I told her she'd be surprised to see my name in lights someday. She giggled in that high-pitched, snarky laugh she learned from her college friends. I never knew her back then. A snooty sorority girl is how I pictured her. No fraternities for me, none of that get-drunk-until-you-drop nonsense. No, I was too serious ... a GDI, they called me. While the floor of my dorm partied until the break of dawn, I sat on stiff library chairs, stuffed in a tiny study carrel, Mr. Studious.

Now, years later, she sits in wait, anxious to see me fail yet again. Sure, I've had my string of failures, but I've had my successes, too. I'll always have the library.