Summer was in full effect. It was mid July and Nick, like usual mornings, was sleeping. The phone started to ring in his room but he ignored it. The phone kept on ringing until finally, Aaron answered the phone. "Hello?" he asked, "Nick? Yeah hold on." Aaron picked up one of Nick's shoes and threw it at Nick's head almost hitting him. Instead, it hit the wall, startling Nick awake.
He looked down at the shoe and said, "What the?!"
"Hey Nick, Brian's on the phone," said Aaron. Nick got up and took the phone from Aaron.
"Hello?" asked Nick.
"Good~ morning," said Brian.
"It's 12:30," said Nick.
"So you noticed. Anyways, what are you doing?" asked Brian.
"Nothin'," said Nick.
"How about we go play a little game down at the park?" asked Brian.
"Sounds good to me," said Nick.
"Hey, have you talked to Tomi lately?" asked Brian.
"Not really. Everytime I call over her house, she's out with friends from the softball team," said Nick.
"I haven't seen her much either. Well, call her and AJ up and I'll call Howie up and we'll meet in the park at 1:30, alright?" asked Brian.
"Alright, see you there," said Nick, hanging up the phone.
"I wanna go," said Aaron.
"You want to go play ball with us?" asked Nick.
"Yeah, please?" asked Aaron.
"Alright, you can come," said Nick, picking up the phone and dialed Tomi's number. Tomi's mother answered the phone, "Hey Moms, is Tomi home?"
"Hi Nicky, no she's not. She's got softball practice," said Tomi's mom.
"Alright, thanks," said Nick, hanging up.
He then dialed up AJ. "Hello?" asked AJ.
"What's up?" asked Nick.
"Hey Nick, not much," said AJ.
"Do you want to go play some basketball down at the park?" asked Nick.
"Sure, what time should I pick you and Tomi up?" asked AJ.
"At one 'o clock, and it'll be just me. I guess Tomi had softball practice," said Nick.
"Aight, but how many softball practices in a week are there? I called her up yesterday and she said she had practice," said AJ.
Nick thought for a moment. "I don't know, but anyways, I'll see you in a bit," said Nick.
"Yep, peace, outtie," said AJ. Nick hung up the phone.
"Come on Aaron, if you're coming, you better get dressed," said Nick.
"Look who's talking! I think you need to get new boxers. The smiley faces are just not you," said Aaron.
Nick's mouth dropped open. "Okay, you've been hanging around AJ and Brian too much," said Nick. Both Nick and Aaron got ready by the time AJ showed up and they all drove down to the park. Brian, Howie, and Kevin were already waiting.
"Let the game begin!" said Brian.
"I see we have a new addition to our team, AJ," said Howie.
"Yeah, we'll definately win today, won't we Shorty?" asked AJ, taking off his cap and putting it on Aaron's head.
"Yeah, let's kick some butt!" said Aaron.
"Okay, we gotta devise somethin' height wise here," said AJ. They got into a huddle. "I'll take Kevin. Howie, you take Nick, and Shorty, you take Brian."
"Sounds good to me," said Howie.
"Okay," said Aaron.
Brian bounced the ball to Aaron for a check. Brian then passed the ball to Nick and the game began. Nick then passed the ball to Kevin but AJ snatched it in mid-pass. AJ then dribbled down the court then passed the ball to Aaron. "Shoot it, Shorty!" said AJ. Aaron threw the ball up and it went through the hoop with a swish. "Nicely done Shorty," said AJ.
"Now why can't you play like that, Nick?" asked Brian.
"Shut up!" said Nick.
The game went for about an hour and somehow, AJ's team won. "Woohoo! This calls for a celebration! To McDonalds!!" said AJ.
"You'd think he'd be sick of McDonalds considering he works there," said Nick.
"Come on! I'll get half off anyways," said AJ.
"That works for me, are you coming Kev?" asked Brian.
"Nah, I got some homework and reading I need to finish up. Brian, I'm taking the jeep." said Kevin.
"Alright," said Brian.
"See you guys later," said Kevin.
"Bye, Kev," said Howie.
"Shotgun!!" said Aaron.
