Seryozha was standing in the middle of the street with a rose in his hands. Thorns scratched the delicate skin of his palms, and blood trickled down the stem of the rose, but he didn't seem to feel it. He stared blankly after the departing girl. You saw him when you were coming back from extra classes. He looked at you blankly, and when you came up to him, he whispered softly. "She refused me."