Today had not been the best of days. Everyone could see it. More importantly, everyone could feel it. Feeling down that day was almost inevitable, as if some kind of life-draining force of nature had crashed through town. Something bad had happened to everyone all in the same frame of time. No matter what you talked about, it reminded a friend of yours of a good reason to feel glum. It was like…

The Perfect Funk?

Depressomagnetism?

Whatever. No one in particular was helping right then, but one person was making it worse.

Chrona. In trying to help, she'd choked the life out of their last attempt at finding a safe topic.

Music was out today, since Soul had misplaced his favorite albums. He was a sorry fellow without his precious tunes.

Food was verboten, because Maka's new toaster always burned the bread on one side. That tripped up one of her favorite routines.

No school chatter, 'cause Black Star had finally managed to get himself suspended. He'd spend all of tomorrow locked up in a colorless room sitting in a colorless desk.

Television was dicey, since Kid had spent so much on remodeling his cable cut out.

No one but Maka ever read.

God forbid shopping. Liz's favorite store closed down the other day.

And what the hell did Patty ever have to talk about but coloring?

In a last attempt at some kind of stable conversation, Tsubaki had opted for dreams. And Chrona had ruined it. She'd been gormlessly honest, the same way she'd been with that awful poem. And her dream had made their grievances sound like the most insignificant thing that ever insignified an insignificant place.

So, where did they have to go from here?

Nowhere.

Goddamn it, Chrona.

"Look at that fuckin' turtle!" Patty was suddenly creeching like a colic baby with cholera.

"What is it? Wha- Wow." Kid had seen it now, too. There he was, trudging his reptilian way down the sidewalk as if he was on a mission to save Mars.

"I…kinda want to see where it's going." Soul admitted. Afternoon saved. No one could afford to dwell on their own private miseries when there was a turtle to stalk.