stings. We were so close, and then he just stopped talking to me, like I didn\u2019t mean anything to him.\u201d\n\n

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Lora stepped closer, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.\n

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\u201cLook, maybe he won\u2019t even show up tonight. And even if he does, don\u2019t let it ruin your night. This reunion is about catching up with old friends and having fun, not reopening old wounds.\u201d\n\n

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I forced a smile, trying to push my insecurities aside.\n\n

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\u201cYou\u2019re right. But if he\u2019s there… I\u2019ll make sure he remembers exactly what he missed.\u201d\n\n

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Lora grinned.\n\n

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“That\u2019s the spirit.”\n\n

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I was nervous the entire drive to the school reunion. My fingers tapped nervously against my lap, and I kept glancing out the window, lost in a whirlwind of emotions.\n

What if Chad showed up? What if he didn\u2019t? A part of me wasn\u2019t sure which would be worse.\n

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My heart felt like it was lodged in my throat, and the closer we got, the harder it was to breathe.\n\n

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As we arrived at the venue, I glanced at my reflection in the rearview mirror one last time, adjusting my hair and smoothing down the fabric of my dress.\n\n

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I couldn\u2019t shake the nerves that clung to me like a second skin.\n\n

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“Joan, you look gorgeous. Seriously, stop worrying about Chad\u2014this is your night,” Lora said, her voice soft but firm.\n\n

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“We\u2019re going to have fun, okay?”\n

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I gave her a weak smile, but the knot in my stomach wouldn\u2019t loosen. “Thanks,” I muttered, still fidgeting with my dress.\n\n

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“But what if he doesn\u2019t come? I feel like a fool getting all worked up over this. It\u2019s been so long, Lora.”\n\n

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“You\u2019re not a fool,” Lora said, rolling her eyes as if I had said something ridiculous.\n\n

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“Honestly, if he does show up, don\u2019t waste your energy on him. Let him see what he missed, and let\u2019s make this night about us, not him.”\n\n

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Her confidence was contagious, and for a moment, I felt reassured. We stepped out of the car and headed toward the entrance, but with every step, my heart pounded harder.\n

The school loomed in front of me, bringing back a flood of memories\u2014some good, some painful. I couldn\u2019t believe I was walking back into this chapter of my life.\n

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The reunion felt like stepping into a time machine. Familiar faces greeted us, people I hadn\u2019t seen in years, some who had barely changed, others I barely recognized.\n\n

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Laughter filled the air as old friends caught up, shared stories, and reminisced about the good old days. I was starting to relax, even enjoying myself, until I saw him.\n\n

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Chad Barns.\n\n

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My heart skipped a beat as I spotted him across the room. He looked different\u2014older, yes, but still handsome in that rugged, confident way I remembered.\n

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He had a neatly trimmed beard now, and as soon as our eyes met, he smiled. A warm, familiar smile that hit me harder than I expected. All the anger and confusion I had buried deep inside for years rushed to the surface.\n\n

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Why did he shut me out all those years ago? Why had he left me hanging without a word?\n\n

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Before I could do anything\u2014before I could even process what I was feeling\u2014Lora grabbed my arm, gently but firmly pulling me in the opposite direction.\n\n

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“Remember what I said,” she whispered, her voice steady. “Don\u2019t talk to him.”\n

“Okay,” I muttered, trying to follow her advice, but part of me was screaming to finally confront Chad, to demand the answers I had been waiting for all these years.\n

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Later in the evening, after we had chatted with a few more classmates, Lora accidentally spilled her drink on her dress. “Oh no!” she exclaimed, looking down at the dark stain.\n\n

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“I just bought this! I\u2019ll be right back, Joan, I need to go clean this up.”\n\n

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I watched as she hurried off to the bathroom, leaving me alone for the first time that evening.\n\n

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I glanced around, feeling a bit lost without Lora by my side. The reunion was in full swing, laughter and music filling the air, but I suddenly needed some space.\n

Without thinking, I made my way outside, toward the quiet bench in the schoolyard that used to be my favorite spot.\n

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It was the place where I would sit after classes, lost in my daydreams or writing in my journal. Tonight, it felt like the perfect place to clear my head.\n\n

