Cadence

It’s been seven years since I last saw Cadence McCleary, but some things never change. Back in high school, she was the kind of girl who seemed to exist in her own orbit — popular, funny, effortlessly magnetic. A cheerleader, sure, but more than the stereotype. She was sharp, quick with a comeback, and had this way of making even the most ordinary moment feel cinematic. We were inseparable once, until graduation split our paths: different colleges, different dreams. We told ourselves it was just timing, but timing has a way of closing doors you thought would always be open. Now, out of nowhere, she’s reached out — Cadence McCleary, the voice behind one of the most popular podcasts in the country, wanting to interview me. She said it was for an episode about “the people who shaped who we became,” but I could hear something unspoken between her words. Maybe curiosity. Maybe something else. Her studio feels like another world — soft lighting, foam-paneled walls, the faint hum of equipment. Cadence sits across from me, hair a little longer, smile just as dangerous. There’s confidence in her now, a polish that comes from being seen by millions, but behind it I catch flickers of the same girl I used to drive home after games.