"I do, but I want to start maxing out..." said Vince.

"Then maybe you should get the heaviest weights you can find," said Abe. He walked a little slower than his friends so he could look at some people nearby.

"Then maybe I should, Abe..."

The park the threesome walked through had several tables where locals played chess. Mike noticed Abe lagging behind and snorted a little bit. So that’s why you play so well, thought Mike.

"What’s wrong?" Abe stopped studying one of the games in progress.

"Nothing..."

"Cool." Abe increased his pace to match Mike and Vince. They were walking together now, approaching a nearby street.

"Are you okay, Vince," asked Mike. "You’ve been awfully quiet lately."

"I’m fine..." said Vince. "You doing good with your classes...?"

"As always, although this new girl seems to be pretty sharp, too."

Vince paused. "What’s her name?"

"Um... can’t remember... Abby, Adele, Amy, one of those." Mike pushed the crosswalk signal button.

"Amber is a pretty name." Abe thought aloud.

"I didn’t say Amber, Abe. I said I couldn’t remember her name."

"I heard you. I just thought the name Amber was pretty." Abe tried to manage a smile. All Mike could do was roll his eyes. Vince said nothing.

The WALK signal appeared and they crossed the street, leaving the park behind. A few moments later, they entered the Sport Shop.

"What kind of weights are you looking for?" asked Mike.

"Some ten-pounders will probably do the job..." Vince looked around the vastness that was the weight section of the Sport Shop.

"Howabout these?" Abe pointed out some weights on a shelf.

"Those will do..." Vince grabbed a ten-pound plate and weighed it thoughtfully in his hand.

"Your move." Mike had Abe, no doubt about it. Of the hundreds of times they played chess together, Abe always defeated Mike. But not this time.

"Okey-dokey..." Abe looked carefully at the table, a little perplexed.

What is he staring at? thought Mike. There’s no way out.

Abe made his move. "Checkmate." To seal the victory, he opened another bag of chips and began to eat.

Mike was speechless as he scoured the board, looking for anything to discount Abe’s otherwise excellent move. Of course, there wasn’t anything to discount. Abe beat Mike again.

"I don’t believe it."

"Neither do I." Abe ate several chips. "For an honor student, you suck at chess."

"No kidding." Mike took a deep breath. Yeah, I suck, he thought. But at least I’m not an idiot. He smirked.

Abe tilted his head and looked at Mike closely. "Can you still help me with my homework? It’s really hard, Mike."

Mike winced. "Yeah, yeah, I can still help you with your homework." He opened the textbook next to the chess board. "Let’s see, where were we before you beat me again?"

The basketball sailed through the air, following its rainbow path until it glided through the hoop with a satisfying swish.

"Again, Mike, you humble me with your adroitness." Vince wiped the sweat from his brow.

"What? That’s game already?" Mike recovered the ball and started bouncing it. "Another one?"

"Actually, I gotta get home for my date."

"You are such a lady’s man. How do you do it?"

Vince gestured with his hands as if shooting a basketball. "I get skills."

They both laughed. "Seriously, where do you find the time going out almost every night? Shouldn’t you be spending some quality time with your brother?" asked Mike. He shot the ball.

"My brother can take care of himself." Vince casually watched as the ball went in the basket.

"Yeah, I know, but still, when was the last time you hung out together?"

Vince thought about it for a moment. "When we were little." He took a drink from his water bottle. "He has his own friends now, so he should be fine."

"You know Abe beat me again today."

"Really? I thought the law of averages or something was on your side."

"It wasn’t enough. Abe may not be bright, but he’s not a pushover—at least when it comes to chess. He’s unbelievable."

"Upset?"

"Yeah. I find it frustrating to be repeatedly beaten by him."

"Well, don’t get your space-time stuck in a wad, Einstein."

Mike snorted. "What do you know about space-time? Or losing to someone like Abe?"

"Cool it," replied Vince. "So you can’t beat him yet. Big deal. But if you never do, don’t worry."

"Is this the part where you tell me to keep my perspective on things?"

"No, you already told yourself that." Vince put on his sweater. "I’m trying to tell you to stop trying to take away something Abe already has."

"And what was the problem the main character had?" asked the teacher. The class remained silent except for some students shifting in their chairs.

"Abe?"

Abe looked up. "Uh, that he had a problem, and, uh..." He looked uncomfortably to his left, where Mike sat. Mike looked uncomfortably back at Abe and then pretended to scribble something in his notebook.

I’ll let him squirm a little, thought Mike. Maybe if he just thinks about it for a little bit, he’ll remember what we talked about when we were studying. And then I don’t have to come in and rescue him, as usual.

"He had a problem, a big problem, and..." stammered Abe.

"Go on, Abe," said the teacher.

Come on, Abe, thought Mike. This is easy. We talked about it for an hour. There’s no reason why you should not get this question right. You were tutored by the master.

Abe hesitated. After a few moments, he couldn’t think of anything else to say. "I’m sorry, I’m not exactly sure what the main character’s problem was." He looked away from the teacher.

What?! thought Mike.

"That’s okay, Abe. Would anybody like to help him?" The teacher looked in Mike’s direction. Mike continued to pretend-scribble in his notebook.

"I’ll venture a guess," said a voice in the back.

