This was a challenge entry for the website Just Believe, but I figured that I would post it for everyone to read. It didn't turn out how I expected it to, but I'm still proud of it, in an angst sort of way. Anyways I'll stop talking before I bore you all away.
Sure Thing Falling:
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"Hey, Jageilski family, and Tutorgirl." Brooke said as she walked into the house.
"Hello, Brooke, still not knocking I see." Haley said as she walked down the stairs and into the living room where Brooke was.
"Why knock when you can walk in and save time?" Brooke asked as she walked through the hallway.
Haley rolled her eyes and followed her, "Ah, the great question."
"Yeah, that and when are you going to get over Nath… 'He who shall not be named' and marry Jageilski?" Brooke asked stopping in front of the den and letting Haley look at what was inside.
"Come on, you know why I'm not." Haley whispered.
"No I don't, explain it to me"
"Maybe for the same reason as why it took you two years after college to move in with Lucas."
"Because you think that it is easier to keep Jake as your sex slave?"
"No, because… I'm scared." Haley whispered even quieter.
"What is there to be scared of? Look at him in there, he is great." Brooke said moving a little so that Haley could see Jake and Jenny playing Playstation together while laughing.
"I know, but I am happy now, why try to change it?" Haley said walking back to the living room.
Brooke followed her this time and sighed loudly causing Haley to look at her expectantly. "What?" Brooke asked getting a knowing look in response. "Okay, but you asked for it. You can't keep hiding. Jake is nothing like Nathan. Jake is in love with you and has proposed to you 8 times in the past 4 years, which you have so oddly rejected. Move on, Nathan is an ass."
Haley laughed prompting Brooke to laugh also. "What are you girls laughing at?" Jake asked as he sat beside Haley.
"I don't know, but it must be funny." Haley laughed harder.
"I thought you knew!" Brooke laughed falling onto the floor.
Jenny walked in and sent a look a questioning look at Jake after seeing the two girls who were now on the floor. "Dad, can we go before the madness becomes contagious?"
"Yeah, sure, hold on." Jake said. He walked over to where Haley was laying and leaned down so that his face was right above hers. "I'll see you when I get home from work, okay?" Seeing Haley nod her head he smiled and leaned down to give her a kiss on the lips. "I love you."
"I love you too." Haley said as she watched Jake and Jenny leave.
"Bye, Mom," Jenny shouted. "I love you."
"Bye, Jen."
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It was now 2:59 and Haley James was waiting for her daughter to get out of school. Sure she isn't biologically or legally her daughter, but it was understood. After a minute, she heard the bell ring and all of the children running put of school for the summer and saw Jenny run into the car.
"Thank god, I never thought I would get out of there." Jenny sighed dramatically causing Haley to laugh. "You think that's funny? I almost got run over twice today."
"I have an idea, since you had a horrible day at school why don't we go get ice cream?" Haley asked as she started the car and drove away from the school.
"Cool, but you have to try the double mint Oreo sundae."
"What's the big deal; it only has more mint flavor."
Jenny gasped and gave Haley a deadly serious look. "Just more mint? Mom, it has much more flavor then the mint Oreo sundae! I mean, how can you even compare..."
Haley burst out laughing as they pulled into the ice-cream shop. Jenny looked at her oddly before shaking her head and walking out of the car. "Come on, Jen, I was kidding." Haley walked into the shop that Jenny had previously entered and couldn't see the 10 year old girl anywhere. "Jenny? Jenny, this isn't funny! Come over here now or you…"
"Rawr!" Jenny jumped on Haley's back causing her to jump up and only catch herself with a counter.
"Shit, Jen."
"Are you mad at me?" Jenny pouted with her puppy dog face.
"When have I ever been mad at you?"
"This is a long list." Jenny laughed. "Let's see, the time I drew on your walls. The time I put bleach in the kitty litter hoping to get rid of the smell and it stunk up the while house. Or the time…"
"I got it! Okay, so I was upset a couple times, but I could never be completely mad at you." Haley said as the reached the front of the line.
After they ordered their ice cream they sat down and talked about everything they wanted to do that summer. Haley said that she wanted to visit New York and show Jenny the big buildings and take her shopping. Jenny however said that she just wanted to spend time with her family, doing whatever families do.
