His sudden outburst made me jump, but the pointing and staring didn’t bother me for some reason. I was used to being looked it, whether it was randomly as I walked down the street, or when I was purposely made the center of attention for some sort of show. What really bothered me was that, while he seemed to know me, I couldn’t place him. I struggled to remember his face, but nothing entered my mind.

I smiled slightly as his friends joked behind him, laughing at the silly thing he’d just done. I was trying to hold back a laugh myself, but I was able to manage. Besides, I couldn’t really blame the man. I am quite a pretty thing to stare at! I once even caught a guy in the park staring at me, drawing pencil in hand, as I passed him. I looked down at Nate, whose name I had just learned because of his friends’ comments. “Marla.” I told him simply, “Happy birthday.”

I turned away from the table just in time to hear a woman call me over. I brought her a glass of coke and a sandwich. That’s when I remembered him.