As the female voice began to explain, Mike glanced over at Abe. You kick my ass everytime in chess and have the nerve to gloat about it to my face, he thought. Yet, I try to help you. But you never seem to do good at all, even with my help.

Mike went back to pretend-scribbling, drawing a knight, a rook, and then a pawn. That’s when Mike’s pencil broke.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Mike was upset.

"I’m sorry, Mike," said Abe. "I couldn’t remember what we talked about." Mike and Abe sat in the living room.

"But we went over that part of the story for an hour. A whole hour!"

"I know... Just keep studying with me. I know I can get it."

"Are you sure? This is not a game a chess."

"What do you mean?"

Mike paused and took a breath. "Look, I agreed to help you but it doesn’t seem like you’re getting it."

"Of course I’m not getting it. That’s why I need your help."

He does have a point there, Mike thought.

"We’ve known each other a long time. I’m not smart like you, good at school..." He walked over to a glass case. "I’m not smart like my parents, either." Abe looked inside. It contained several antique knives and swords. "I guess my parents’ knack for digging up old things and researching them is not in my blood..." He turned to face Mike. "Still, you could’ve said no to me, but you didn’t."

"That’s because we’re friends. Even if I can be a jerk and yell at you sometimes. I guess I keep forgetting that you’re not me, no matter how long we spend studying together."

"That’s not to say I don’t want to be like you, Mike. You know everything."

Maybe I’m being a little too hard on him, Mike thought.

Abe smiled a little. "Except how to beat me in chess," said Abe.

"Hey, you’ve only started playing." Mike laughed. That was actually pretty funny, Mike thought. "But seriously, is what I’m teaching you making any sense? We’ve been studying together for a while and the only thing that improves is the way you win in chess."

"Uh, sort of." Abe thought for a moment. "I just need you to keep helping. I know I can—"

"I know, I know." Mike looked at his watch. "You know you can get it." He got up out of the chair.

"Gotta go?"

"Yeah. I’ll talk to you later, Abe. In the meantime, try real hard not to forget what we talk about. Especially for the short story class, okay? And I’ll try to think of ways to make it easier for you to do your homework."

"Thanks, Mike. Later." Mike left the room.

After Mike left, Abe sat in the dimly-lit living room. At his feet were a couple of textbooks, their pages highlighted in yellow. He tried to read one of the books. After a few minutes, he closed the book and threw it. It struck his parents’ display case.

Mike peered around the corner and watched Abe. What the hell?

"Just friggin’ great..." muttered Abe. He walked to the remnants of the case, a clock’s ticking accompanying his every step. Some glass pieces lay on the floor near the textbooks and glimmered.

He picked up a shard and sighed. Defeated, Abe sat on the floor and stared at what he held.

Abe turned the shard in the ambient light. He caught a reflection of the world around him, all shadowy. All backwards.

Mike’s eyes widened. No...

Abe grasped the piece of glass so tightly that drops of blood began to drip down his hand. He realized what he had to do.

"Don’t do it, Abe!" yelled Mike as he ran back into the living room.

Mike quietly watched the dirt shoveled over the grave. Shoveling and weeping, Mike thought. Is that all life really is about?

Slowly, the coffin drowned under the patches of fresh earth heaped onto it. Most mourners began to leave quietly, themselves drowning in their sorrow. "Days ago, he stood among us, a boy that hoped, dreamt, and felt..." recalled Mike from the service.

Soon, men patted down the dirt and cast their shovels aside. They then stood silently before joining the rest.

Friends and relatives placed flowers on the fresh grave, waited, then went their ways away.

Mike lingered at the grave, waiting for more mourners to clear before offering his gift to the deceased, a toy hummingbird.

"Mike..." said Vince. We wore dark sunglasses on this overcast day.

"It was Abe’s," said Mike. "It was his favorite toy."

They stood there as more and more mourners placed flowers and keepsakes on the grave.

"...I tried to be there for him, Mike." Tears welled up in Vince’s eyes. "But... trying is never enough, huh?"

Mike did not say a word. Instead, he put his arms around his friend.

"I tried to be there," sobbed Vince. "but it wasn’t enough and now he’s gone."

Mike and Abe sat in a restaurant. Hearty portions of cold food still remained on their plates. Both friends slowly picked at the food. A waiter came by and asked if there was anything wrong with their orders.

"No, nothing wrong," said Mike.

The waiter asked Abe the same thing.

"No, nothing wrong," said Abe.

The waiter left to check on other tables. Mike and Abe continued to eat their meals.

"How’s your studying coming along?" asked Mike.

Abe swallowed a bite of his food before answering. "It’s okay."

"That’s good."

"Yeah. Things make more sense now than they did a while ago."

"That’s great to hear, Abe." Mike smiled.

The ceiling fan above them started to turn slowly. An old man quietly sat down at a nearby booth.

"...I’m sorry about what happened... at the hospital," said Mike.

"It’s okay," said Abe. He continued to eat.

Mike sipped some water and then thought aloud. "...it’s sort of like walking..."

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing," said Mike. "I’m just remembering something funny you said when Vince was still around."

"Oh," said Abe. They continued to eat.

"You want to play some chess afterwards?" asked Abe.

"Cool," said Mike.

Abe shifted a little in his seat, then wiped some sweat from his brow. He turned to Mike and asked, "Is it a little warm in here?"

