Monica peered into the microwave as Gray spoke. The stupid thing wasn't cooking very quickly, and she hadn't stopped to eat in over a day. She laughed out loud as she listened to her poor friend's tale, "Sounds just like you. You haven't changed a bit. You're [i]still[/i] scaring off all the ladies," she gave him a playful punch in the arm. Monica had dated boys left and right in high school; she had tried desperately to find someone to care about more than she cared about Gray, but it hadn't worked. After a couple of dates she was either dumped or did the dumping. And his mom, she was naturally trying to set him up with a woman of fortune to continue the family legacy. Monica knew Gray was rich, very rich, but she had never let that bother her. She had him over to her house, which was of course dwarfed by his own when they were younger, but she couldn't quite bring herself to tell him about the situation they were truly in financially when they were in high school. Her stupid pride had gotten in the way, and that same pride was most likely going to cause her to do foolish things for the rest of her life. 

"I haven't had pizza in ages," Monica smiled wistfully, "Is Sergio's downtown still open? That place was great!" She smiled. Many an afternoon had been spent at the place by her and Gray, "I remember when we tried to eat their extra extra large by ourselves," she beamed, "We were sick all weekend!" 

Monica stopped laughing at all the memories as Gray asked the sobering million-dollar question. She searched his face, leaning in to hold his gaze as she prepared her answer. 

"I didn't know what to tell you. My parents couldn't send me to college. I was embarrassed. I joined the military, and I've served ever since," she hobbled out of the kitchen, and grabbed her jacket from the hook on the wall, "Let's get some food now, okay? It'll be just like old times. Plus, I'm starving."