"So what are you doing for winter break?" Joyce asked me one day over lunch. We were both in the dining hall, surrounded by our fellow students, and even though the semester was about to end, I had no idea what I was going to do during the break.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I had a family emergency right after Thanksgiving, so now I don't have enough money to go back to Cleveland and see my family for the holidays."

"Maybe you could come to Miami with me," Joyce suggested. "I'm sure that my family wouldn't mind having you around."

I didn't know how to respond. I thought that it was a little bit too early in the relationship for me to meet her parents, but how was I supposed to tell her that?

"I kind of want to spend some time working at the zoo," I said. "I'm getting paid extra for the whole week after Christmas." That much was true, but it was still a flimsy excuse.

"I understand," Joyce said. "I just want to spend some time together before the new semester starts. I'm taking American Poetry, and I've heard that the professor that I have is a tough grader."

"I'm taking three biology courses, and all of them have labs."

"Why would you do that to yourself?"

"I don't know. It seemed like a good idea at the time. One of them is with Jonas though. He's teaching Aquatic Biology."

"That sounds neat."

"Yeah, I think it's going to be a good class."

"I still think that we should do something before school starts again," Joyce said. "We could spend a day at the beach after finals are over."

I considered Joyce's offer and then said, "I'd like that a lot."

"Great," Joyce said. "We'll go on a holiday together."

"That sounds great. By the way, I'm going to the garage after I'm done eating. Do you want to come with me?"

"Sure," Joyce said. I finished the last few bites of my sandwich, and then the two of us walked to the parking lot, hand in hand. When we got into the car, Joyce plugged in her phone and started playing some avant-garde orchestral music that I didn't quite understand. I drove to the zoo, and when we got to the garage, we spent hours in there together, alternating between making out and actually studying for finals.

Near the end of our trip to the zoo, we went into the dolphin exhibit to visit McCoy, Spock, and Kirk. As soon as we walked in, McCoy chirped cheerfully, as if she was greeting the two of us.

"Hey McCoy," I responded. "How are you doing today?"

She chirped again, and Joyce went into the supply closet to grab a beach ball. The three of us tossed the ball around for a while, and eventually, Kirk joined in. Joyce and I both had smiles on our faces, but the dolphins soon became worn out. I tossed each of them a fish, and then Joyce and I headed out of the zoo.

Once we were back in the car, Joyce said, "Campus Safety finally got back to me about that creepy stalker."

"What did they say?" I asked.

"Apparently he isn't a student here," Joyce said. "He looked like he was our age, or maybe a little bit older, but he doesn't go to Egmont, so there's not a lot that Campus Safety can do."

"They have to do something, right?" I said.

"I don't know," Joyce said. "I don't feel like they're taking me seriously. It's like they don't believe me."

"I believe you," I said.

"Thanks, Dani," Joyce said. "I just wish that Campus Safety would help me. I haven't seen the guy with the shutter shades since then, but he seriously creeped me out."

We stopped at the Javawocky on the way back to campus, and both of us stood in line and ordered some coffee. Joyce didn't tell me anything else about the Campus Safety call, and I was glad to hear that Blake hadn't stalked her again, but I hated that the college wasn't taking her seriously. If they wouldn't help Joyce, then what chance did I have? I couldn't ask for them to help me find Blake and make him stop. I had to handle this myself.

When I got home, I saw that I had a text from Aunt Shirley. "Do you want to come over to my house after you're done with classes on Monday?" she asked me.

"Sure," I said. My twenty-first birthday was on Monday, but it was also the last night of Hanukkah. It only made sense for me to spend Monday with my family.

That morning, I ate breakfast with Aditi and Kara. Both of them wished me a happy birthday, and they asked me if I was doing anything special. "I'm going over to my great aunt's house after school," I explained.

"Come on, Dani," Aditi said. "It's your twenty-first birthday. You should throw a big party or something."

"Parties aren't really my thing," I said. "Besides, finals are coming up."

"That's true," Kara said. "I'm probably just going to camp out in the library and study all weekend."

"Well, I know that I'm throwing a big party when I turn twenty one," Aditi said.

I ate the rest of my bagel while Aditi rambled on about her birthday party. Eventually, Kara interrupted Aditi to tell her that she would still be abroad on her birthday. "Even better! We'll have a dance party in London," Aditi replied.

I went through my day, always on the lookout for Blake, as usual. When I got to Jonas' class, Joyce handed me a small, wrapped box. "Happy birthday, Dani," she said, smiling.

I opened the box and saw that there was a beautiful dolphin keychain inside. "Thank you, Joyce," I said.

"Do you want to go out after class?" Joyce asked. "We could try that fancy Italian place downtown."

"Tonight is the last night of Hanukkah," I explained. "I'm going to my great aunt's place to celebrate."

"Oh okay," Joyce said. "Maybe we can go out tomorrow."