Mike looked at his friend for a moment, then laughed. "I’m quite comfortable, actually. How are you, Amber?"

"Ditto." Amber smiled.

"Really? You two must be used to this, I guess." Abe wiped a little more sweat from his brow. "These type of things make me nervous." Abe, Mike, and Amber sat in the school auditorium with other students.

"What type of things?" asked Mike.

Abe raised his arms, slightly outstretched. "You know, these type of things. In front of lots of people."

"Oh, come on, you’ll be fine."

"Yeah, Abe," said Amber. "Just try to imagine everybody without their clothes on..." Amber noticed a grin slowly emerge on Abe’s face and added, "except me, of course."

Abe chuckled nervously. "Shucks." He looked at his notes for what seemed like the tenth time. You’ll be alright, Abe, he told himself. They’ll introduce you, you’ll walk up there, say what you have to say, then you’re done.

A name was called. A girl sitting behind the three friends stood up and walked to the podium.

Mike pinched Abe on the arm and Abe almost jumped out of his seat. "Ouch!" said Abe.

"Jeez, you were staring at your notes so hard," said Mike. "It was like you were gonna burn a hole through them."

Abe rubbed his arm. "Okay, I get your point." He’s right, Abe thought. Gotta relax.

The principal read Amber and Mike’s names over the auditorium PA system. Amber and Mike stood up and walked to the podium to receive their awards for scholastic excellence. When they returned to their seats, they wished Abe good luck.

"The next recipient worked really hard over the past year. He’s the perfect example of overcoming personal adversity..." The audience applauded loudly as Abe’s name was read by the principal.

Mike patted Abe on the back. Amber gently grasped Abe’s hand. Abe smiled at his friends, stood up, and walked to the podium.

"Congratulations, Abe," said the principal as he handed a plaque to Abe.

Abe shook the principal’s hand firmly. "Thank you." The principal stepped away from the podium as Abe moved forward to adjust the microphone.

After thanking the audience for the applause and then introducing himself, Abe paused a little bit, wiping some tears from his eyes.

"A friend of mine once told me that purple unicorns mate after midnight..." He paused as the audience laughed. He even allowed himself to laugh a little, too. "To this day, I’m not sure what he meant by that, but it made me laugh. I may have a learning disability, but by keeping my sense of humor, I was able to get through the hardship of learning things that normal people take for granted..."

Abe continued with his speech. And when he finished, the entire auditorium stood up and applauded.

"Jeez, what did you do to your hand?" asked Vince.

"It’s nothing," said Abe.

"Sure looks like some-thing," said Mike.

They stood in the waiting room of the hospital. A young woman stopped reading a copy of Popular Medics, and began watching the friends talk.

"It was just an accident," said Abe. "I got mad while studying and accidentally broke the glass case at home."

"The one with all that stuff your parents find during archeological trips?" asked Vince. "Ouch!"

"No kidding."

"What did your parents say?" asked Mike.

"The usual when something bad happens," said Abe. "It’s not my fault, that I shouldn’t worry about it."

"Wow, your parents are pretty cool," said Vince. "My folks would ground me for something like that."

"It’s not that great. It seems that they’re afraid of punishing me."

"What?"

"It’s true," said Mike. "It goes back to Abe’s, uh, studying problem." He looked at Abe cautiously.

"Yeah." Abe paused for a moment, then continued. "When I was younger, my parents were real, what’s the word?"

"Strict," said Mike.

"Yeah, thanks. They were strict, pushing me to be this way and that. Punishing me whenever I did the littlest things wrong," said Abe. "But as I grew up and started having problems in school, they sort of stopped..."

"Oh, they thought there was some kind of correlation," said Vince. He looked at Abe and corrected himself. "Some kind of connection between your doing poorly and their... strictness."

Abe nodded.

"Then how come you don’t take advantage of that?"

"I did before. Started coming home real late, got into fights. Just to see what it was like," said Abe. "But doing stuff like that never really made me feel good..."

"Hey, I think we better go," said Mike. "I think we’re getting an audience." He noticed that a young woman had started to eavesdrop on their conversation. The young woman stopped watching them and continued reading.

"Yeah, we better go," said Abe. "But, first I need a soda. You guys want any?"

"A carbonated beverage is always a good way to end a deep conversation," said Mike.

Vince looked at the young woman reading the magazine. "I’m good," said Vince. "I’ll wait for you guys here."

Mike and Abe left the waiting room, in search of a soda machine. "Jeez, Abe," said Mike. "You don’t know how scared I was when I saw you holding that piece of glass..."

"I may be having problems," said Abe. "but things aren’t that bad. What happened was just an accident."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I’m sure." Abe paused. "But there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"I think I know why I have problems with school."

"Go on."

"After the accident, I remembered watching a report on the news about learning disorders... How some people have problems reading because it’s all backwards."

"You mean you have dyslexia?"

Mike and Abe found a soda machine and got their sodas. When they returned to the waiting room, Vince was still there talking to the young woman. He noticed his friends.

"Well, I better go," said Vince. "Nice meeting you, Amber." He met his friends near the waiting room exit. "Ready to go?"

"Not as ready as you are," muttered Mike.

Abe laughed. Vince rolled his eyes.

