-------
Reunion
-------

	Martha's Vineyard Regional High School or MVR for 
short. Whoever named this high school had no imagination 
whatsoever. The colors were ok; purple and gray, but the 
school mascot sucked. We were the Vineyarders. Sometimes I 
wish I had graduated from a high school with a normal name 
and mascot.
	My graduating class, the class of 1978, recently had 
their twenty-year reunion. It was good to see all the old 
buds again. Just to make it a party, the reunion committee 
told all one hundred and ten of us to bring a date. For 
most of the alumni, this wasn't a problem; they just 
brought their spouses. For me, it was a problem. I wasn't 
married, I lived in California, and I didn't really want to 
go. But the reunion committee knew how to get me to come. 
All they had to say was that Fox was going to be there. As 
far as I knew, he was still unmarried, unless you counted 
his work. 
	I thought we would pick up right where we had left 
off. But Fox William Mulder had other plans in mind.

Fox William Mulder. How many times had I scrawled that 
name on my notebooks?
	Poor Fox. His sister disappeared when he was twelve. 
His parents divorced shortly after that. No wonder he put 
so much time into his studies. He was our class 
valedictorian and went off to Oxford, England to go to 
college.
	I have to say though, without me, he wouldn't be where 
he is today. And without him, I probably would have dropped 
out of school. Without Fox Mulder, I never would have 
become class salutatorian and gone off to Stanford and 
gotten my English degree.
	It all started with Mr. Michelson's English Nine 
class. It was about midway through the first semester and I 
was in danger of failing. That was when Mr. Michelson put 
an extra credit essay on the front blackboard. It was just 
my luck to be sitting behind Fox Mulder, the tallest and 
smartest kid in the entire ninth grade. The only word I 
could make out from behind Fox was the word "love." As much 
as I tried to see around his head, I couldn't see the rest 
of the assignment.
	I was upset. I was probably going to fail English all 
because I couldn't see the blackboard. I had tried to get 
Mr. Michelson to move me, but nothing worked.
	I had been working up my courage to talk to the young 
Mr. Mulder about the problem, but I had never had the 
chance. Well, it was now or never.
	I took my pencil eraser and poked him in the back. I 
kept poking him until he turned around.
	"Yes?"
	"Either move your head or tutor me in this class?"
	"How does today after school sound?"
	"Great. I'll meet you at your locker at three." And 
with those brief sentences we exchanged, it was all set and 
done, or so I thought.
	"Mr. Mulder, Ms. Quilling. Since you two feel so 
compelled to talk during my class you will be sharing your 
essays on truth and reality," Mr. Michelson said. He 
glanced at the clock and said, "Tomorrow." Just then the 
bell rang. "Class dismissed," Mr. Michelson announced.
As we gathered our books, Fox said to me, "Wanna have 
lunch together?"
	"Sure," I said as we walked out of class together. 

At three that afternoon, I stood at Fox Mulder's 
locker, looking around anxiously. Students were passing me 
in the hall all on their way out the door heading for home. 
I wondered where Fox was. Just then, I saw him coming out 
of the boy's room. "Hi," he said as he approached me. 
	"Hi," I said meekly. For some reason, all my courage 
had left me. He gathered his books from his locker and 
headed towards the door of the school.
	"Come on," he said, "I don't want to keep my dad 
waiting."
	My heart jumped into my throat. I was going to meet 
his dad. I ran after him, catching up easily. We walked 
down the school steps together and towards a waiting car. 
He held open the back door for me and once I was inside, 
climbed in beside me.
	His father looked in the rearview mirror at us. "Who's 
your friend, son?" he asked.
	"Dad, this is Susie Quilling. Susie, my dad, William 
Mulder."
	"It's nice to meet you, sir," I said, ducking my head.
	"Susie Quilling," Mr. Mulder said thoughtfully as he 
pulled out into traffic. "Do people ever call you Susie Q like
the song?"
	"My coaches do."
	"What do you play, Susie Q?"
	I grinned. "Softball, basketball and ice hockey, sir."
	"Oh really? My son here, played little league for a 
while."
	I looked at young Fox. "He never told me that." Just 
then, Mr. Mulder braked hard. When we stopped, I looked 
over the seat back to see why we had stopped. There was a 
squirrel in the road. We waited for it to cross the street 
then continued on our way.
	When we arrived at the Mulder residence about ten 
minutes later, I saw the basketball hoop hung over the 
garage. As I climbed out of the car, I asked Fox, "Do you 
play?"
	"Not really, I just kinda shoot around. No one really 
to play with."
	"Well, how 'bout we play a bit and then we can go in 
and you can help me with my English essays?"
	Mr. Mulder looked at us. "Not too long, son," he said. 
"I don't want you falling behind in your studies."
	"Ok, Dad."
	Fox and I played basketball for about an hour. After I 
beat him in four straight games of "21," he said to me, "We 
should go in and study."
	"Alright." I made one more shot, sinking it easily. 
"You know, you're pretty tall for fourteen. Ever thought 
about going out for basketball?"
	He bent over to tie his shoelace. "I just turned 
fifteen, and I'm not very good."
	"That's only because I have two older brothers to play 
with. Ok, here's the deal. You help me with my English and 
I'll help you with your game, deal?"
	He stood up. "Deal." He then leaned over and kissed me 
on my cheek. I blushed. As we walked into the house 
together, he took my hand. "How's your 'truth and reality' 
essay?" he asked.
	"Horrible."
	"Well, let's see what we can do to it."

That night, as I got ready for the reunion, I 
remembered what Fox had told me at graduation.
We were to walk out last, together, because we both 
would be giving speeches. As we waited in line for our turn 
to walk, he turned to me and said, "Susie, I'm going 
England. I know we had planned to go to Stanford together, 
but Oxford offered me a full scholarship."
	I looked at him. "What? You're kidding me?"
	"No," he said stoically.
	"Fox, that's great. We can still be friends. It's 
okay. We can write and call every once in a while. Things 
will be fine."
	"You're not upset?"
	"No. Of course not." I couldn't tell him that my 
little heart was breaking.
	That night, we had decided to give our speeches 
together, something that had never been done before. And as 
I received my diploma, I looked at him walking down off the 
stage. Suddenly, I called out his name. He turned towards 
me and ran for him. When I made it into his arms, the tears 
were streaming down my face. "Thank you," I cried in his 
ear. "I'm going to miss you."
	"I'm going to miss you too, Susie Q. I love you."
	"I love you too, Fox."

Later, at the reunion, I went looking for him. I 
combed the gym floor. Suddenly I saw him...standing next to 
a pretty red head. He was introducing her to his old 
friends. My heart sank. He was seeing someone.
I turned away and headed towards the punch bowl.
	"Susie. Susie Q!" 
	Someone was calling my name. I turned around and there 
was Fox looking as gorgeous as ever in a blue suit and tie. 
And right behind him was the red head.
	"Hi, Fox," I said meekly, like the day at his locker.
	"Susie, I want you to meet my partner, Dana Scully."
	"Partner?"
	"I work for the FBI now. Dana is my partner."
	I shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you." Suddenly 
the song "Susie Q" by Dale Hawkins came on the radio in the 
gym.
	"Come on Susie. For old time sakes."
	I looked at his partner. She mouthed the words "Go on" 
to me and pushed me towards her partner. The next thing I 
knew I was being swung around the gym floor having the time 
of my life. High school reunions may be a good thing after 
all.