"Mom?" Jenny asked suddenly.
"Yeah?"
"Why won't you marry dad?"
Haley sighed and frowned, she didn't know how to explain the complicated story to someone so young. "I like the way we live, don't you?"
"Yeah, but I want you to be my real mom. I don't want to go to Nikki's house on weekends anymore."
"Jen, you'd still have to go. Even if I was legally your mom, you would still have to visit her." Haley said, whipping the tears that had fallen onto Jenny's face.
"She's not a good person, mom." Jenny cried.
"I know, but as long as you are one, God will make sure the pieces fall in the right place."
"How do I know that the way God wants the pieces to fall is the way I do?"
Haley pulled Jenny onto her lap, whipped her tears once more and gave her a slight smile, "You won't, but things will work out in the end."
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Jake walked out of the bathroom and into his and Haley's bedroom. He watched as Haley talked to someone on the other end of the phone. He guessed it was Brooke due to the looks that Haley had on her face. When she finally hung up, he ran in and jumped on their bed scaring Haley.
"Jake!" Haley squealed as Jake jumped in bed beside her.
Jake kissed her quickly on the lips and got under the covers. "I'm sorry; it was just a perfect opportunity."
"That wasn't even a great apology"
"Fine. I'm sorry, Hales." Jake moved above her and began kissing her neck. "I love you and you are so perfect." He then moved down and gently lifted up her shirt. He rubbed her stomach and kissed it before blowing a raspberry.
"Okay, Jake, that's enough." Haley said pulling him up to her and kissing him hard.
"I love you, you know that right?" Jake asked as they pulled apart and he moved back to his side of the bed.
"You only tell me everyday."
"Then why won't you trust me not to hurt you?"
Haley was quiet for a couple seconds just staring at the ceiling. "I do trust you Jake, its just… Nathan hurt me so bad and I can't lose you because it would kill me."
"Exactly, Nathan left you! I won't, no, I can't. I love you too damn much."
"We were married, Jake! If he can leave me when we were married, you can leave me at any time!" Haley cried.
"I am personally happy that Nathan decided to take the job. If he wouldn't have gone to New York in college I would have never fell in love with you and live as great as we do."
"I'm glad also. You and Jenny are my life and I would never change that. It's just if he can give up on my love for basketball, why can you give up on my love for… well anything." Haley let her tears fall openly. Jake noticed this and pulled her close to him, kissing her head and whispering that he loved her.
"Is Jenny in bed?" Haley asked, smiling slightly to tell Jake that she was fine.
"Yeah, she went after I made her get ready to go to Nikki's tomorrow."
"We should take her to the zoo, when we pick her up Monday."
"That sounds good; we can spend the day as a family."
"We are a family." Jake responded running his hands through Haley's hair.
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"Timber!" Jenny yelled falling flat onto the bed.
"Jenny." Jake and Haley mumbled when she fell on them.
"Get up you two! I'm hungry."
Jake pulled Jenny between them and put his arm over both of the girls.
"Dad…"
"Jenny…"
"Fine, I'll get up with her. God, stop whining." Haley muttered as she got up from the bed. "Come on, Jen."
"Can we have waffles?" Jenny asked as she followed Haley into the kitchen.
"Sure."
The two girls got the waffles ready and laughed and joked about what they could add. After a debate between chocolate chips and gummy worms they quickly made the chocolate waffles.
"Mom?" Jenny asked as they finished and sat down at the table.
"Yeah, babe?"
"Do you think we should get dad up?"
"Alright, but we have to do it right. We need a bucket with ice and water, lots of ice."
"Are we going to dump it on him?" Jenny asked excitedly, receiving a nod in response. "Perfect."
Haley got the bucket while Jenny got the ice and water. Once most of the ice melted, they quietly walked into the bedroom and got on Jake's side of the bed. Haley held the bucket as Jenny counted down on her hand. When Jenny put down her last finger, Haley dumped the water on her boyfriend's head.
"Shit!" Jake squealed rolling off the bed onto the floor.
"You squealed!" Jenny laughed.
