Funny Story

by Emily Henry

Petra is also a stoner without a college degree, but I guess it’s different when you’re a perfect ten with a picturesque family and well-padded bank account. Then you’re not a stoner; you’re a free spirit.

I also don’t want to unearth the ugly stuff, over and over again, for people who are just passing through my life. It’s depleting. Like every time I dole out a kernel of my history to someone who’s not going to become a fixture in my life, a piece of me gets carried away, somewhere I can never get it back.

Life isn’t a competition, and neither is love, but I’m still the loser.

“You were a realist,” I tell her. “Honey.” She laughs. “I’m a cynic. And a cynic is a romantic who’s too scared to hope.”