Reunion

A man searching himself by confronting his past.

High schools are essentially the same everywhere. Ever present are the bullies, the A-level achievers, nerds and outcasts. This environment, often cruel and always chaotic, determines the direction for countless young lives.

For some, the High School gives experiences that can be cherished for years, for others they take a lifetime to get over.

Jorma was one of those silent boys who sat on the front seats, yet were next to invisible most of the time. He was into his books and computers while most of his classmates were fooling around with each other and taking test runs of living an individual life. He was a bullied kid, but didn't crash or run for help from anywhere. When the kids grew up a bit, the bullying diminished and they tended to just leave him alone.

He started programming games in his teens, but it was only after he got to university when he picked up that hobby more seriously. Through luck and timing he managed to ride the wave of first really popular mobile games before the year 2010.

His first breakthrough title was called “Across the Minefield” and after the overwhelming success he founded his company, “Roihu Mobile” that managed to grow quickly, giving him fame all across Finland.

In those years, he finally found something of a calling and the rising confidence brought him outward and among other people. After few years he got a wife and few kids, an expensive design house by the sea and a fast car in the garage. World seemed to finally smile in his direction.

But life rarely is a Hollywood movie. Under tremendous pressure and life as a public figure didn't go too well for Jorma in the long run. Perhaps it was partly him being an introvert and missing out on all of the rebelliousness in his teens. Whatever the reason, his life offered too much situations for him to go overboard, and that is what he did on numerous occasions.

Long story cut short, his wife left him and took their twin daughters with her. His company is on a verge of bankrupcy. His public image is now torn and shattered, nowadays mostly giving fuel to the yellow press.

To his own surprise, he accepted the invitation to the class reunion. It would not be a short, awkward dinner like they used to be, but a long weekend on a large, mansion-like cottage in the countryside. All his “friends” would be there. All the girls he used to follow from a distance as well. Twenty three years ago he had left high school and never met any of his fellow classmates, until now.