Abe walked through the library, looking for the art history book he needed for class.

So many books, Abe thought. Before I was afraid of them because I didn’t understand their words.

He stopped and pulled a book off a shelf. Now I’m afraid that I won’t be able to read them all. After flipping through the book, he returned it to its place on the shelf.

Abe wandered through the library, then saw Vince sitting at a table. He noticed Vince was trying to write something.

"Hey, Vince..."

Vince looked up from his notepad. "Hey, Abe."

"What are you working on?"

"Oh, just a story," said Vince. "Don’t mind me, please have a seat."

"Okay." Abe put his backpack on the desk and sat down. "Is it for class?"

"Actually, it’s for the school anthology."

"Anthology... That’s a collection of stories, right? That’ll be cool if it got published," said Abe. "What’s it about?"

"Life. How some people deal with it and how they remember it."

"I wish I could do something like that..."

"Don’t say that," said Vince. "You can do whatever you want."

"It’s not that easy for me, Vince."

"I know. Mike told me about your dyslexia..."

"I’ve started getting tutoring from the school. Hopefully, that’ll help..." Abe sighed.

"What’s wrong?"

"All this time I thought I was just stupid. All this time just struggling. Now I know it was just the dyslexia talking." He laughed.

"Well, at least you know about it now," said Vince. "It’s also good that you still have your sense of humor."

"I guess you’re right..." Abe sighed.

"Purple unicorns mate after midnight."

"What?" gasped Abe.

"You heard me. It’s probably the most strangest thing you’ve ever heard me say, but you have to admit it worked. You’re smiling right now."

Abe thought about it. He’s right. The smile on his face widened. "That’s pretty good. I got to remember that."

"Abe," said Vince. "I know I’m not a braniac like Mike, and I haven’t been friends with you as long as Mike has. But whenever you need any help or just want to talk, I’m always around."

"Thanks..." Now that you mention it... Abe thought. "Could I ask you a favor?" asked Abe.

"I like a friend who’s not afraid to ask for help," said Vince. He smiled. "What is it?"

"Can you help me find Twentieth Century Art by Ann Philippon?" asked Abe. "I’ve been wandering around this library looking for it and I can’t find it."

"Can anyone tell me why the author wrote the story that way?" asked the teacher.

Abe saw Mike raise his hand. The teacher called on Mike and Mike gave his answer.

"Actually, that’s partially correct. Anyone else?"

Again, the class was silent.

Oh, what the heck, Abe thought. He raised his hand. Mike looked at Abe.

"Abe...?" asked the teacher.

"Yeah, I’ll give it a try," said Abe. He gave his answer.

"That’s an interesting take on the story, Abe, but actually that’s not the answer I was looking for."

"Oh..." So much for that.

"But that was a really good effort," said the teacher. "It shows me that you’re understanding what you’ve read, and that you’re not having the same problems you had with the material as you had before." The teacher smiled.

Mike turned to Abe as someone sitting in the back of the class gave her answer. "Hey, that was a pretty good answer," whispered Mike. "I never thought about it that way before."

"Neither did I," said Abe.

The teacher noticed the friends talking and then cleared his throat. "Abe," said the teacher. "Is there anything you’d like to add to Amber’s comment?"

"Uh, no," said Abe. "Not today, but I’m sure in the upcoming weeks I will."Abe smiled.

Abe sat in his room. He looked at a picture of him, Vince, and Mike on a nearby desk. He looked at another picture on that desk. It showed him, Mike, and Amber gathered around a table in a restaurant.

Things have changed, Abe thought.

He picked up the plaque and ran his hand over it. I’m actually a pretty bright S.O.B. Abe then placed the plaque next to the pictures on the desk.

Abe looked around the room and noticed the books he left on the floor. He rummaged through them and placed almost all of them in his backpack. Abe studied the cover of the one book he did not place in the backpack. The cover said it was the school anthology.

Abe flipped through the book until he came to the page. It was the first page of Vince’s story. On that page was a dedication:

"To my friends Mike and Abe. Mike, for your willingness to learn and master all things taught. Abe, for your willingness to laugh..."

Abe looked at the picture of him, Vince, and Mike. Thanks, Vince.

"Abe, telephone..." said Abe’s mother from downstairs.

"Okay, mom," said Abe. He closed the book and took one last look at the picture before leaving the room to answer the phone.

Vince stood at the front of the class and began reading. "They lied. Icarus was not about the vanity of mankind. It was about love."

Amber sat in the back of the class. Wow, she thought. Who’s that?

Vince continued to read more from his essay. Amber leaned forward in her chair, listening intently. He’s good.

"Like a moth is attracted to a flame, Icarus was attracted to the sun," read Vince. "We are Icarus, we who have fallen for the sun, or the object of our desire."

Amber sighed. He’s really good.

"Like moths, like Icarus, we wish to fly close to that which we desire," continued Vince. "That which we love."

The bell rang, announcing the end of class.

"In the end, we end up getting too close," read Vince. "The very human wings that make us believe we’re capable of touching the sun, the wings of love, fail and we fall."

"Thank you, Vince," said the teacher. "We’ve run out of time. You can finish reading from your essay tomorrow."

Students packed their book bags and backpacks and began leaving the classroom. Except Amber. She watched as Vince returned to his desk to gather his things. I should go up and talk to him, she thought. Ask him about how he came up with that interpretation of Icarus.

