I was partnered with two classmates who I got along with well enough. One is of little importance to this story; the other, we'll call him Adam, is th... crux of it. He was a slender, effete, Asian boy with glasses. I was tall, average build, and White. We worked on our project in several classes, but eventually had to meet outside of school to progress further. We met at my place as it was the midpoint for the other two. We worked together on a number of occasions with little incidence. But then. With his world falling to pieces around him, Cal had collapsed into himself. For a time, he became completely anti-social, pushing others away viciously. Only Rico had been able to reach into the dark, cold, empty place to which Cal had retreated and lift the boy out of it. His friendship to Jay, unfortunately, had been a victim of that time.Jay still considered Cal a friend; maybe even one of his best, though he had other friends who he spent more time with now. Still, Jay had never given up. "Haven't you noticed? I'm always that way on New Year's Eve. And Y2K is worse. I don't know why, but it's worse this year."I smiled at him. He certainly wasn't one of my problems. Well, maybe he was, because he's getting older, too,and he's older than I am. I'm forty-two. He's fifty. Or will be next month. So, yes, he was a problem. Works too hard, plays too little, getting around to heart attack time. But he's cheerful, and fun, and he still says I'm beautiful. I love him."Dear old Martha," he. "That went by the wayside when I emptied my bladder." Too bad," she said turning to face him. "It felt nice." It's been a long time," he replied.Nancy leaned her face to him and kissed him on his lips. "Be patient with me, Herb. When I feel better, things will change between us."One day Nancy drove into Poison to the bank. She had her funds transferred from San Jose to Poison. She was given a deposit slip when she produced the CD that was due that day with a few thousand dollars interest. They.