It had been three days since Faye had returned to her loft apartment and started to learn how to knit. She had made great progress on the pattern she was creating, but what to attach it to, she still could not think of. The easiest, of course, would be a scarf, but being who she was, she wanted a challenge. So she continued on her pattern without knowing if it will fit in whatever it was she would be creating.

She had to admit that though it was a little calming and it passed the time (not to mention it pushed any thoughts of Nathan out of her mind), knitting wasn't exactly what she would like to spend most of her time doing. Sure it was work, but she was always one for variety. The day before, she tried jogging, which ended up in her stopping at so many shops, she felt like she was at some Biggest Loser boot camp, running back to her house carrying a lot of weight. Most of them were books – mostly about business, economics and leadership – and the others were an assortment of clothes, shoes, accessories and goodness knows what.

After that, she had spent the rest of the day looking at them, wondering if she purchased them because of a sudden consumerist impulse or because she needed assurance that her perceptions in life never changed. That she was still the same woman after everything that happened. If it were the latter, then she was mostly the same woman. The purchase of the clothes, shoes, accessories and make-up weren't her. Where the impetus to buy it came from, she didn't know.

But what she did know was that she was going to need them. She decided as much when she put down her knitting needles and headed for her room. If she drove out in a few minutes, she would still be able to attend the homecoming.

Maybe it was what she needed: to get back to her roots and work her way up again. Of course, no part of it was to see Nathan...

Alright, some part...

To be honest, mostly to see Nathan.

She sighed. Whatever happened the past week had really changed her perceptions about the guy. And very little of it was because of his new look.

She plucked out the boots she got from Michael Kors and the dress she got from Antonio Berardi. Light make up finished it all up as she shunned using any of the accessories she got from Anita Ko. Wearing them would be too lavish for her small town and could brand her as being too haughty. At least, the dress and the boots did not have the brand names printed or that anyone there would know the designers and how much what she wore cost.

It would be a long drive back to her hometown and she dreaded the thoughts that were entering her mind. Different scenarios played in her head as she thought of meeting Nathan once again. Some of them were horrifically embarrassing and others made her spine tingle. She didn't know which one – or if any one – of them would come true. But one thing she was sure of, whatever would happen would be dramatic, or at the least, attention-getting.

She sighed. Maybe going wasn't such a good idea.

But of she could avoid him like she did when they were on the ship...

She stared at the light-filled grounds of the school. From within her vehicle, she could hear music from her high school days piercing through the car. The music told her that her batch was probably the host or maybe some other batch that was close to theirs.

Finally, Faye sighed and steeled herself forcing her feet to move as she hauled herself out of her vehicle.

On the outer fringes, were several people much older than her. Some of them even had graying heads. After them were a hodge podge of people walking about without any regard for where their batch was supposed to be placed as the plaques indicated.

Among the milling crowd, she saw two of those whom she considered to be good friends. Although, in the eight years she had been away, she had never been in contact with either of them. Sure, she e-mailed them, but it was rare and short. For that matter, she had not been reconnecting with any of her old buddies from high school. Well, it didn't matter. She was going to go up to them and try to reconnect.

"Jen! Lisa!" she called to them and they turned to her with excited faces.

"Oh my goodness!" Jen held her face in both hands. "Is it you, Fay? Oh my God, you're still alive!"

"And here's Faye!" Lisa pointed the camera at her. "Faye Westbrook who has been gone for eight years suddenly appears! Wave, Fay."

Faye waved at the camera then turned to both her friends. "So, how are you guys?"

"We're great!" Jen answered.

"Yeah. I'm now the manager of the bank!" Lisa said proudly.

Faye felt really happy for her. The bank was what they called the only bank in their town. Though it was only a branch, being there meant something. "That's awesome! How about you Jen?"

"Tending the farm aside from being a housewife."

Faye's eyes widened. "Oh my...I never knew! Congratulations, Jen! Who are you married to?"

"Dave," she said, her eyes sparkling at the mention of her neighbor who was two years their senior. "I sent you an invitation but you didn't reply!"