"Sounds great," I said just as Jonas started class. We spent most of the class reviewing for the final, and after class, Aunt Shirley picked me up outside the Rhodes Center in her Bentley. We drove to her house, and shortly after we got there, a few of her friends from the country club arrived. Again, I was by far the youngest person in the house.

Aunt Shirley had gotten me a rather large piece of artwork, although I wasn't sure whether it was intended as a Hanukkah present or a birthday present. I pretended to be thrilled, even though I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with it. I didn't have space for it in my dorm room, and neither did any of my friends. After some thought, I decided to give it to my mom. It seemed like the sort of thing that she would like.

While I lounged around on the couch, trying to avoid the people from the country club that I had nothing in common with, Aunt Shirley made some potato latkes. My great aunt wasn't a great cook in general, but her latkes were delicious. I took a large stack and slathered them with sour cream as I thought about my family back home. Jason had been fired from his job at the church after he had started drinking again, but he was still pretty religious. Mom and Jason probably wouldn't be celebrating tonight, but I decided that I should at least Skype Sydney and wish her a happy Hanukkah.

Later that evening, Aunt Shirley poured herself some wine. "Dani, do you want some?" she asked, but I shook my head. Aditi had talked extensively about how she wanted to get drunk out of her mind on her twenty first birthday, but I didn't see the appeal. After living with Jason for the last six years, I saw even a sip of alcohol as the first step down a dangerous path. The last thing I wanted was to turn into Jason.

I headed home around eight o'clock, and as soon as I was back in my dorm room, I turned on my computer and Skyped Sydney. She was wearing one of her Green Day T-shirts again. "Hi, Dani!" Sydney exclaimed. "Happy birthday, and happy Hanukkah!"

"Happy Hanukkah to you too," I said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," Sydney said. "Nothing too exciting has happened around here."

"That's good to hear," I said.

"I just finished listening to Revolution Radio again. Remember when we heard all of those songs live?"

"Yeah, that was pretty awesome." On one of my first weekends off during my freshman year of college, I came home, and Sydney and I drove out to Columbus to see Green Day live. It was all pretty similar to their set at House of Blues show, but Sydney was so excited. Her smile every time they started playing a new song made me glad that I had kept my promise.

"How was your day?" Sydney asked.

"It was okay. My girlfriend got me this."

I held up the dolphin keychain, and Sydney smiled. She then said, "Wait, you have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah. Her name is Joyce."

"Oh yeah, you've mentioned her before," Sydney said. "She seems nice. I'd love to meet her one of these days."

"It's a little bit early in the relationship for that."

"I never said that you have to introduce her to us right away. I'd just like to meet her eventually. Maybe she can tell me where she got the coffee mug in her Twitter profile picture."

I laughed and said, "I've been meaning to ask her about that too."

Sydney sighed and then said, "I can't wait until I go to college. All of the people you meet there seem so cool."

"I have met a lot of cool people," I admitted. "You'll like college, Sydney. Have you gotten any acceptances yet?"

"I'm still waiting," Sydney said.

"Don't worry too much about it," I said. "The whole college decision matters a lot less than everyone likes to pretend that it does."

We continued chatting well into the night, but eventually, Sydney had to go to bed. I turned off my computer and got ready for bed, but I kept glancing toward the window, afraid that Blake might show up out of nowhere.

I spent most of the rest of the next two weeks studying for finals. Occasionally, I took a study break to get ice cream, coffee, or both, but most of the time, I had my nose in a textbook. I spent long hours in the garage, since it was the only place where I could get some peace and quiet. My tests and papers seemed to go well, although there was no way to tell until I got my grades back. All of my friends were doing the exact same thing, although we did manage to get the gang together for one last game of D&D.

Aditi did a wonderful job of running the game, and I had a great time playing. A few people had already left for winter break, but almost everyone was there. Some of the freshmen brought snacks, and we ate as we rolled the dice, letting chance and our imaginations take us on a grand adventure.

In the middle of the night, after the game was over, I said goodbye to Aditi one last time. "I won't see you again before you leave, will I?" I said.

"Don't worry about it," Aditi said. "We'll Skype every week, and I'll see you next fall. We'll be seniors!"

"That's so weird to think about," I said.

"I know, right?" Aditi said. "Where has the time gone?"

"I don't know." I paused and then said, "I'm going to miss you while you're in England."

"I'll miss you too," Aditi said as she gave me a hug. "I should probably go back to my dorm though. It's getting late. I'll see you next fall."

"See you then. Have fun in London!"

I walked back to Wallace Hall, still thinking of Aditi. Next semester would be my first at Egmont without one of my closest friends, but there were others who weren't going abroad. Aditi leaving wasn't going to be the end of the world, even though I would miss her a lot.

We had a Dungeons and Dragons session scheduled for the first week back at school, and I knew that I had to be ready. Now that Aditi was about to leave, I had to continue the adventure that she had started. I wasn't sure that I had everything in place yet, but I would have plenty of time over winter break to hang out in the garage and plan out the campaign.

