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roman leblanc, seventeen years old and already dead. it happened a couple
of weeks before his eighteenth birthday, on november 28th. he had been at
the grocery store, shopping with his younger sister, lily. he was looking for
spaghetti sauce when he heard someone calling his name; it was peter, his
close friend. the two spent a few minutes talking and laughing, and by the
time peter left, it'd been a half hour. roman turned back to his sister, told
her, "sorry i took so long, kid. what kind of cereal do you like?" but then he
paused, because his sister was not where he left her. lily was not sitting in
the cart, reading juice cartons or picture books. roman was terrified, and
he immediately took off, screaming for her and shoving through people,
searching, searching, searching. and then he saw her: a speck of red on the
opposite sidewalk, dressed in her coat and with her hair braided down her
back. he rushed onto the sidewalk, waiting for the cars to stop before he
crossed the street. but it was too late, she was walking away, and he would
lose her, his little sister, his world... "lily!" he screamed. then he watched
her turn and see him, step forward, into the street, raise her hand to wave.
he didn't stop to watch her die. he ran into the road, arm outstretched, to
shove her out of harm's way. and he did. thing is, he fell into it instead.
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roman had always been a good kid. good grades, good friends, good girl.
he got into trouble very rarely, and never for anything too serious. he loved
his family, kissed his mother on the cheek every morning, helped with the
cooking and the dishes and the laundry. he was in every way a good son, a
great person. but he was arrogant and flirty, and always had his way with
the girls because of his looks. even so, everyone loved him. loved his humor,
his loyalty, and they definitely loved the eye candy he provided. he never felt
like he belonged, though. he had lots of friends, but no best friend. he was
good at sports but not excellent. but he always kept a smile on his face.
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