"I think not!!" said Brian, "I'm not getting smashed up back there with those two!"
"He called it first dude," said AJ. Aaron merrily hopped into the front seat while Nick, Brian, and Howie squeezed into the back. Thankfully, AJ's drive only took five minutes and then, Nick, Brian, and Howie plopped out of the car. Nick got up and heard some giggling. He looked up and saw a group of girls on the other side of the parking lot. "Ooh, girls," said AJ, with a growl.
"Shh," said Nick.
"What~?" whispered AJ.
"Isn't that Tomi?" asked Nick.
All eyes went towards the group of girls, "It can't be, those girls are smoking," said Brian.
"That is Tomi," said Howie.
"That better not be!" said AJ, walking towards the girls.
"Nick, take Aaron inside and wait there," said Howie.
Nick nodded. "Come on Aaron, let's go get your happy meal," said Nick.
"I don't want a happy meal," said Aaron.
"Come on!" said Nick, carrying him inside.
Howie and Brian followed AJ to the group of girls. One of them indeed was Tomi, and she indeed did have a cigarette in her hand. The girls noticed the boys coming and smiled. Tomi saw them and panicked and quickly put out her cigarette. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" asked AJ.
Brian quickly stepped in front of AJ and said, "What's up, Tomi? How was softball practice?"
One of the girls asked, "You know these cute guys, Tomi?"
"Yeah, they're friends," said Tomi.
"Ooh, well introduce us!" said another.
"Tomi, we need to talk," said Howie, "alone."
"I'll talk to you girls later," said Tomi.
"Alright, don't forget practice tomorrow," said one of the girls with a wink. The girls all drove off in two cars.
Once they were gone, AJ once again asked, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"AJ, chill," said Howie.
"I'm am not gonna chill until she answers my question," said AJ.
"AJ, shut up!" said Howie, scaring Brian, who hasn't seen this side of Howie.
"What's going on?" asked Brian.
"Nothing is going on," said Tomi.
"Since when do you smoke?" asked Brian.
"None of your business," said Tomi.
"Excuse me?" asked Brian.
"What the hell is up with you lately, Tomi?" asked AJ, "You never call, we never go out anymore, and you're just not around!"
"Nothin' is up with me. I just did a lot of thinking lately," said Tomi.
"So a lot of thinking leads to you smoking and you basically forgetting about us?" asked Brian.
"I just needed a change," said Tomi. AJ punched the wall then went back towards McDonalds. Brian followed. "I need to go catch the bus. I'll see you later, Howie."
"Tomi," said Howie. She stopped, but she didn't turn around. "You may want a change, but remember who your real friends are." He then ran after AJ and Brian. Tomi glanced towards them, but quickly went off to the bus stop. "AJ!!" AJ and Brian both stopped. "Not a word of this to Nick and Aaron, understood?"
"Why not?" asked AJ.
"Just don't, AJ," said Howie. The three walked in and met up with Nick and Aaron.
"Well, was that Tomi?" asked Nick.
"No," answered Howie, before either Brian or AJ could open their mouthes.
"Then what took you guys so long?" asked Nick.
"AJ was trying to get one of the girls' digits," said Brian.
"Alright, alright come on, let's eat," said AJ.
Meanwhile, Kevin was at the apartment doing some homework when the phone rang. "Hello?" he said, answering the phone.
"Hey Kevin, what's up?" asked the voice.
"Hey Nathan," answered Kevin, "Not much. Just finishing up some homework." Nathan was one of Kevin's college buddies.
"Are you going to that party tomorrow?" asked Nathan.
"I don't know yet. I might just stop by for a bit," said Kevin.
"Come on Kevin, its' gonna be da bomb!" said Nathan.
"I'll see what I can do," said Kevin.
"Alright, see ya there tomorrow," said Nathan.
"Okay, okay, see ya," said Kevin, hanging up the phone.
The next night, Nick, Brian, and Howie were over at AJ's house shooting some pool. AJ kept showing off his skills, sinking in one ball after another until the 8 ball went in. "Can someone please explain to me the point of this game?" asked Brian.