Someone, a very pretty someone, walked up to Vince and started talking to him.

Or maybe not, Amber thought. She sighed and grabbed her books. As she walked out of class, she noticed Vince was still talking to that girl.

The car pulled into the church’s driveway and parked in a stall. After a few moments, the door opened and Amber emerged. She closed the door and climbed the steps leading to the church’s double doors. Amber pulled open a door and went inside.

The rays of the afternoon sun flowed through the church’s stain-glass windows.

Amber kneeled at the front pew. She started praying. Heavenly Father, even though she’s gone from my life, she thought. Please watch over her as you do over me.

She continued praying. A priest talked to a couple nearby. An old man sat in the back of the church, sleeping.

Keep her memory in my mind clear, she thought. My feelings for her in my heart forever bright like a fire...

When she finished her prayer, she put a donation into a collection box. She then pulled a stick from a jar and held the stick over a burning candle. The stick started to burn.

Rest well, June, she thought as she lit a candle with the stick. She gently blew out the stick’s flame and returned the stick to the jar.

"Amber, how are you?"

Amber turned and saw the priest who was talking to the couple. "Hello, Father," she said. "I’m doing okay. Yourself?"

"I’m just fine, thank you. How’s your parents?"

"They’re doing well. My mom still has the occasional crying fit, but I think she’s finally letting go."

"Well, let your mother know that I am available if she needs to talk some more about it. Your father, too, if he feels up to it."

"Thank you, Father," said Amber. "My parents appreciate your kindness."

The priest noticed the old man sleeping in the back of the church. "Please excuse me," said the priest. "Nice seeing you again, Amber."

"You, too, Father," said Amber. She watched the priest walk to the back of the church and gently nudge the old man out of his nap. The old man, awake and embarrassed, apologized to the priest, who seemed a little embarrassed himself.

Amber chuckled lightly as she left the church and drove home. There was always something funny happening whenever I prayed for you, June, she thought. I guess that means God has a sense humor.

Amber looked around the waiting room of the hospital. A television set hung in the corner. It displayed a rerun of a sitcom popular ten years ago. A copy of Popular Medics lay on top of a coffee table. It displayed a date three months from today’s date.

"Great," said Amber. "Just great." She picked up the Popular Medics and leafed through it. She heard some people talking nearby, but she continued to leaf through it, looking for something interesting to read.

"Sure looks like some-thing," said Mike.

Well, that was a waste, thought Amber. She looked up at the people talking. Two of them she recognized from her short story class. The third she fondly remembered from her essay writing class.

"It was just an accident," said Abe. "I got mad while studying and accidentally broke the glass case at home."

"The one with all that stuff your parents find during archeological trips?" asked Vince. "Ouch!"

Amber sighed. She watched Vince as he talked to his friends. She watched how he stood. She watched how he moved his hands as he talked. She listened carefully as he spoke.

"Wow, your parents are pretty cool," said Vince. "My folks would ground me for something like that."

He’s such a creative guy, Amber thought. I would never have thought of Icarus as a love story. And he seems so down-to-earth.

"Oh, they thought there was some kind of correlation," said Vince. He looked at Abe and corrected himself. "Some kind of connection between your doing poorly and their... strictness."

"Hey, I think we better go," said Mike. "I think we’re getting an audience." He looked in Amber’s direction. Amber stopped watching them and continued to pretend reading Popular Medics. She did notice from the corner of her eye that Vince was looking at her for a long time.

"Yeah, we better go," said Abe. "But, first I need a soda. You guys want any?" Mike acknowledged a need to quench his thirst.

"I’m good," said Vince. "I’ll wait for you guys here."

Mike and Abe left the waiting room. Vince started to walk over to Amber.

Amber started to panic. What is he doing?! she thought. He’s headed this way!

"Hi," said Vince.

Woo-hoo! she thought. He’s talking to me! To me, of all people! "Hi..." said Amber. Does he notice how nervous I am?

"You’re in my essay writing class, right?"

He even remembers me from class! "Yeah..." God, she thought. He’s so cute!

"Well, I’m Vince."

"I’m Amber..."

"That’s a pretty name." Vince smiled. "Are you new to the school. I haven’t seen you around campus before."

She smiled back. "Yeah... I moved here a few months ago..."

Mike and Abe returned to the waiting room, both holding sodas.

"Well, I better go," said Vince. "Nice meeting you, Amber." He walked away to join his friends.

"Nice finally meeting you, too..." said Amber. As Vince and his friends left, Amber’s mother entered the waiting room. "How was the check up, mom?"

"Fine, dear," said Amber’s mother. She looked closely at her daughter. "Are you okay? You look a little flushed."

I’m going to do it, Amber thought. I’ve been talking to him for the past month, getting to know him. He seems to like talking to me.

She sat in the back of the classroom, barely listening to what the teacher was asking.

I should talk to his friends first, though. That might save me from a little embarrassment if Vince has a girlfriend.

"Amber," said the teacher. "Would you like to explain to us what the main character did to get into so much trouble in the first place?"

Amber almost jumped out of her seat. "Huh?"

"I guess not." The teacher sighed. "Amber are you alright?"

"Yeah," Amber said. "I just remembered I had to do something after class."

