I think I was depressed after that. I didn't feel like laughing. None of my friends' jokes were funny anymore. It seemed like they talked about the same thing over and over again. My guy friends talk about the TV show they recently watched or the video game they played. My girl friends talked about their grades and gossiped about other people. I thought it was fun talking about those things at first but it was getting boring.

At home, I rarely ever eat. My parents thought I was going through a phase so they didn't really say much about it. And as always, my grades were dropping. I used to get bullied because I was at the top of the class but now my friends make fun of me because I'm near the bottom of the class. "You were doing so well in the beginning," they said. "What happened?" they asked.

"I don't know," I'd reply. At that time, I really didn't know.

Soon enough, the first snow arrived and I felt nostalgic. I remembered Jia telling me winter was her favorite season. She liked how white ice flakes fell from the sky in different patterns. It fascinated her and I guess she influenced me too because I felt a bit lighter that day. I didn't feel as gloomy as before and I felt like I could smile again.

At lunch, I forgot my juice box again. Well, truth to be told, I left it back in the classroom purposely. I wanted an excuse to escape my friends. Also, I wanted to see Jia again. Like before, I took the long way and walked towards her classroom. The door was open and I could hear someone's conversation through the empty hallway.

"Why do you keep sitting here?" a girl asked. "I'm telling you to come back to the table with us."

"I'm fine here," I heard Jisu say.

"As an older friend, I'm telling you to come sit with us at lunch! We miss your presence. Why do you keep sitting here? Oh! It's because of Sunggyu, isn't it? Do you like him?"

I leaned my back against the wall, listening closely to the conversation, although her friend was already talking loud enough for her voice to echo down the hallway.

"No, I don't," she said. "Me sitting here does not involve him."

"Then, what's wrong? Tell me."

She sighed. "You're not going to let me off the hook until I tell you, am I right?"

"You know me so well."

There was a pause. "You know that drug mess that happened?"

The other laughed. "It was a mess alright."

"Yeah, well, my close friend got involved in it. He's innocent but the teachers blamed him, too."

"You mean he was the guy's friend?"

"He's been through a rough time after that. We even fought about it and we haven't talked since then."

"So...what does he have to do with my question?"

"I'm sitting here because...because you guys were gossiping about the incident and I didn't want to listen to any of it."

"...what?" the girl asked. I could only smile and shake my head. Jia is one loyal girl. Even after I stupidly started our fight, she still backed me up. She's an idiot sometimes.

"I don't like being with people who talk behind my friend's back. Sorry."

Her friend suddenly laughed. "So you pulled away from us because we gossiped about your friend? What, are you a saint?" My thoughts exactly.

"This is just who I am. I feel uncomfortable when people talk behind my friend's back."

"So does that mean you don't want to be friends with us anymore?"

"Well, now that you've come to find me when no one else did, I can say you're my only friend," Jia answered a bit shyly.

The other squealed and commented, "You're so adorable!" 

I was off guard and before I even knew what happened, I was inside the classroom with two girls staring at me. I turned my head and realized I was dragged inside the classroom by Sunggyu. "Look who the devil dragged in. The angel in disguise."

I gave Jia a sheepish smile. "You forgot your water?"

Jia's friend giggled. "Well, I figure you heard the whole conversation?"

"What conversation?" Sunggyu asked.

The girl shook her head and walked towards Sunggyu. She grabbed his arm and pulled her out of the classroom. "Come on, gramps. Let's have lunch together."

"I don't want to have lunch with you! I want to hear what they have to say to each other!"

"Come on. I want people to be jealous of me," she said. "They'll think I'm cool for eating with the most fearsome person in school."

"Well, you sure aren't afraid!"

"I've known you before you changed, so stop playing this facade." "Nicole!" She managed to drag him out the door. She winked before she closed the classroom door.

I stood in the front of the classroom awkwardly. I felt like I was going to make a speech and the most nerve wrecking part was, I'm making my speech in front of her. Silence lingered in the classroom. None of us talked and I wanted to dig myself a hole. I wasn't looking at her but I was 100% positive she was staring right at me.

"L-look," I started, "I was wrong for yelling at you. I was stressed when nobody took my side. I didn't mean what I said to you: about regretting my decision to be friends with you. I know that was your way of saying 'everything's going to be alright' because you're that type of person. I don't know why I forgot that for a moment. The whole incident scared me a lot. No one trusted me. My parents said my friends were going to influence me and when you told me I chose the wrong friends, I got really mad but you know what? I wouldn't have had those friends if it weren't for you. Not in a bad way! I mean, I changed my looks because of you. I didn't want to embarrass you at a new school. I actually managed to have friends because I changed my image and it was thanks to you. Now that I think about it, you're right. I did choose the wrong friends. All they do is gossip and gossip and I still consider them friends. You ditched your friends because of their gossiping. You're a great friend and I don't know why I even doubted that. I don't want us to fight anymore. I want to talk to you and eat lunch with you again. I'll even hang out with you after school and help you with your homework. I'll do all of that like before."

I finished my long monologue and awaited her response. She didn't say anything at first. I really thought she didn't want to be friends anymore. I thought she just wanted to be with Sunggyu and not me. "All you could have said was a mere, 'sorry." She smiled and I smiled back.

"I'm sorry."

That's all it took for us to talk again. Now that I think about it, it had been several weeks since that incident. It had been several weeks since I last talked to her. It took 15 days to get depressed. It took 21 days to smile. It took 2 minutes to declare, I'm nothing without her.