I was lying flat on my back, fully clothed, and staring straight at the ceiling. I just kind of rolled my eyes and blindly reached out with my left hand to grasp at the landline extension in my bedroom.

It took a couple of tries, but eventually I got a grip on the receiver and lifted it free of the cradle. "Yeah."

“Hey squirt." When we were younger and Danielle was more annoyed by my invasive presence than anything else, she referred to me as the ‘little squirt'. Even now, when I was a good couple inches and a few dozen pounds heavier than her, she still used the nickname whenever she wanted to prod at me.

"I told you not to call me that," I spat.

“Well, I gotta do something to wake you up. Mom tells me you're acting even more morose than usual."

“Like she can tell.”

“Mom's more perceptive than you think. Besides, you didn't even leave the house all day Saturday. What happened?"

I sighed, a long, loud breath that echoed through the phone.

“It's complicated."

“Let me guess, it involves sex and Monica?”

"Well..." My tone gave it away. She knew she had guessed right.

“C'mon. You're eighteen. What else could it be?" I could hear

Danielle's smile on the other end of the line. "So spill it, you're depressed you're still a virgin?"

“Uh, wellll..." My tone once again gave things away

“Holy shit!" Danielle shrieked into the phone loud enough to make me wince in pain and pull the receiver away for a moment.

“The Little squirt finally popped his cherry! Whatsa matter? You a little premature or something?"

“Hey! No!" I got instantly defensive. "It's just..."

"Oh, no..." Danielle's female intuition was already leading itself, rather accurately, to the worst assumption. Her voice got quietly serious. "Did you cheat on her?"

“How the hell could you guess THAT?"

“But I'm right, aren't I? And Monica knows."

I sighed again. I was doing that a lot Lately. Even though no one could see me, I hung my head in shame.

“Yes.”

“With who?" Having only graduated the year before, Danielle knew just about all the potential candidates at my High School.

I was about to blurt her name, but then the tangled web of relationships stopped me. "I... I can't tell you."

“Why not?"