JEAN and MARIA still live in the shadow of his dad's suicide attempt. Maria's more and more desperate as she sees Jean getting closer to his mother, and Jean doesn't think Maria is being supportive of him in this painful time. Jean also has joined the "Best Buddies" program at Fairfax, which teams mainstream students up with disabled students. His Best Buddy is Yevginiy, a big Russian kid who is harassed a lot at school.

DERARD is aiming to play pro football. He believes he's good enough and has the heart. His mom and stepdad are proud of him 'cause he's on the honor roll. His mom never was happy about him playing football, but accepts it.

KARLA is running to catch up from slacking off in her first years at Fairfax. She's in her fifth year and wants to graduate. She's close to Dean Bogue, and at a faculty assembly about Impact, the program of support groups at Fairfax, she describes her painful decision last year to have an abortion and the support she got from Dean Bogue and Impact.

JEN has a close relationship with her mom -- "We're like roommates in a mother and daughter fashion" -- but none with her father who disappeared when she was six. She is determined to find and get to know her father, who she thinks "is probably in more pain than me, to not want to know his kid."

KENDRA takes us to the scene of the accident that put her in a coma for three months and changed her life forever -- physically, but not mentally disabled, she doesn't take her life for granted and is honestly a happier person now.

Derard's worst nightmare comes true as Fairfax loses game after game and he watches his chances for a scholarship slip away. During the last away game, with only Homecoming left to play, he injures his ankle. For a heartbroken Derard, that symbolizes the season for him.