Stan and Kyle were walking down the hallway of the school, their books in their arms, ready for class.
"So, Kyle," Stan said after a long pause. "What do you think of the new girl?"
Kyle's cheeks turned bright pink. There had been a new girl at South Park Elementary, and the moment Kyle saw her, he'd liked her.
"Well…" he began. "I haven't really… you know, talked to her at all, so… I don't know her very well…"
Stan let a knowing expression form on his face. Kyle was a bad liar, and they both knew it. "So, you like her."
"Shh!!" Kyle put a free finger to his friend's lips. "Keep it down! If Cartman finds out, he'll totally tell her." He peered around, blowing his long red bangs away from his left eye, making sure Cartman wasn't anywhere within hearing distance.
Stan pushed Kyle's finger away. "Dude, don't worry. I won't tell anyone—especially Cartman. Besides, I wouldn't doubt the fact that she might like you back."
Kyle swung a twisted yet hopeful look at his friend. "You… you think so?"
"Duh! It's like, so obvious. She always looks at you in class," Stan said, positioning his books so that the corners weren't digging into his ribs.
"Thanks, dude," Kyle gave Stan a nudge with his fist, then regained his composure after nearly dropping his history book. "So, how's Kenny doing?"
Stan shrugged. Kenny's dad had been in a car accident and was in the hospital. Kenny was now an emotional wreck and hadn't been at school for the last few days, and the only on who had seen him lately was Stan. "He's… not doing too well… He won't eat or sleep or anything. And his dad is having surgery this afternoon, so I'll check up on him then."
"Oh…" Kyle couldn't say anything else. He felt really bad for Kenny, but because his family was having problems of their own, he couldn't go see the McCormicks.
"What about you?" Stan said, breaking Kyle's train of thought. "Has your mom cooled off yet?"
Kyle's stomach turned over. "Well… Mom went to live with my aunt for a while. Dad's locked himself in his room and won't come out at all. I don't know what's gonna happen."
Stan was about to say something when there was a loud sound like thunder, then a scream that pierced the air, and a thud on the floor. The boys whirled around to see a body on the ground.