The Rebuttal

"Yeah, many students went to the wake for Sir Julius, and the other professors were there. "It was raining a little too hard, so only a few people went," said Brian. He looked at Jody. "Do you want to go with me after school? I will drop you off at your house."

Jody shook her head no. Brian saw that Jody's smile was gone.

"Did I say something wrong?" Brian said. Jody looked at him. "You suddenly frowned and kept quiet. Did I upset you or something?"

"Oh," Jody took a deep breath. "I can't look at the coffin just yet..."

"Huh? Why? Do you have Feretrophobia or Necrophobia?"

Jody shook her head no. "No, I don't have a phobia. It's just that... my parent died a few weeks ago."

"Uh, I'm sorry. I did not know. Condolences." said Brian.

Jody smiled a little. "Can we not just talk about death?"

"Of course. I'm sorry for being so insensitive...." Brian said.

"Jody."