"I don't know, but I don't like it," said Nick, "Let's play somethin' else."
"Aw, come on guys, I like this game," said AJ.
"Of course YOU like it," said Howie, "Did you call Tomi, Nick?"
"Yeah, but she wasn't home again," said Nick with a frown.
"I'm sure she'll call back," said Howie.
Meanwhile, Kevin was actually out of town and visiting his mother. He got a page and said, "I'll be right back, Mom." He went up to the phone and dialed the number. "Hey Nate, did you call?"
"Hey Kev! Where are you?" asked Nathan.
Kevin remembered that he told Nathan that he'd try to make it to the party. "I'm sorry Nate, I totally forgot about the party. I already promised my Mom I'd come up and visit her," said Kevin.
"Well if you can, get your butt down here!! There's these highschool girls down here. It's a great party!" said Nathan.
The words, "highschool girls" caught Kevin's attention. "Wait, highschool girls?" asked Kevin.
"Yeah, I guess some softball team or something," said Nathan.
"Hey look, Nate, I gotta go. I might stop by later. See ya," said Kevin, hanging up on Nathan then calling up AJ's house.
"Hello?" asked AJ.
"AJ, are you guys busy right now?" asked Kevin.
"Not really, why?" asked AJ.
"Head down to my college. There's a party down there and it seems that there's a group of highschool girls down there. They seem to be on a softball team," said Kevin.
"You don't think..." started AJ.
"If I didn't, I wouldn't be asking you guys to go down there. I'll drive down there as soon as I can. I'll page you when I get home," said Kevin, "If you guys get any problems, page me."
"Alright," said AJ, hanging up the phone. Then while looking at the others, he said, "We're going to make a roadtrip boys."
"To where?" asked Nick.
"To a party. Kevin wants us to check something out," said AJ.
"At a party?" asked Howie.
"There seems to be a certain softball team at the party," said AJ.
"Let's go," said Brian. The four rushed out of the house and headed down to the party. It took about fifteen minutes to get there and the party was easy to find. The four entered the crowded frat house.
"How are we ever gonna find her in here?" asked Nick.
"Let's split up. Nick, go with AJ, and Brian and I will go look over there. If nothing turns up, meet back here in twenty minutes," said Howie.
"Alright," said AJ, "come on Nick." Nick and AJ pushed their way through the drunken college students. Finally, AJ spotted one of the girls they saw last night. He tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around but almost fell on AJ. AJ helped her up and asked, "Is Tomi here?!"
"Who?" asked the girl, wasted out of her mind.
"Tomi!!" repeated AJ.
"Oh yeah, her. She's going upstairs right now," said the girl.
"What?!" said Nick. Both of them looked towards the staircase and saw a big football player literally carrying an unconcious Tomi over his shoulder and walking up the stairs. Nick and AJ in rage darted up the stairs pushing everyone out of the way.
AJ tapped the guy on the unoccupied shoulder. The guy turned around and asked, "What the hell do you want?"
"Hello. What may your name be?" asked AJ.
"Chris," replied the football player.
"I see. May I ask what you're doing with her over your shoulder?" asked AJ.
"I'm taking her upstairs, you know, to get a little private time," relpied Chris, with a grin.
"Oh, aha, I see," said AJ returning the grin, then punching Chris in the face as hard as he could. Chris fell to his knees and Nick quickly took Tomi and put her arm around his shoulders.
Chris, now furious, grabbed AJ by the collar and said, "What the hell is your problem?!"
"My problem...Chris wasn't it? Is that you had your grubby-ass hands on my friend," said AJ, pushing him away. Brian and Howie followed all the comotion and it led them to AJ. Chris was even more furious and went after AJ. AJ pushed his way through down the stairs and once he was off the stairs, he moved out of the way of Chris who rammed right into one of the tables. "Ooh, that's gotta hurt," said AJ.
"You guys, chill!! The cops are gonna come!" shouted one of the students.
A few other football players held Chris back. "Let it go!" said one of them.
"No way in hell! He punched me!" said Chris.
"Come on!" said AJ, provoking the bull.
"AJ, quit!" said Howie.
