I love parties. I always have. I also liked all different kinds of people. I 1 quite fit into one of the many little groups at my school, so I just kind of floated around, accumulating 2from various cliques (小团体).There was an "in" crowd 3 the cool kids who had the power to rule the school - if a cool kid wore two different colored socks to school one day, everyone thought it was 4.
Shannon was one of my friends who seemed to unknowingly 5 the rules all the time. I don't know why she was targeted, but people found it 6 to make fun of her. Shannon was a nice girl and wore pretty clothes, but was somewhat overweight and didn't talk much. She was 7 a lot.
One year, to celebrate my birthday, my mom told me I could have a 8 at our house. Once I had chosen all the names, I made the 9 and handed them out to my friends at school.
"Why did you invite 10?" asked one of my 11 friends when it was discovered that I had invited Shannon. She insisted that I had made a big mistake and 12 me to tell her not to come.
The day of my party, both Shannon and my other friends came, and all 13 happened was that we had a lot of fun together.
I was 14 my high school twenty-year reunion when a beautiful, 15, very professional-looking woman walked up to me. She said, "Lindy, I am so 16 you came tonight. You are the reason I am here." "Oh? I replied, not 17 her face at first. She pointed to her nametag that 18, "Dr. Shannon Chatzky."
Shannon cherished the 19 of that birthday party from so many years before. It was important to her that I had welcomed her into the fun, and it was a day when she felt 20 and part of group.
