"Even if I got rid of all my problems, I'd just go out and get new ones..."

Blast from the past
5:52 p.m. on 2004-06-19

I was sat on the bus on Thursday, leaving work and heading to Harry Potter, head buried deep in a Ben Elton book and ears firmly plugged into Plato and the sounds of David Bowie...

When a guy sat in the seat opposite, leaned over, and went: "Laura?"

He was tall, my age, a goth-slash-punk. Long, straight blond hair which dropped past his shoulders, carefully stylised black streaks. Nose and eyebrow pierced, leather jacket.

I panicked. I'm crap with names and faces anyway, but especially so when it's a character from my past. Whilst my stepsister will quite excitedly point out a face in Tescos and remind me: "That was so-and-so's piano teacher," I stand in oblivion, unable to recognise the face or put a memory to the name.

"Tristan," I ventured, figuring that I didn't know many men with long blonde hair.

He looked disappointed. "No. David. David C?"

Ah shit. Now I remember the face.

David was a boy at my high school. We were in the same groups, shared English, Science, and PE classes. We had mutual friends, hung out in the same circles, and exchanged anime videos a few times.

A few days before leaving high school for summer and sixth form, David asked me out.

I said yes. At first. Thrilled that someone actually found me, long haired loser in a pair of torn jeans and a baggy t-shirt, fanciable.

Then I remember a past date, in which I'd ended up calling it quits because I just, well, plain didn't fancy him.

So I changed my mind, and told him no. David spent the next fortnight following my friend Hayley around like a lost puppy. "Well, why won't she go out with me?" "I don't know." "Can I do something to make her go out with me?" "I don't know. Now sod off and leave me alone."

So he did, and ended up dating one of those mutual friends.

It is eight years later, and he still has the long blonde hair, thus making it impossible for us to ever date (I have a rule, never date a boy with longer hair than your own). He still is lovely, in that soft-spoken, gentle smile kind of way.

We spent a few minutes exchanging 'Where are they now' stories, before he left the bus for his home. I headed off to the cinema, for Harry Potter, a little bemused.

Why am I sharing this particular anecdote? Well, firstly, Efan is down, and I'm wasting time till the servers come back. Secondly...

Given DV's death, which, btw, made a small, ten line article on the side of page 10 in our local paper... it felt odd for another name from my past to suddenly make an appearance.

Coincidences still have the ability to surprise me.

Listening to: Keane "Somewhere Only We Know"

Quote: "What did I do today? I, um, saved a boys life, and I... played well with others?"

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