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Sitting down, I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the cool night breeze wash over me.\n\n

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The memories of high school flooded back\u2014how carefree I was back then, how hopeful. And then, the memories of Chad. I shook my head, trying to push them away, but they lingered, just like they always had.\n\n

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Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me. I opened my eyes and turned to see Chad walking toward me, his familiar smile lighting up his face.\n

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“Hey, Joana,” he said, his voice warm but tentative.\n\n

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“Chad,” I replied, feeling my heart race in my chest. “It\u2019s been a long time.”\n\n

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“It has,” he said, stopping a few feet away from the bench. “I wasn\u2019t sure if you wanted to talk to me. You\u2019ve been avoiding me all night.”\n\n

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I laughed nervously, unsure of how to respond. “I wasn\u2019t sure you wanted to talk to me after how things ended in high school.”\n\n

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Chad looked genuinely confused. “What do you mean? I thought you didn\u2019t want to see me after that letter.”\n

“Letter?” I repeated, frowning. “I never got a letter, Chad.”\n

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He sighed, his expression turning serious.\n\n

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“I wrote you a letter asking you out to the park for a date. I left it in your locker, and when you didn\u2019t show up, I figured you weren\u2019t interested. I thought that\u2019s why you stopped talking to me.”\n\n

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I shook my head, completely stunned.\n\n

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“Chad, I never got a letter. I thought you stopped talking to me out of nowhere. I couldn\u2019t figure out what I did wrong.”\n\n

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Before Chad could respond, I heard footsteps again. Lora appeared, looking flustered, her cheeks slightly flushed.\n

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“What are you two talking about?” she asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice that I hadn\u2019t noticed before.\n\n

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“Lora,” I said slowly, piecing things together. “Do you know anything about the letter Chad sent me?”\n\n

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Her face turned pale, and for a moment, she looked like she was about to deny everything. But then Chad stepped forward.\n\n

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“Lora, you gave me Joana\u2019s reply. You told me she wasn\u2019t interested.”\n\n

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I turned to look at Lora, my stomach sinking as I saw the guilt in her eyes. “Is that true?” I asked, my voice shaking.\n

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Lora looked down, her face flushed with embarrassment and regret. “I… I was jealous,” she admitted, barely above a whisper.\n\n

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“I liked Chad, and I didn\u2019t want you two to get together. I thought you\u2019d forget about him if I made sure you never saw that letter.”\n\n

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My chest tightened with a mix of disbelief and anger.\n\n

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“You lied to both of us? You ruined everything because you were jealous?”\n\n

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“I\u2019m sorry,” Lora whispered, tears forming in her eyes. “I never thought it would matter after all these years. I just didn\u2019t want to lose either of you.”\n

“Go away, Lora,” I said, my voice trembling with the weight of all the emotions I had kept bottled up for years.\n

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As Lora hurried off, a mix of sadness, anger, and relief washed over me.\n\n

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Chad stepped closer, his arms wrapping around me in a gentle hug. I leaned into him, feeling the warmth I had missed all these years.\n\n

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“All this time,” I whispered, my voice shaky, “I thought you didn\u2019t care.”\n\n

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Chad sighed, his voice soft. “I thought the same about you.”\n\n

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For a moment, we stood there in silence, holding onto each other, letting the weight of the past slowly slip away.\n

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“We can\u2019t change the past,” Chad said, his voice calm, “but we can decide what happens now.”\n\n

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I looked up at him, wiping away my tears with a small smile. “You\u2019re right.”\n\n

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We spent the rest of the night sitting on that familiar bench, talking and laughing. We had lost so much time, but I felt hopeful we wouldn\u2019t lose any more.\n\n

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Tell us what you think about this story, and share it with your friends. It might inspire them and brighten their day.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I sat flipping through my old school photos, I couldn\u2019t help but feel a wave of nostalgia wash over me. It had been 20 years since I graduated, but looking at the pictures made it feel like just yesterday. There I was\u2014young Joana Cooper, with that silly, hopeful smile plastered on my face, and …\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":87110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[657,642],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-love-and-relationships","category-moral-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87107"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99638,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87107\/revisions\/99638"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}