"Hell no! He had the nerve to lay his grubby-ass hands on Tomi!" said AJ.
Tomi woke up at her name and looked around and was startled to see the boys there. She was even more surprised to see that Nick was holding her up. "What's...?" asked Tomi.
Nick looked at Tomi and asked, "You okay?"
"I have a headache," said Tomi.
"AJ, we got her back, let's just go," said Howie.
"I don't think it's gonna be that easy anymore," said Brian, realizing that they were being surrounded.
"Nick, take Tomi out of here," said AJ. Nick nodded, but as he turned around, he realized that all the exits were blocked.
"I don't think they're gonna let us leave," said Nick.
"I think you're right," said Chris.
"Are you seriously as stupid as you look?" asked Howie. Everyone gasped, including the group. That sounded like something AJ would say rather than the peacemaker Howie.
"What did you say?" asked Chris.
"I asked you if you were as stupid as you look. Can't you resolve anything without fighting? Or is that all you know how to do?" asked Howie.
This set Chris off evenmore but one of the football players held him back and asked, "What do you have in mind?"
Howie looked over at the pool table. "How about a little game of pool?" asked Howie. "This way, no one get's hurt, no cops, everyone's happy."
"If I win, I get the girl," said Chris.
"The hell you will!" said Brian.
"No, you get AJ as a punching bag," said Howie.
"WHAT?!" said AJ.
"It's a deal," said Chris.
The crowd all shifted towards the pool table. AJ whispered to Howie, "A friggin' punching bag?!"
"You're not gonna lose," said Howie.
They set up the balls and AJ said, "Break."
Chris smirked and did as AJ said. He sunk in three solids. This astonished AJ. He glared at Howie.
"Oh boy," said Brian.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I'm the billiards champ of the district," said Chris. Tomi was still out of it.
Chris sunk in two more solids, then finally missed. AJ tried to hide his fear and went for the stripes. AJ quickly caught up with Chris but with the last shot, he accidently hit in a solid. AJ muttered something under his breath. Chris smirked again and sunk in his last solid. He then pointed to the hole he was going to shoot the 8 ball into. While he was aiming, the double vision set in. He shot, and missed.
AJ breathed a sigh of relief and hit the last two stripes in. This would make or break everything. AJ pointed to the hole he was going to shoot the 8 ball into. He aimed carefully, and shot it. The 8 ball slowly rolled across the table and sunk into the pocket that AJ pointed to. AJ breathed another sigh of relief. The others cheered. Chris threw down the pool stick and mumbled something.
"A deal's a deal. We're leaving now," said Howie. They pushed their way through the crowd and headed toward the door.
"Not so fast," said Chris.
AJ turned around and said, "I won fair and square man."
"Chris, he's right. Let them go, let's get back to the party," said one of the football players. They made their way out of the dorm.
"Tomi, are you alright?" asked Howie, once they got outside.
"I think so, but I have a major headache," said Tomi. Tomi didn't know anything else she could say. She realized how stupid she had been.
AJ faced Tomi and said, "If you EVER do something stupid like that again, I'm gonna... well I don't know what I'm gonna do. But don't do it again!" He then continued to stomp off. The others continued to follow, but Brian was a few steps behind.
Howie turned around and asked, "Brian, are you alright?"
Brian looked horribly pale and he put his hand on his chest. "Yeah...just a bit dizzy," he replied.
"Brian?" asked Howie. The others turned around. Brian then collapsed.
"Brian?!!" shouted Nick. AJ was speechless and froze. Howie, Nick, and Tomi quickly went to Brian's side.
"Brian?! Brian!! Come on! Wake up!!" said Nick.
"Nick, AJ, go call 911 now!!" said Howie.
"But," said Nick, panicking beyond belief.
"NOW!!" shouted Howie. Nick stumbled to the phone and AJ followed.
Tomi started to cry. "This is all my fault," she said, as the tears flowed down her face.
"No it's not, but we'll discuss this later," said Howie, looking back down at Brian, "Come on buddy." Brian laid there, his head on Howie's lap. His almost lifeless body breathing every breath as if it was going to be his last...