"Yeah well you better run before I get up and tickle you." Jake said from the floor looking at both Jenny and Haley.
The two girls ran into the living room, closely followed by Jake. He caught up to them and knocked them on to the floor tickling them. After a while of playing around they ate and got dressed.
Jake looked at the clock and realized that it was already 9 and he had to get Jenny to Nikki's in less then an hour. "I got to go, but I'll be home in an hour or two, okay?"
Haley pouted before nodding her head slightly and giving Jake a quick kiss. "I love you!"
"I love you, too." Jake started walking out before turning around and screaming, "Jenny, meet me out in the car when you are ready. And hurry your cute little butt up."
Jenny ran down the stairs a couple seconds after Jake left and turned to Haley. "Bye, mom, and don't forget that you have to get ready for some major shopping when I get home."
"How could I forget shopping with my favorite girl?"
"Okay, I'm not supposed to tell you, but… I'm sure its fine. Yesterday before taking me to school, dad took me to a jewelry store and… he is going to propose again." Noticing that Haley was going to talk Jenny hugged her and whispered, "Just say yes."
Before Haley could say anything, Jenny ran to the door with her bags. "I love you, mom!"
"I love you to, baby."
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"Jake? Hales?" Lucas asked as he walked through the door.
"Tutorgirl! Jakey!" Brooke yelled walking straight to the kitchen.
"Oh, look, Jake, it's the family that can't knock." Haley commented looking up from the table she was setting.
"You must mean the Davis- Scotts" Jake added as he walked in bringing the pot.
Haley and Jake watched as Brooke and Lucas had a silent battle. Eventually Brooke turned to them and smiled before lifting up her hand and shouting, "We're engaged!" The girls squealed as Brooke showed off her ring and Jake congratulated Lucas with a hand shake.
They sat down around the table with Jake and Haley on one side with Brooke and Lucas on the other. Throughout the dinner Brooke talked about how she wanted her wedding, forcing Lucas to sit and brood about money and Jake and Haley held hands while playing footsie and pretended to agree with everything that was said.
"So, when are you guys going to get hitched?" Brooke asked causing Haley to spit out her drink.
"I'm sorry… What?" Haley asked once she got back together.
"Well you guys have lived together for five years and still haven't made any plans." Brooke said despite Lucas' attempts to stop her.
"Can we talk in private, Brooke?" Haley asked getting up and pulling Brooke with her in the bathroom.
Brooke followed Haley willingly and looked at her expectantly when they got to the bathroom. Instead of saying anything, Haley fell onto the floor and burst into tears.
"Haley? What's wrong?" Brooke sat down beside her and rubbed her back.
"I'm pregnant." Haley said trough her tears.
"Are you sure?"
"100 percent."
"Does Jake know?" Haley glared at Brooke "Right, obviously not."
"I don't know how he'll react."
"Well at least you won't have to worry about protection."
"I'm surprised that you and Lucas don't have kids yet. Does everything have to deal with sex for you?" Haley laughed.
"No, but it makes you smile. And who says we don't have kids?"
"Whatever."
"Come on; let's make sure that Jake hasn't gotten a hold of my hot fiancé."
"Jake doesn't need him, he has me."
"Apparently…" Brooke said pointing to Haley's stomach and pulling her up.
"I knew we shouldn't have left them alone." Haley said as they walked into the living room where the boys were playing Playstation.
"I know something that we could do alone" Jake said as he got up from the game and walked around Haley and grabbed her from behind.
"And that's our prompt to leave." Lucas said pulling Brooke towards the door. "Bye you guys."
"Bye, have fun." Haley laughed as Jake kissed her neck.
After their friends left, Jake and Haley took their shower and got ready for bed. Jake lyed down beside Haley after getting his clothes out for the next morning, "What are you thinking about?"
"About how much I love you."
"I think about that a lot."
"Stop trying to be corny."
"You started it."
Jake started kissing down Haley's neck. He heard her moan and started moving his hand up her shirt. She lost herself in his touch and pulled his lips to hers. His hand reached her breast before she pulled back.
"I can't do this right now."
"Why not?" Jake asked confused as to why Haley wouldn't want to be with him.
"I can't do this without telling you something important." Jake sighed thankfully.
