14.09.05 - 4:03 p.m.

neil told me he'd told me so from behind his big big desk between bites of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with no crusts, cut straight down the middle which is the way he has eaten it since we were eight. he said it from under his yarmulke which has always given him an air of superiority making everything an i-told-you-so of sorts. even pleasantries. even how are yous. he said, why did you do it in the first place? wait. i know why you did it. chew. swallow. i hate to say it, but
no you don't. you love to say it.
that's not a very nice thing to say about one of your oldest friends.
neither is THAT, but it's never stopped you before.
don't be belligerent.
don't you be.
i'm not being. why did you tell my mom before you told me?
because she wouldn't say she told me so.