The next day, Joyce and I packed our bags to go on our trip to Miami. We stopped at the Javawocky on our way out of Egmont Beach, and then I drove down Alligator Alley for what felt like forever. Joyce tried her best to entertain me, reading a few clever Twitter posts out loud and playing some of my favorite songs, but I was still falling asleep. I had been up late the night before, and I looked forward to relaxing at the beach with my girlfriend.

We finally arrived in Miami around noon. I marveled at the huge skyscrapers, even though I usually preferred the untamed wilderness of the Everglades. "Let me know if you want to stop anywhere before we go to the beach," Joyce said.

We passed by a souvenir shop, and I told Joyce that I wanted to stop. I parked in front of the shop, walked in, and bought a postcard with the Miami skyline on it. "Let's head to the beach," I said once I was done in the souvenir shop.

"Which one?" Joyce asked.

"I don't know. You know this city better than I do."

"Okay. I'll just take you to my favorite beach then," Joyce said with a smile. She gave me some directions, and I drove through Miami, past rows of palm trees and gigantic towers, until we reached a quiet beach covered in fine sand. The waves gently flowed toward the shore, bubbling up and down. There were a few people swimming in the ocean or lounging under an umbrella, but for the most part, we were alone.

Joyce smiled and told me, "The tourists haven't found this place yet."

The beach was beautiful, but there was something wrong about visiting a beach in the middle of December. Maybe it was just because I grew up in Ohio, but a part of me wanted to see glistening white snow instead of sand and palm trees at this time of year. However, I didn't tell any of that to Joyce. I lay down on a beach chair next to her, trying to relax and enjoy this moment with her.

I took out the postcard that I had bought earlier, addressed it to Sydney, and wrote a quick note to her, telling her how much I missed her and how beautiful the beaches in Miami were, and after the handful of swimmers in the water left, Joyce and I jumped in. We swam around for a while, splashing each other and racing around in circles. Then, we got out and took a walk on the beach. I found a couple of neat seashells, but I kept getting distracted by the birds in the distance. Joyce, on the other hand, found a ton of neat-looking seashells. She took some artsy photos of them, and then we went back to sunbathing, ready to dry off from our swim.

By that point, we were the only two people on the beach. Joyce kissed me gently and then said, "I'm so glad that you came here with me, Dani."

"I'm glad you're here too," I said as I held her closer.

"We're the only ones at the beach right now," Joyce said. "Why don't you tell me something new? Tell me one thing that I don't know about you, Dani."

I thought for a moment about what to say. I could have told her some trivial fact, like the name of my second grade teacher or my least favorite color. I could have told her about how badly I wanted to kiss her at that moment, but I changed my mind. I decided to give away the last of my secrets, to bare my soul.

"I never told you why I quit the bass," I said.

"Why did you quit?" Joyce asked.

I sighed and then said, "It's a long story, but it started when I was sixteen. I had blue hair, and I was in a band called the Love Martyrs..."

For a while, it felt good to tell Joyce everything that I had kept bottled up inside for so long. It was like a huge weight had been lifted, and I was finally free. The words kept on flowing endlessly. I didn't leave out a single detail of the story of what happened during my junior year. I just kept on talking, telling her about Blake and Madeline and the band, and Joyce listened carefully.

Occasionally, she interrupted me. "Madeline Fujita?" she said at one point. "Was she the same girl who did that recording of the Dvorak cello concerto?"

"Yeah," I said. "She went to my high school, and she was on my Quiz Bowl team. For the record, she says 'like' way too much."

"That's such a crazy coincidence," Joyce said.

I shrugged and said, "It's a small world," and then I continued my story.

I told her everything. I told her about the Love Martyrs EP, how I had joined Quiz Bowl, and how I had become best friends with Madeline, Devon, and Tanner. I told her about the Japanese tour, and I told her about Tommy, laughing as I told her about how he worked at the Egmont Zoo now. I told her about every warning sign that I had noticed too late: the fan letters, the diary, the Green Day tickets, and the cello. I told her about how I had come out to him, and how I found out that our friendship had never meant anything to him. I told her about how Blake and Madeline had fallen in love, and how that seemed like the end of the story.

There was one last part of the tale, but all of a sudden, the words that had come so easily to me earlier dried up. I couldn't tell the end of the story to Joyce. There was a reason why I usually pushed it out of my head, why I had erased all the evidence that I was ever in the Love Martyrs. I could hardly think about what had happened without wanting to curl up into a ball and cry.

"What's wrong?" Joyce asked when she saw the expression on my face.

"I...I...I'm okay," I stammered, but the tears had already begun to fall. "It's just hard. I don't think I've ever told this part of the story to anyone else before. It's not even my story really. It's Madeline's."

But I can at least tell my side of it, I thought to myself. There was more to say, and I had to say it to someone, no matter how many times my mind told me to keep it stored up deep inside. I had to tell Joyce why I had set my bass aside forever.

"What happened next?" Joyce asked. "What happened after your last show?"

I opened my mouth, and I told her. "It all started on prom night..."