"What is it? You can tell me anything!" Jake said moving her hair behind her ear.
"Okay, don't be mad, but…"
Ring, Ring… Ring, Ring
"Hold that thought" Jake said as he rolled off Haley and picked up the phone. Haley watched as Jake's face turned from happy to worried to pale as a marshmallow. As Jake hung up the phone, Haley watched expectantly.
Jake looked up with tears in his eyes and said the worst four words that could ever be put together. "Something happened to Jenny."
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"Are you sure that they are here?" Lucas asked his fiancé as they walked into the hospital waiting room.
Brooke gave him a look and he stopped talking and once again started looking. After a couple more minutes Brooke spotted Jake in a chair in the corner. "He is over there, Lucas; hurry your sexy $$ up."
"I'm coming."
As Lucas and Brooke got closer to Jake they realized that he was crying with his head in his hands. They didn't know what had happened, since Haley had called saying a brief 'come to the hospital'. But now with the way Jake looked and Haley not in sight, their hearts dropped.
"Jake! What happened? Is everyone okay?" Brooke asked running up to Jake followed by Lucas.
Jake looked up with red eyes and didn't say anything. Brooke got the message and asked where Haley was.
"Bathroom." was all Jake responded with. Brooke looked at Lucas and pointed to Jake before getting up and walking to the bathroom. When Brooke got there she found Haley crying on the floor in front of the actual bathroom. Instead if asking her what happened, she just hugged Haley and let her cry.
Lucas sat next to the seat that Brooke had previously at in and looked at Jake. He wanted to ask him what had happened, but he didn't know if he could handle it; anything that hurt Jake this bad, must be horrible.
"What happened, Haley?" Brooke asked, once Haley's sobs quieted down.
"Jen…" Jake sobbed looking up at Lucas for only a second.
Lucas hesitated before asking, "What… What happened to… Jenny?"
"It's horrible, Brooke!" Haley said quietly yet forcefully.
"Jenny is okay though, right?" Brooke asked slowly, not wanting to know the answer.
"No…" Jake choked out.
"She got… shot." Haley said causing herself to burst out in tears and Brooke to be completely stunned.
Lucas took in what Jake said, but there was a question that was eating him up inside. "By… by who?"
"Nikki's boyfriend." Jake responded before looking up with fire in his eyes.
"Her boyfriend" Haley sobbed
"Killed" Jake finally said it out loud
"My daughter!" Haley finished before bursting into tears.
Lucas looked at Jake and didn't know what to say. Earlier they had been joking around. Just a couple hours ago, Jake told Lucas that he was planning on proposing to Haley so that Jake, Haley and Jenny could be even more of a family, and now, everything is falling apart. After a couple seconds Jake was back in the chair crying.
Brooke finally got Haley to the waiting room where Jake and Lucas were. When she saw a crying Lucas she gave him a sad look and broke down crying right there in the middle of the waiting room with Haley.
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It had been a week since the night at the hospital and Jake and Haley still hadn't left the house. The most that they had said to each other is good night and even that was a rarity.
The cops had arrested Nikki's boyfriend, who pleaded guilty because as he said, 'she deserved it.' No one had heard form Nikki and honestly no one wanted to.
After Brooke and Lucas had gotten Jake and Haley home they had taken care of everything. They took food to them every morning and night, they planned Jenny's funeral and they made sure that all of the sharp knifes were out of the house, just in case.
Today was the day of the funeral and everyone was dreading it. Funerals were to say goodbye and no one wanted to say that. Lucas and Brooke picked Haley and Jake up and forced them to go saying that if they loved Jenny at all they would go. Of course, Lucas got a punch and a black eye in return, but it got them to leave the house.
"Are you guys ready to get out?" Lucas asked as they pulled up to the cemetery.
Haley and Jake didn't even look up so Brooke sighed and got out of the car. She opened the back door and pulled both of them out one at a time. "Okay that's enough! I let you guys mope for a week and I get how important she was I miss her too. But you guys need to understand that you two aren't the only people who lost her!" By now Brooke was crying so hard that both Jake and Haley were felling guilty. "There are so many people who are her to show how much they are going to miss that little angel and we are all going to get through this together. So, if I have to, I will drag you guys over there."
