"Medda!"

The crowd at Irving Hall erupted into cheers as the last notes of the closing song drifted into silence. Medda stood in the center of the stage, bathed in a spotlight, in full pink attire. She beamed and blew the crowd a kiss, accepting the flowers being thrown at the stage. The velvet curtain slowly slid across the stage; the show was over.

"Whew," Race said, fanning himself for effect, "dat was some show tanight!" he grinned and raised he eyebrows and his compainions for the evening.

"You said it, Race." Jack nodded in agreement.

"Man, Medda sure looked good!" Blink exclaimed, running a hand through his hair before putting his hat back on. The guys laughed heartily at Blink's comment; they knew exactly what he meant.

"Great night, eh?" Mush said contentedly, as the four friends strolled down the street. Jack, Race, and Blink nodded , sharing a moment of silence. Race reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigar. He cocked his head thoughfully and popped it into his mouth. He slyly fell into step behind Mush, who was completly obivious to his new shadow. In an instant Race reached out and grabbed Mush's hat right off his head.

"Hey!" Mush cried, spinning around. Race laughed and took a step back from Mush, dangling the hat in the air.

"Why, I outta..." Mush took a step towards Race. Race looked past Mush and motioned with his head.

"Heya Blink! Catch!" Race cried and flung the hat through the air. Blink reached up and snatched the hat out of the air. This game of keep-away continued until the boys finally came to the Lodging House doors. The four friends burst through the doors, Jack and Mush still mock fighting even though Mush had gotten his hat back. As the group walked past the front desk, Kloppman looked up.

"Hey. Cowboy." Jack turned away from his friends, surprised.

"Ya got a letter." Kloppman said simply, placing an envelope on the table. Jack frowned and slowly picked the letter up off the table. He studied it briefly, turning it over in his hands.

"Heya Jack, what is it?" Race asked, looking at his friend. Jack didn't respond.

"Yo, Jack, you awake in there?"

"Oh, sorry." Jack said distractedly. He turned and headed up the stairs to the bunkroom, not explaining further. Race, Mush, and Blink exchanged puzzled glances but dissmissed it. Jack hadn't been quite the same since Angela had left. The three boys headed over to the parlor, ready to join the nearest poker game.

Jack reached the top of the stairs and glanced around the bunk room. To his dismay, it was not deserted.

"Heya Lynn. Pokey, Lightin', Clara." he nodded to each of them before crossing the room and pushing open the window. He climbed onto the fire escape and climbed up to the roof. He sat down, his legs dangling over the edge. Jack carefully slid his finger under the envelope's flap and tore it open. It was dusk outside; the sun had nearly set. Still, it was light enough for Jack to read his letter. A cool autumn breeze tumbled past his face, whipping his hair. Jack shivered slightly as he unfolded the paper.

Dear Jack,
How are things in New York? I hope the selling is good. Anything interesting going on? I'm sure you have lots to keep you busy; there's always something to do in New York. As for me, I'm doing all right. I just started at my new school, Durham Hall. It's only a block away from my new house. I haven't really made any friends yet although there have been a lot of parties to attend. I miss New York. I hope I can visit over the holidays. Write back soon! I miss you.

Jack pursed his lips and frowned as he carefully folded the letter and slipped it back into its envelope. He felt a twang of guilt as he ran the envelope between his fingers. Angela didn't sound particularly happy in Boston. But what made him feel worse was the face that he hadn't even thought about her in days. He'd been having too much fun with this friends to be sad. He'd been having fun, just like...just like old times. Going out for a night on the town, without a care in the world, nothing tying him down.

Tying him down? Jack frowned, becoming confused. Was this relationship with Angela really tying him down? He hadn't really spent much time with his friends over the past few weeks and he had been spending the rest of his time moping over Angela. What had happened to �the good old days' anyway? David had told him to stop moping, so he did. And now he was having fun, just like he used to.

But wait...just like he used to? That wasn't true...he had had fun with Angela. It was just, well, different. Jack sighed heavily. He felt guilty about not even thinking about Angela lately. But it was because he was having a good time with his friends. And he was starting to feel guilty about that too. But why should he? Why should he feel guilty about having fun? It wasn't like having fun was a crime or something...But saying that felt like he was somehow devaluing his relationship with Angela. But on the other hand, why should his relationship with Angela be more important than his relationship with his friends?