Jordan’s lighter will not light. Jordan is not happy about this. Jordan has been standing out front of his dorm building in the snow with a stale cigarette in his mouth for about three minutes scraping all the skin off the side of his thumb and his lighter is basically doing jack. Shit.

     Annie comes up and says “Having fun?” and Jordan laughs in a different sort of way and grimaces. Annie produces a light and Jordan takes a long drag and that is about the end of that conversation.

     <

     <

     Annie and Jordan are lying in bed, having sex. Jordan is on top of Annie, having sex with her. Then he finishes and lies on top of Annie. Annie smells like perfume and sweat. They get off the bed after some time. Jordan leans into Annie and they talk. He explains some things. Annie is drunker than Jordan. She listens and then she cries a little. Jordan tries to explain more clearly and Annie just nods. Annie stares at the floor, down and to the left. Jordan focuses on Annie’s forehead in the dark. Annie says everything is okay and that it won’t matter in a few weeks anyway. Jordan knows Annie will not remember any of this is the morning. Jordan and Annie silently get dressed and go outside and smoke on the curb. It has recently snowed. The cars look like they are covered in thick comforters. There are no stars.

     >

     >

     Jordan and Annie are walking through the parking lot and getting into their friend Michael’s car, which they are borrowing for the day. Jordan says it will take about two hours to get to the dentist’s office and then about twenty minutes for them to put his crowns in. Then Jordan says he plans on showing Annie around Church Street in Burlington. Annie has never been to Burlington. Jordan is excited to show Annie Burlington. Annie is not as excited. The snow turns to rain as they pull out of the parking lot.

     >

     Annie and Jordan are climbing the parking garage stairs in Burlington, getting back in the car, and leaving. Jordan’s iPod is playing music over the buzzing car speakers and Annie is looking out the window and sniffing softly. Annie coughs and Jordan throws a sympathetic look at the back of her head. Annie is quiet now and so is Jordan. Jordan stays quiet while Annie continues coughing. Jordan feels like everything is his fault, even some things that he knows are not actually his fault. Music keeps playing. The speakers keep buzzing. Annie keeps sniffing. The clouds keep raining.

     >

     Jordan and Annie have been driving in the car for about four hours or less/more. After some time, Jordan looks at Annie and says, “I need to explain.” Annie says that he does not need to explain anything. Jordan says he needs to. He says that he always felt the way she wanted him to but he was too aware of how he would be moving down to Georgia after he graduated. “It’s kept me from doing a lot of things,” he says. Annie makes a series of ambiguous facial expressions. Jordan is silent for a moment. Then he says, “I just couldn’t be what you wanted me to be,” then, “I couldn’t be that guy,” as if saying it for the first time. Annie asks what he means by ‘that guy.’ Jordan just shrugs and coughs. He coughs some more and turns the music up a little. The song lyrics are hard to hear over the static. Annie coughs again and looks back out the window.

     <

     <

     Annie and Jordan are standing out front of the dorm building smoking cigarettes and talking about things while it snows. Annie says some things and Jordan says some things too. Then Jordan remembers what he is doing today.

     “I have to go to South Burlington to get my fake teeth popped into my face. Do you want to go with me?” Jordan says.

     Annie says, “Elegant.” Then, “I don’t know. I have class later. But my first class got cancelled and I wanted a full snow day, not half. Maybe I’ll go.” Then Annie says, “I’ll go.”

     “Cool. It’ll be fun.” Jordan pauses before saying, “I promise.”