It was a boring Tuesday afternoon. Dan Mitski, affected by a sadness he couldn’t quite put his finger on, left early for lunch to beat the rush. As he sat in his seat, chewing his delicious meal, contemplating just what shadowy figure hovered over his heart, he thought he saw an old friend from high school. More than a friend, really, a person young Dan Mitski once thought maybe would parallel his life in growth and mutual affection, a different path, a whole different life completely, a spark that never even became an ember. He hadn’t seen Coral Schaeffer in fifteen years. And was that her, there in his Denny’s, waving at him?! He raised his hand with panicked glee. Then, that awful realization, that he was mistaken, and not only was it not Coral Schaeffer, but the stranger across from him was only waving at someone else, just behind Dan’s shoulder. Struck with such intense embarrassment and dread, Dan Mitski was locked in a loop. And there he sat, for years to come, chewing, waving, screaming on the inside.