Haley looked at Jake and grabbed his hand. They started walking in the direction of where their daughter's grave was going to be. Brooke and Lucas followed and lead a silent Jake and Haley to their seats.
After about a half an hour of everyone showing up, the service started. Jake sat there beside Haley and held her hand as they both cried. When it was his turn Jake went up to the microphone and looked at all of the people who went to say goodbye to Jenny. "Jenny Jageilski was and will always be my daughter. She was so full of life that one smile could stop a rainstorm. She brightened up everyone's life and she made mine better." Jake let a few tears fall before continuing. "She was born when I was 16. She helped me grow up; I am who I am because of her. Jenny was an angel that I stole from Heaven, God was just taking her back. I just hope that he enjoys her and loves her as much as everyone did down here, because she deserves it. We just didn't deserve her." Jake finished and walked off the stage. He gave Haley a quick hug as she walked towards him to make her speech.
When Haley reached the microphone, she stood there looking down at everyone. She stood there letting her tears fall freely. When she tried to open her mouth nothing happened she was too sad. She looked up at the cloudy sky and noticed that just above her there was a clear spot, where the sun was shinning through. Haley looked back down at the people in front of her, this time thought she opened her mouth and let the words flow freely. "For those who don't know me, my name is Haley James. I want to say a few words in memory of my daughter. Jenny Jageilski lived a remarkable life, one that even only ten years long inspired me greatly. Her adventurous attitude, her broad range of interests, and her happy demeanor made him a wonderful person to know. She always took an interest in the people she met; she would talk to anyone at anytime. Of course, that always scared me since she would even talk kindly to strangers, but she did it anyways; that's just the type of person she was. Jenny will defiantly be missed. I'll miss her humor, how she could liven up any situation and I'll miss the warmth she extended to everyone she met, especially me. I will miss Jenny dearly. But I will treasure her memory and what she taught me forever."
Haley walked off the stage and the rest of the funeral went by too quickly for everyone. Brooke had also planned a wake at their house, so everyone got in their car and headed for the house. The only two people who didn't move were Jake and Haley.
"Why did it have to happen to her?" Jake asked, surprising Haley.
"Because only the good die young." Haley answered tightening her grip on his hand.
"But, she wasn't good, she was perfect."
"I know, but we still have each other, right?"
Jake looked at her for a second before turning his gaze back to the ground. "Yeah, forever, but how do I live with only half of my heart?"
"You remember the person who has it and never forget about them. You'll always have part of her with you. She is all around us, Jake."
"I don't want to go the wake; I don't want to hear everyone tell me that they are sorry for my loss."
"Come on, Jake, do it for Jenny." Haley said, knowing that Jake would do anything for his daughter.
Jake nodded and stood up. Jake and Haley walked hand in hand to the car, knowing that they had to do this together.
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Haley was sitting down with her macaroni and cheese in front of her. The room was deadly silent and she was the only one in the room. This wasn't the first time that she had to eat dinner alone. Actually, she had eaten this same meal everyday for the past month. Deciding that she needed to do something she called Brooke.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Luke, is Brooke there?" Haley asked into the phone.
"Yeah, hold on. Brooke! It's Haley!"
"Tutorgirl!" Brooke squealed.
"Hey, I need your help."
"Sorry, Hales, I don't do threesomes."
"Brooke…"
"Just kidding, I charge fifty dollars."
"Brooke..."
"What do you need?" Brooke asked seriously this time
"It's Jake."
"He still not talking to you?"
"At least he goes to work now, but it's horrible, the most he has said is good night." Haley started crying and Brooke got angry.
"Leave."
"What?"
"Leave."
"I can't"
"Haley, he needs to realize that he is not the only one who lost Jenny. You have been there for him all month. You left the newspaper so that you could work more from home, but he doesn't even know all that you did for him. Leave and knock some sense into him."
"But I'm pregnant with his child, I can't just leave him."
"He left you emotionally, it's the same thing."
"Can I stay with you guys?"
"As long as you stay in the guest room all night, you never know when Broody will want to get frisky," Brooke said causing Haley to laugh
"Ew, Brooke!"