"I never received anything. When did you send it?"

"Two years ago. March fifth."

Faye racked her mind and suddenly it came to her. She snapped her fingers remembering. "I was moving a lot during those times. Our company moved so I had to as well. Then the owner of the place I was renting kicked us out because he wanted to do something else with the building. I guess, your letter never even got to me."

"Oh, whatever. The important thing is, you're here," Jen said.

"Yup! You and Nathan both. And for that matter..." Lisa looked about. "Have you seen him? He's changed so much! I don't blame Jade for suddenly jumping him."

"Jumping him?" Faye felt a pang in her chest when she said it but she controlled herself enough that none of her anxiety showed in her voice or her face.

Lisa held her hand. "They're probably at out section. Last I saw, they were making out."

Faye held her tongue feeling sick to her stomach. She had been right after all. No one could change just because they decided one day that they wanted to. Usually, being right brought her exuberance, but right now, she felt as if she had just lost everything she had worked so hard for. It was not a logical feeling and try as she might to push it away, it continued to nag at her at the back of her mind, digging at her heart.

They approached a place where the people were so much denser. As soon as she stepped near the outer fringes of the crowd, the people made a noise as if someone had lost. In between heads, she could see a girl straddling someone on a chair with one hand on the backrest and the other on her hip.

Faye bit her lip, silently praying that the person the girl was straddling was not Nathan. She knew it shouldn't matter if it were him. She had made it clear that nothing was going to go on between them. But her gut, her mind and her heart prayed fervently. It wasn't exactly clear what was going on especially with the noise all around, but when the girl shifted her weight, what was clear was it was indeed Nathan who she was straddling.

Their eyes met briefly and he saw his mouth say her name as shock swept over his face. At that moment, the woman straddling her turned around and smirked.

Faye felt like she was gutted by a heavyweight. She felt like vomiting her stomach and her whole body seemed to weaken. There was nothing for her to do but get away. Get far away from the school and from anyone as possible. Perhaps, if it weren't Jade, she was not going to feel that hurt, but it was her!

She tasted bile on her mouth. Was this the revenge he planned for her slapping him? If it was, there was sure to be one more and she had to get away before that.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?"

Faye stopped and looked back as the music was shut off and the Nathan's voice boomed over the speakers. Everyone else stopped what they were doing and looked at him on the podium in front.

"We have a very special guest today. Someone who has never been seen in this town for eight years, until now. It is my honor and privilege to present this clip, which had been taken a few years back. Enjoy."

Panic rose within Faye. He wouldn't, would he?

Their eyes met once again, and this time, Nathan smiled without a hint of malice. It was more of a smile of relief that faded as the hall was dimmed and the projector image filled an entire wall.

For a moment, there was nothing. Then finally, it showed a pink wall and voices of children could be heard in the background. The familiar image made Faye want to retch. He would! Oh he would!

She turned away and dashed as fast as he can toward her car. The voices were enough to tell her which part of the clip the people were seeing.

"There she is! There she is!"

That would be five-year old Nathan's voice as he pointed the camera at her.

Then, as she reached the parking lot, she could hear the laughter of children coupled with the live laughter of everyone in the hall. That was the scene where he focused on her welted bottom and poop coming out of it.

She teared up as she fumbled for her keys to get in her vehicle as soon as she heard. "Haha! Faye's so scared she pooped! See? See?"

The engine roared to life and she drove as fast as she could pushing her speed up to the limit. She couldn't believe that he showed everyone the video. The only ones who were supposed to know about it were her classmates. There had been a vow of it never getting out, but Nathan...

Faye screamed her lungs out in frustration and pain. It was because of that video that her parents became so furious at her and pushed her beyond her limits. It was because of that video that she had been ridiculed and had been the butt of all jokes until the seventh grade. It was the video that ruined her life. And now, the whole town knew about it.

She vowed to never return again and proceed with a restraining order for both Nathan and Jade. Not that Jade needed it, but she had to make sure. It was definitely time to go back to the place she had called home for two years.

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