"You were really, really mean"

My trip to Oklahoma City provided a much-needed respite from Los Angeles. That said, I was eager to get away from my roots when I ran into a nameless high school acquaintance at a wedding reception. She and I had never known each beyond the "Hi-how-are-you-how-was-your-summer" banter. I think our most climactic encounter was getting a party pic together at prom.

At the end of our bland conversation at the wedding, she said, "I'm glad you're finally happy!" When I asked about the meaning of her exclamation, she replied, "In high school, you were really, really mean. Like, such a jerk. Waaaay better than everyone else." Had this comment come from, say, one of the many people in high school to whom I was knowingly rude, it might have had some validity. I was admittedly a bossy, quick-tempered, sarcastic little shit. But I was by no means mean to this girl. Until that wedding reception eight years later.

I smiled, snickered and said, "To be honest, I vaguely even remember you from high school. No offense, but you weren't Miss Personality. And didn't you have horrible acne?" And with that, I transitioned comfortably from polite acquaintance to the real me.