After yesterday, I felt slightly better. Not exactly caring that I didn't do my homework, I went to school about an hour before it started. The September air was crisp, and slightly windy. It felt pretty good. I took a few strolls around the place.

Then I saw Jerry.

In the ten years I've known him, I have never seen him so upset. I approached him.

"Hey, man," I said.

He looked up. "Hey."

"So, whatcha doing?"

"Nothing much. Just...hanging around."

"I see...you want to play basketball? School doesn't start for forty-five minutes."

"Sure," he said, putting his backpack on the ground.

At least I got one person back.

About thirty minutes later, we stopped playing and went to hang out around our classroom, waiting for the bell to ring. We chatted a little bit, laughed a little. I was so glad to have my best friend back.

"You know, I was thinking about Harmony," Jerry started.

"Please don't," I begged.

"I mean--maybe I really don't know her. Maybe you're right. Maybe she is...I don't know. She seems nice. But people who seem nice sometimes aren't that way."

"I'm glad you understand," I said.

He smiled.

Then I saw Harmony walking towards us. She looked at Jerry. I wondered what my best friend would do.

Like the best person in the world, he looked her in the eye so she knew he saw her. But, he looked away chilly, not even acknowledging her.

That's my man.

But I couldn't help but notice the sadness in her eyes.

As much as I didn't want to have any sympathy for her, I couldn't stop myself.

What almost killed me was the familiarity of those eyes.