MELISSA VERTZ

I believe that Missy was around at Magee. But I didn't have any contact with her until we got to Clarke.

Now that I think about it, I know she was at Magee. She was somehow related to my next door neighbor. And I remember following her home once.

Missy was someone who shared every class of mine in 7th grade. I didn't like her. She was snotty and bitchy. She had a major attitude problem. That year, her best friend was Missy Ducat. Missy Ducat was nice. Missy Vertz - not nice.

The two Missys were in a clique of girls. I believe Tricia Wetzel was part of that. Perhaps Amy Schmidt and Pam Schley were with them as well. At some point that year, the whole valley girl craze effected them all. They all tried to live and breathe the life of a valley girl. It got pretty bad. It got to the point that if I heard the phrases "tubular" or "gag me with a spoon" one more time, I was going to have to kill someone. Thankfully it subsided after a few horrific months.

Later on that year, Missy Vertz got shut out. I have no idea what happened. But she was suddenly shunned by everyone in her little group. Even Missy Ducat declared that she hated her. In Mr. Swokowsi's art class, I sat at a table with both Missy Vertz and Tricia Wetzel. The two of them sat next to each other actually. With Missy right there listening, I asked Tricia what happened. Why were they doing this to her? Tricia didn't reveal any details. But she too declared that she hated her. Geez! I truly felt sorry for Missy. She looked so sad. You could tell she was just devastated by the whole affair. Not long after, Missy befriended Lori Wavrunek - who although a nice girl, was certainly a major step down on the social ladder. To the best of my knowledge, Missy was never accepted back in with her former friends.

I'm not sure if it was 7th grade or 8th grade. But Missy and I had an incident in gym class. I was standing behind her. And Missy's hand swung back, and got me right in the crotch. Mind you, it was a gentle swing, not a violent one. It was accidental. But her open hand completely engulfed my package. I think I may have felt a tingle. We just looked at each other. I had a goofy grin on my face. I think she was a bit shocked. She eventually turned around and said nothing. Weird.

Missy shared homeroom with me during freshman year. By this time, she looked a bit trashy. I'm not sure if she actually finished the year. She wasn't around for any of the other years. I guess she dropped out.

As far as I can tell, Missy has never left Two Rivers. She eventually married Jeff Dorn. Jeff also went to high school with me. He was a year or two older though. And like Missy, he never finished. I think they married quite young, perhaps even before 1990. One of them filed for divorce at one point. But the case was dismissed. It looks like they did in fact reoncile a few years ago. Missy lives in Two Rivers to this day. They have at least one child.