After dinner conversation

Once dinner was cleared, the party shifted back over to the fire pit. The seating was more comfortable, and the flickering flame of the fire was appealing. It had gotten darker outside, and there were no sounds of anything else in the neighborhood.

Olivia said, "I'm so happy you're all here. This kind of reunion has been a long time coming."

Everyone murmured in agreement. There was a slight silence, maybe a little awkward, as people were unsure what might ensue. They all looked around at one another. Olivia wasn't the only one who hadn't seen people in a long time. It seemed that for the most part, no one had really stayed in touch that much.

Back in college, everyone had their cliques. Groups of twos, threes, etc. would always hang together. This assortment of eight people at Olivia's house -- they weren't a unified clique back in the day. Sure, they all knew each other, and many were close with individuals to varying degrees. But while this was sort of a reunion among old friends with something in common (i.e., they all played volleyball, and they all were more or less in touch with Olivia), it wasn't a "bring back the Amazing Eight" or anything like that.

As they looked upon one another, they all had flashbacks to their college days. They remembered stories, games, parties, hookups, maybe even a few classes (heaven forbid, it was college).

Olivia spoke again, ready to get the ball rolling. "What do you all remember about each other from college?"

"What do you mean, Liv, like stupid shit we talked about on the tour bus?" said Donnie.

"Yeah, or game recaps? Honestly, I don't know that I have any kind of recall for volleyball games," muttered Henry.

"Oh, I remember one time when Isaiah and Ben had a contest to see who could eat more cheeseburgers on a road trip rest stop." Sandra giggled. "If memory serves, that didn't end well for either of you."

Ben mumbled, "Nope. It sure didn't." He took a swing from his beer, hoping to wash back the taste sensation memories.

Isaiah laughed. "Wow, I'd forgotten that. How many burgers did we eat?"

Sandra piped up, "Isaiah had eleven. Ben had eight. Then you both, um, struggled to maintain your composure on the bus." She laughed. Eliza giggled a little bit, and Donnie smirked.

"Sure, sure," said Olivia. "Those were fun times. But I'm talking about like private stuff. I'm talking about the things we thought about but never said, the things we did that no one else knew about." She looked around. "Who's got a story like that?"