Next I put in a phone call to Brenda's parents. Brenda herself answered the phone. She sounded tired, and I heard a child screaming in the background.

"Hello."

"Brenda, it's Jessica, from high school. Do you remember me?"

"Sure, Enginerd."

"I would have thought you might have become a little more polite, considering how deep in the toilet your own life has gone."

Brenda started crying, and it was a miserable sounding cry. It took about a half minute before she could pull herself together enough to say, "You're right. My life is shit. I'm sorry for being such a bitch. Are you just calling to remind me I was...