While T.K. and Davis got an impromptu game of hackey sack going, Kari plopped onto worn wooden bench. Kaneda lowered himself next to her and drew in his legs, staring at the other guys. Normally, he refused to associate with such animals, but Kari would never leave those boys for him. The sad fact was that in order to be close to Kari, Kaneda would have to be close to Davis and T.K. Following his gaze, Kari nudged Kaneda.

"When are you going to stop hating them?" she asked pointedly. Sighing, Kaneda rolled his eyes.

"Stop it Kar. I don't hate your friends." She settled back on the bench and took out her make up bag.

"I see the way you look at them," she said as she drew a thin black line across her eyelid. "You're not fooling anybody Kaneda." Kaneda rammed his heel into the fence behind them.

"I just find it hard to believe that somebody like you could spend so much time with block-headed jocks," he muttered.

"Kaneda, when are you going to give up these stupid little stereotypes? You should know better than anybody how hard it is to fit real people into categories. Come on now, don't you trust me to choose good friends?"

"You've known them since you were little. That's different." Kari snapped her makeup bag shut.

"I've also known Aki and Hana since I was little. We're definitely not friends anymore." Kaneda held up his hands in defeat.

"Okay, you've got me. You win." The triumphant girl smiled.

"You don't have to love them. Just tolerate those two clowns."

The bell signaled the beginning of the first class of the year. For T.K. and Kari, World Literature. Kaneda found himself in the same math class as the previous year, while Davis caught a nap in study hall. The four moved through their morning classes with all the joy and vigor of kindergarteners. This was it now: the beginning of the end.