Butch. Man, he really liked to take it out on me. Really from this time forward I was lucky to get to class and back home each day without getting punched or harassed in some way. The strangest thing looking back is that I was never that angry with him. I pitied him. Me, the clear victim would pity him just because he had a rough childhood. What I didn’t understand then was that your past may explain your present, but it doesn’t justify it.

Amata. She was my only friend in the vault. And to my shame I didn’t have the courage to ask her to come with me. I was a coward then in so many ways. What would have happened if I did? Maybe if her Dad had died that night she wouldn’t have had a reason to stick around. It doesn’t matter now, but it was a crystallized moment for me. Like if I did something different maybe I could have been truly happy.