"Sorry."
"Well I have to go, thanks for you help, I might just do that."
"Good luck, Hales."
"Thanks." Haley responded before hanging up.
Coming to the conclusion that Brooke was right, Haley took a deep breath before walking into her and Jake's bedroom. As he had been, whenever he was home, Jake was lying on the bed looking up at the ceiling. Haley walked right past him and went into the closet and grabbed her suitcase.
Jake watched as she carried the suitcase to their dresser and started removing her clothes. "What are you doing?"
"Leaving."
"To where?" Jake asked sitting up worriedly.
"Anywhere but here. This is the home of gloom and loneliness."
"You're kidding right?"
"No. I love you, Jake, but I can't live with you like this."
"But you are all have!" Jake yelled as he got off the bed.
"Don't do this; you'll just make it harder." Haley cried.
Jake forcefully pulled her into a tight hug. "You can't leave me."
"Jake…"
"No! Please don't leave me. I love you and I need you. You're all I have left and if you leave me I might as well die."
Haley just let the tears fall as Jake held her in his arms and rocked back and forth. "That's not true."
"Yes it is, Haley, I love you."
"Not that, what you said about me being all you have left."
Jake leaned back to look into her eyes, but held her just as tight. "What else do I have, Haley?"
"You have this baby." Haley whispered.
"What baby?"
"I'm pregnant." Jake stood there speechless and that worried Haley. "Are you mad?"
"No! No, I'm shocked." Jake let go of her and started pacing back and forth. After a couple minutes of mumbling to himself he looked at Haley and pulled her close to him. "I'm so happy. Haley, this baby is part of both of us."
"I know, what I don't know is if that's a good thing."
"I know that I was going through a hard time, but I'll be there for both you and this baby. It is going to take a while for things to go back to normal, but I can promise you they will, just stick with me and we'll make it."
"I don't know, Jake, I've given you a while."
"Just promise me that you won't give up on me." Jake begged looking deeply into Haley's eyes
Haley stared at him, knowing what she was going to say, she just didn't know how to say it. "Jake… I won't ever give up on you."
When Haley finished saying that she gave him a smile and received a huge smile in return. Jake stared at her a little longer before he pulled her closer and hungrily attacked her lips. She pulled him towards the bed and fell back on it when she felt the back of her knees hit the bed. "I love you," Haley mumbled into his mouth.
Jake pulled away slightly and put his forehead on hers and smiled. "I love you, too."
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"She is so adorable." Brooke said looking down at her niece.
"Yeah, well look who her mom is." Haley joked
"I think what Haley means is that, how can she have one bad looking bone in her body seeing that her dad is a sexy biotch." Jake said causing Haley to hit him.
"Well, we better leave before Brooke decides to take little Lily home. And trust me with Brooke being these little ones' mother, two is enough." Lucas said as he wrapped his arms around his wife's pregnant stomach.
"Lucas Scott, take that back!" Brooke gasped handing Lily back to Haley. "Bye you guys, I have to kill broody!"
Lucas ran out of the room Causing Brooke to try to run after him, but being 6 months pregnant with twins, wasn't helping.
Jake looked at his girlfriend and their beautiful daughter and smiled.
"What?" Haley asked smiling back
"Nothing, I'm just thinking about how lucky I am."
"You think you are lucky, look at everything I have. You and Lily are more then enough."
"I need to ask you something. I was planning on doing this eight months ago, but… you know." Jake got down on one knee and reached into his pocket. "Haley James, I love you more then life itself and I can't imagine my life without you. But I want you to have my last name. Lily does and Jenny did, share it with us. Make me the happiest man alive and marry me."
Haley stared at him not knowing what to say. She considered mentioning that he didn't really ask a question, but decided against it. Instead all she could think about was the last conversation she had with Jenny.
"Okay, I'm not supposed to tell you, but… I'm sure its fine. Yesterday before taking me to school, dad took me to a jewelry store and… he is going to propose again." Noticing that Haley was going to talk Jenny hugged her and whispered, "Just say yes."
And then, without hesitating any longer, she said the one word that would complete her life: "Yes"
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Take the half a minute to tell me what you think.