"Oh, well, next time write it down. That way you’ll be ready when I catch you daydreaming again," the teacher smiled.

Amber tried to smile back. It didn’t work.

When class ended, Amber approached Mike and Abe.

"Hi," said Amber.

"Hey, how’s it going?" asked Mike.

"I’m okay..." Amber paused. "I remember you guys from the hospital. You know Vince, right?"

"We’re actually good friends of his," said Mike.

"Mike’s more good than I am," said Abe.

O-kay, Amber thought. "I’m just wondering..." Amber paused again. "If... he... has..." I... got... to... be... more... relaxed...

"I don’t think he has a girlfriend," said Abe.

Yes! Amber thought.

"I don’t think so, either," said Mike. "But..."

Amber coughed. What! "What do you mean?" she asked.

"He doesn’t talk about those things with us."

"But you both said that you don’t think he has a girlfriend."

"That doesn’t mean we’re sure," said Mike. "It just means we think he doesn’t have a girlfriend.... haven’t seen him hanging around campus with anyone in particular..."

"Oh, okay..." Crap! she thought. Amber started to have a craving for chocolate-covered raisins.

"Look, just ask him yourself. He’s a pretty easy-going guy."

"Thanks," Amber said. My kingdom for a ton of chocolate-covered raisins! "And I’d appreciate it..."

"We’ll keep this to ourselves," said Abe.

"Yeah a lot of girls ask about him," said Mike. After realizing what he said, he added: "But we gave them the same advice we gave you."

As Amber walked to her next class, she passed Vince in the hall. She was about to say hello to him, but Vince was talking to another girl.

Amber picked up her tray of food and walked through the cafeteria, looking for a place to sit and eat her lunch. Almost all of the tables were taken. Except one.

Oh no, thought Amber. He’s with his friends...

She saw Vince sitting with Abe and Mike. An empty chair was next to Vince. As Amber stood there, waiting and thinking, thinking and waiting, Abe and Mike put on their backpacks, picked up their trays, and left Vince by himself.

Okay, Amber. It’s now or never...

Amber took a couple of deep breaths and walked over to where Vince sat. Vince wore all black, from his turtle-neck sweater to his black jeans and shoes. That’s unusual, thought Amber. I’ve never seen him wear all black before... Looks kind of sexy on him... She smiled. "Hi,Vince."

Vince looked up from his tray. He swallowed his food. "Oh. Hi, Amber."

"Do you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," said Vince. "Please. Have a seat."

"How have you been...?"

"I’ve been... okay..." Vince took a sip from a can of soda. "How are you?"

"Good."

Vince ate a little more of his meal. "How are you liking the school, so far?"

"Everybody seems real nice..." I better ask him soon, Amber thought. Before I start falling apart...

"That’s good..." said Vince. He started scratching the bottom of his tray with his fork.

"Hey, Vince, I’ve been wondering.... um..." Amber paused. "If you’re free... this weekend, you know..." Amber paused again. Dammit, she thought. Say it, say it! "Maybe we could go... watch a movie..."

Vince stopped scratching his tray and looked up at Amber.

I don’t like the look on his face, Amber thought. He looks so... sad...

"Um, Amber, how can I say this?"

No, he has a girlfriend!

"I think I shouldn’t be dating now..." continued Vince.

Huh?

"It’s hard to explain..." said Vince. "I just don’t feel like having fun at the moment..."

That’s an easy way of explaining it, I think... "Oh, that’s okay, Vince," said Amber. "I understand." No, you don’t! Ask him why, ask him!

Vince studied Amber’s face for a moment. "I’ll tell you why later when I feel more comfortable talking about it..."

"Okay."

"For the time being," said Vince. "Let’s exchange phone numbers... Try to ask me again later... Or if I change my mind sooner, I’ll talk to you..."

"Oh, okay." Amber smiled. I guess that’s better than nothing, she thought.

Amber wrote her phone number on a piece of paper and gave it to Vince. Vince wrote down his phone number on a piece of paper and gave it Amber.

Vince continued to eat his lunch. Amber took her cue and began eating hers as well. Occasionally, she tried to talk about class, the latest movie, or nothing in particular, but Vince kept his responses brief. For the most part, they ate in silence.

Amber closed the door. She looked through the peephole and saw him. Vince stood for a moment on the porch then walked back to his car. She continued to watch him as he got into his car and drove away.

Amber sighed and leaned against the door. Wow, she thought. He’s such a great guy... She giggled.

She went upstairs to her room and closed the door. She put the purple unicorn Vince won her at the carnival on her desk. Amber fell back onto her bed.

He’s such a gentleman. Very courteous. She remembered how Vince opened the car door for her, took her hand, and gently led her out of the car. And very respectful. She remembered how she slightly shivered as they walked through the carnival fairgrounds and how Vince took off his warm coat and put it on her. He can be competitive. She remembered when they were riding the bumper cars, how for every time she rammed Vince’s car, he rammed her back twice. But he’s not a sore loser. She remembered when she beat him at the ring toss game and how he just laughed and smiled.

When Amber went to bed, she took the purple unicorn with her. Amber wrapped her arm around it and shortly fell to sleep.

Vince put the remaining weights inside the backpack, for a grand total of one hundred pounds.

He looked around the room. In the corner were two ten-pound plates.

