• tab "Look, Nate." It was lunchtime, and Evan was trying to make up for what he said earlier. He wasn't very good at being apologetic, which I could definitely relate to. He kind of gave me this forced smile, and managed to get out the word,
    tab "Sorry." I smiled back, and replied, as if I had no idea what he was talking about,
    tab "'Bout what?" It was a lie, and we both knew. But he went along with it, except this time minus the smile,
    tab "'Bout what I said earlier today, about Jenna..." To that, my smile disappeared as well, and once again, I lied,
    tab "Forget it. It's no big deal."
    tab "'No big deal'?" he poorly immitated. "Yeah, right. It's a pretty big deal. Don't even say that." I sighed, and finally said,
    tab "Evan, are you...are you sure you saw Jenna do that?" He shrugged.
    tab "I don't know. Maybe I...didn't see something right?" Obviously, he was just trying to encourage me now. He knew what he saw. He sounded very secure last time we had that "discussion". But I agreed with him. I couldn't not agree with him.
    tab "Probably." He didn't say anything, because he knew he had just lied. I knew too. An event like that you never forget.
    tab A true friend...There was no doubt in my mind, that was what Evan was. But it didn't matter if he was my friend or not. I knew I couldn't trust him right now.
    tab So did that mean...Jenna really did do that?

    tab "So, how was school?" my dad asked as Jenna and I walked in home. He was sitting on a chair in the living room, staring a static TV, some nonsense about robots booming from the stereos.
    tab "It was all right." It was a quick way to get out of the question, and it would save me the guilt of my day being too good when Jenna was going through hell, I was sure.
    tab Then it was Jenna's turn.
    tab "It was..." She smiled, and then bluntly lied,
    tab "It was great." Yeah, right, I thought. Your life sucks right now, and don't even deny it. I wondered: It seemed like everyone was holding something back. First my dad, then me, then Evan, and now, even Jenna.
    tab "That's good to hear," my dad said with a smile. He seemed really happy, as if he just accomplished something, making her happy. What was behind that smile, I remember thinking, was anyone guess. He sighed, then, and got off his chair, his smile suddenly gone.
    tab "I think..." He got a bit closer to us, hands in his pocket, uneasy as if he was going to reveal some "secret".
    tab "I think it's time I told you guys about mom." I groaned. I was hoping for some sort of input on the unobvious, not something so easy to see as that. I wanted to know more about Jenna. Not my mom. I wanted to forget about that. I threw my back pack down, and mumbled,
    tab "We know she's gone. You don't have to say anything about it." I began upstairs, and I heard him say to Jenna,
    tab "I hope you understand...It's not your fault." He was starting to sound like me. Or...Was I starting to sound like him? Was I turning into my dad? Was that a good thing?
    tab The right thing to do...The wrong thing to do...For some things, it's neither. Sometimes, it's just the best thing to do.
    tab I kneeled down in my room, staring at the rows of books on the shelf. There were dozens of books I hadn't even picked up since I was a kid, and just looking at the titles reminded me of how naive I really was back then.
    tab "King Arthur's Knights Save Camelot..." I chuckled. It was the classic "hero saves the day" kind of story. I picked it up, and began to skim through it.
    tab Pictures...Pictures of courageous knights, sacrificing themselves against a monstrous dragon. Pictures of damsels in distress, desperately pleaing for help in a tall tower.
    tab I closed the book. A hero... I thought to myself then. There was nothing more I wanted to be. Out there to save people's lives, out there to protect a damself in distress. But I realized, then, that life wasn't a fairy tale. There was no, clear, cut out hero, no monstrous villain. Only opposing sides.
    tab Sometimes, it's not the right or wrong thing to do, I thought to myself again. Sometimes, it's just the best thing to do.