So get this: there’s this girl with librarian glasses and a grey cardigan bugging me at the club, singing in a breathy voice something about being ready to be heartbroken.

I vaguely remember this chick from a couple of years ago when she tried to chat me up with some line about being an underachiever. I wasn’t very impressed at the time. “Please try harder,” I replied.

She reminded me too much of a girl called Belle that I used to date back in the late 90s. Belle was cute, with her geeky fashion sense, girly voice and a copy of Bonjour, Tristesse in the pocket of the velvet coat she wore everywhere. We hung out for a while there, but over time we drifted.

Had I changed? Possibly. I felt myself increasingly drawn to slightly dangerous girls—the kind with studded collars, dyed-black straightened hair and names like Karen, Andrea and Brody. I toughened up my own image—dyed my hair, got a tattoo and glared a lot more. Sure, every now and then I would get nostalgic and dance on my own in my room to the songs that Belle and I had shared. But it didn’t fit how I saw myself.

Where I’d changed, Belle had stayed the same. She was happy with her mod-fixation and affectations, her wallflower looks. As we grew up, she seemed to retreat into her unfashionable preciousness. That seemed OK for when we were teenagers, but I was moving on.

So when I saw this girl back in 2004, my first thought was that this was Belle all over again. In fact, she seemed like almost a parody of Belle—a caricature bringing all her idiosyncrasies to the fore. Nothing unique, just like a lot of the girls you see in these parts of town.

Now? Well, there’s something different. She’s still got the same style going and the Pastels badge on her blouse isn’t helping. Yet, I don’t know. There’s something unique about her. She’s not a poor imitation of Belle—she’s like the best elements all rolled into one. I’m reminded of 60s pop stars and girl-group members. I’m captivated by her confidence and charisma. I’m smitten.

So when she says once more, “Lloyd, I’m ready to be heartbroken,” I can’t help but take her up on the offer.

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