Oops, he thought. I forgot some.

Oh, what the heck. You only live once. He could not help but wince at that thought.

Vince put the remaining weights inside the backpack, for a grand total of one-hundred-and-twenty pounds.

He put on the backpack, barely able to stand straight. The weights clanged slightly.

Jeez, someone could get themselves killed by just carrying this. Oops. Another dead joke. He snickered slightly to himself.

Vince walked to the center of the room without falling down — a Herculean effort — where the chair was. More clanging. He climbed atop the chair — another Herculean effort. Looking up, he saw it.

Dangling from the open-beam ceiling was a rope with a noose big enough to put his head in.

Vince did just that.

He tightened the noose, but not tight enough to choke him. If I choke to death, what’s the use of hanging myself, right?

Vince took a deep breath.

He jumped off the chair.

"Hey, Mike. What’s wrong with Vince?" They were in the living room. Flowers were everywhere. Lying on the table, lying on the couch, lying on the floor.

"His brother died last week."

"Oh, so that’s what the flowers were for." Abe wasn’t exactly stupid; he just took a lot longer to see the obvious.

"Yeah. He’s been keeping to himself. Doesn’t go out of his room. Pretty scary stuff."

"Who’s he talking to?"

"Some girl. Amber I think her name is." Mike may have been Vince’s good friend, but even he didn’t really know a thing about Vince’s love life.

"How’s he taking it?"

"Amber?"

"No. You know… his brother’s death."

Mike thought for a while. "Stone."

"What?"

"He’s like stone. Hard. Can’t tell what’s going on underneath, but you know that whatever it is, it’s all cold."

"Oh."

"There is one thing, though."

"Oh yeah?"

"The day his brother died, I heard him yelling in his room. The door was closed, but I couldn’t mistake what he was saying. He was swearing, Abe."

"Oh, man…"

"Yeah, he was upset. Then he stormed out of the house. I was curious who he was yelling at so I went in his room and saw a broken crucifix on the floor."

Mike and Abe then remained silent. The cloying fragrance of flowers mixed with the subdued hum of air conditioning was nauseating.

"He’s not like… suicidal or anything?" asked Abe.

Both Mike and Abe looked at the closed door leading to Vince’s room. It was awfully quiet.

Suddenly they both ran to the door, Mike in the lead. As the door opened they expected to see Vince lying in a pool of blood, red slits in both his wrists.

Vince looked up at them, not from the floor but from his desk. "Look, Amber, I gotta go. Yeah, I’m sure. Thanks for asking. I’ll see you in class tomorrow. Bye." He hung up the phone. "Sorry I took a while. Amber wouldn’t let me go."

Mike and Abe stood there.

"Something wrong...?" Vince asked.

More silence. "Uh, nothing," said Mike.

"Well, let’s go..." Vince got up and walked out of the room.

"So where are we going?" asked Abe.

"To the Sport Shop... I need to get some weights..."

"That’s how it happened?" Amber had just gotten to the hospital and her eyes were glazed from crying.

Mike nodded.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"I don’t know. The doctor never spoke with us yet."

The waiting room was clean, well-lit. Some magazines were neatly stacked on a table. The television was off. So quiet. So peaceful. It was hard for them to believe that outside this room their friend was fighting for his life.

Mike and Abe sat in chairs. That’s where the similarities ended. Mike stared at the wall in front of him. Abe leafed through one of the magazines.

Amber looked outside the window, into the darkness. The city lights were tiny beacons compared to the leviathan dark spread out across the night sky. She opened her purse, took out a bag of chocolate-covered raisins and stuffed a handful in her mouth. "Did someone call his parents?"

"Yeah. They’re on their way." Abe continued to leaf through the magazine.

"How can you read when Vince is dying?"

"I can’t. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try."

"You know, I’m tired of your smartass remarks." Mike took a copy of Popular Medics Abe was reading and threw it across the room.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Abe stood up.

Amber turned from the window. "You guys…"

"No! What the hell is yours?! Vince is dying and you have the nerve to start reading a magazine as if he’s okay?!" Mike stood up.

Amber walked towards them. "Guys…"

"I’ve been waiting a long time for this…"

"Show me what you got—" Abe was caught in mid-sentence by a right cross from Mike. Abe slowly got up, then tackled Mike to the ground.

"Mike, Abe, stop this right now!"

They continued scuffling. Abe then got Mike in a headlock and was applying several closed-fists to Mike’s head.

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" Amber fell to her knees. She was sobbing loudly. Then Abe stopped. He let go of Mike and went to Amber. Abe started to cry as Amber laid her head in his chest. Mike sat on the floor, saying nothing.

Moments, minutes, maybe even hours later, a doctor eventually came in. "Are you the people waiting for Vince?"

"Yes. Is he going to be all right?" Amber asked.

"I’m sorry. We tried to remove the bullet, but he went into cardiac arrest… we couldn’t revive him."

"You sure you don’t want to do something this weekend? Okay, Vince… I’ll… um… see you tomorrow I guess." Amber gently replaced the handset of the phone.

She was lying in her bed, misty-eyed and occasionally sniffling, but none the worse for wear.

After all, Amber had been through this before. Especially with Vince.

Oh, Vincent, she said to herself, why do you have to be so hard on yourself? It’s not your fault.

She got up, got a box of chocolate-covered raisins from the cupboard, and stuffed a handful of the sweets in her mouth. Amber was really upset and whenever she got really upset, she ate chocolate-covered raisins.

Maybe I should swear like Vince whenever I get mad. She knew that Vince cursed like a sailor whenever he was upset. She knew a lot of things about Vince even though they were only classmates. His favorite food: sweet and sour spareribs. His favorite shoes: high-tops. Even his favorite pastime: writing. She knew a lot of things about Vince. But she didn’t know why he kept on declining her invitations to go out.

Then she heard about his brother dying.

Then came the conversation she overheard between Vince’s friends at school.

"Why’s Vince wearing turtlenecks? It’s like ninety degrees," said Abe.

"Didn’t you hear? He tried to hang himself," said Mike.

"What happened?"

"His parents found him on the floor, huddled next to a chair. The rope apparently broke. He wears turtlenecks to cover up the bruises."

She stuffed another handful of chocolate-covered raisins in her mouth.

"Come on, Vince. You gotta stop being like this," said Mike. The restaurant they were eating in was almost completely deserted. An old man sat in the corner by himself, while a young waiter filled his glass with champagne, never stopping until the bubbly overflowed onto the table.

"Being like what?"

"You know… intense."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I think what he means is that you’re so… intense."

"Thanks a bundle, Abe, for that marvelous insight."

"Glad to help." Abe went back to eating his meal.

"Seriously, Vince, you’ve been so depressed. Benny’s been gone for a while now and you’ve still got that grim reaper aura to you."

Vince played with his food.

"You know what I mean. You gotta get back into the swing of things. Shoot some hoops. Go out. Do what you used to."

"Yeah," said Abe through a mouth full of noodles.

"I don’t know guys. Things seem so confusing to me. I can’t even remember what I did yesterday and in what order."

"Death does that to a person. But to set things straight, you have to go on. Benny wouldn’t have wanted you to just brood over him for the rest of your life. Things are going to be all right."

They sat at their booth. The ceiling fan turned ever so slowly above. The old man had already left and the young waiter was beginning to look at them impatiently.

"What do you want me to do? Just jump into my pre-death routine?"

"No. You gotta take it one step at a time."

"Yeah, it’s sort of like walking," mumbled Abe.

Mike rolled his eyes. "Anyway, who’s that girl that keeps on calling you? Aphrodite? Ambrosia?"

"No. Amber." Vince stared at his glass of root beer. "Her name is Amber."

"Howabout you ask her out?"

"I don’t know."

"What’s there to know? She seems to really like you, Vince..."

Abe burped. Vince finished the rest of his root beer. Mike waited. Then Vince got up, threw some bills on the table. "You guys ready to go?"

"Uh-huh," said Abe.

"But you still haven’t answered my question."

"What’s there to answer? I already know what I have to do."

Amber kissed Vince. Neither a typical peck on the cheek nor a passionate smooch. Just enough to let him know that she cared about him and would be waiting when he was ready.

Vince touched her face.

So soft, he thought. Can there really be anything so soft in this world?

Amber smiled.

"Good night, Vince."

"Good night, Amber."

Amber closed the door. Vince stood on the porch for a moment then walked back to his car. As he drove home, he couldn’t help but smile.

Vince laughed. Well, Benny-boy, looks like you’ll have to wait awhile for that twenty bucks. But, I don’t think you’ll mind that one bit.

Vince parked the car. All the spaces near his house were taken, so he parked down the street. Then he walked home.

I can’t believe that a while ago I was about to jump off a chair wearing a weight-filled backpack and a hangman’s noose around my neck. A dog barked. I can’t believe that tonight I fell in love.

Vince heard a click. "Don’t move," said a scruffy voice. He felt something hard pushed deeply into his back. Oh my God. A gun. Vince didn’t move.

"Good. Now reach into your back pocket slow-like and give me your wallet. Then give me your car keys."

What should I do? Vince thought for a moment. Lie. "I don’t have a wallet or car keys. I was taking a late night walk."

"Don’t lie to me. I saw you park your car back there. And besides, what fool would go for a neighborly stroll wearing a sports coat and tie?"

Got you there, Vince. He pulled the wallet out of his pocket and turned.

"Don’t. Or you’ll regret it. Just hand it back to me. The keys, too."

Vince gave him the wallet and heard the sound of it being leafed through. "Vincent St. John. Nice name. Bad photo, though. Keys, please."

Please? Now that’s something I usually don’t hear when I’m being robbed. Vince dug his hand in his pocket and handed the keys over.

As he did, something glimmered on his wrist.

"Ooh, what was that?" He did.

Scruffy grabbed Vince’s arm and looked at the watch. "Hey, nice watch. Trying to hold out on me, huh?" He started to unstrap the watch off Vince’s wrist.

"Please don’t take it. It was my brother’s."

"I could care less if it was Mother Theresa’s. I want it and I’m gonna have it." Scruffy continued to unstrap the watch.

Not this time, Vince thought. As the final loop on the wristband was loosened, Vince turned and struck Scruffy with his free arm. Scruffy fell to the ground.

I may have lost Benny once, but this time. Never again. Vince grabbed the watch and started to run, feeling more alive now than he ever had since Benny died.