Monday morning, 7AM. All three boys were still sleeping. Mrs. Carter came by and knocked on the door waking Brian up. "Boys, it's 7AM, are you ready yet?"
At the words "7AM", Brian sat straight up and looked at Nick's alarm clock. It was 7AM. "Nick!!" he shouted, but Nick wouldn't wake up. Aaron slowly sat up, yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Nick! Wake up! It's 7AM!!" Still no movement from Nick. Finally, Brian grabbed his pillow and threw it as hard as he could at Nick's head. Nick jumped up totally startled.
"Who!? What?!" babbled Nick.
"Get up! We have thirty minutes to get to school!" said Brian.
Nick finally caught onto what was going on and jumped out of his bed. The boys ran out of the house ten minutes later but they missed the bus. "Great," said Brian.
"Okay, start running," said Nick. The two sprinted as fast as they could. The two went down about two blocks when they heard a horn. AJ pulled up right next to them with Howie.
"You boys need a lift?" asked AJ. The two hopped into the back and AJ sped off to school. The four made it just in time.
Brian and AJ seemed to be getting along better but they still weren't talking too much. After school, they all gathered in the parking lot. "Hey AJ, could I get a ride home?" asked Tomi.
"Sure, but it's gonna be a snug fit,' said AJ.
"I don't need a ride home," said Howie. "I have somewhere to go. I'll talk to you guys later."
"See ya, Howie," said Nick.
Howie's mom picked him up and drove off. "Mom, could you drop me off at Kevin's apartment? I'll take the bus home," said Howie. His mother did so and Howie went up to Kevin's apartment and knocked on the door. He waited a few minutes but no answer. He once again knocked on the door but louder.
Finally Kevin openned the door. He looked like he just got up. His hair wasn't brushed, he didn't shave, and he only had boxers on. "Hey Howie," he said groggily.
"Good Morning, Kevin..." said Howie.
"Is it still morning?" asked Kevin.
"Nevermind. Can I come in?" asked Howie.
"Sure," said Kevin, letting him in. Howie looked around at the messy apartment. "Sit down anywhere." Howie tried to find a spot on the couch and sat down. Kevin came back from the kitchen with a can of beer. "Want a drink?"
"No thanks. I don't really think you need that drink either," said Howie.
Kevin ignored Howie and changed the subject, "How's Brian doing?"
"So you do care about him," said Howie.
"Of course, he's my cousin," said Kevin.
"He's fine. He's at Nick's house," said Howie, looking around for Brian's keys. He spotted them on the coffee table next to the couch. "Actually, could I get some water?"
"Sure," said Kevin, walking off into the kitchen. Howie then grabbed Brian's keys and quickly put them in his pocket. Kevin came back with one bottle of water.
"Thanks," said Howie, "You're not gonna go to the funeral tomorrow?"
"I'd rather not," said Kevin.
"You know, Angel would want you there," said Howie.
"No. No one knows what Angel wants, she's dead!" snapped Kevin.
"Kevin, you need to face the truth. You can't go on living like this," said Howie, not backing down.
"Exactly, I'm the one who has to deal with it," said Kevin.
"Then deal with it rationally damn it! Do you know exactly how much you're hurting the people around you? The people who care about you? Let US help you! Not alcohol. You know we're here for you!" said Howie. Kevin said nothing back. Howie stood up. "Don't shut us out of your life," said Howie, as he left. Howie then caught the bus to Nick's house.
Aaron answered the door. "Hi, Shorty," said Aaron.
"Shorty?" said Howie with a laugh. "If I'm short, then what are you, you little munchkin!" He picked up Aaron and set him on his shoulders. "You know, you're getting to be a heavy munchkin." He walked up to Nick's room with Aaron on his shoulders. Brian and Tomi were over again. "Hey guys," said Howie, letting Aaron down.
"Hey Howie, what's up?" asked Nick.
Howie tossed Brian his keys. "How did you get these?" asked Brian.
"I paid Kevin a visit," said Howie.
"How's he doing?" asked Brian.
"You two are truly cousins," said Howie.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Brian.
"Nothin', don't worry 'bout it. Anyways, where's AJ?" asked Howie.
"He went to work..." said Nick.
"What?!" asked Howie.
"The boy finally got a job," said Tomi.
"Where?!" asked Howie.
Nick tried not to laugh, but he couldn't help it and said, "McDonalds." All of them started laughing.
"Well, he'll be happy. He'll get all of the McDonalds food he wants," said Howie.
"Well boys, I have to go. Soccer practice," said Tomi, leaving.
"See ya, Tomi," said Nick.
"I'm bored. Let's make a trip to McDonalds," said Brian with a gleam in his eye.
"How are we gonna get there?" asked Nick.
Howie took the phone and dialed up someone. "Hey Denise, this is Howie. Are you busy right now?"
"You can be so evil sometimes Howie," said Brian.
"I know," answered Howie.
Denise McLean came by a few minutes later to take the boys, including Aaron, down to McDonalds. They looked around for AJ but didn't see him. Finally instead of them finding AJ, AJ found them. "Ack!! Mom, what are you doing here?! And with them?!" said AJ.
"Well, what mother wouldn't want to see their son at their first job?" asked Denise.
"AJ?!" said Nick, not believing what he saw. It was rare to see his friend with no facial hair and no earrings.
"No, I'm the Easter Bunny," said AJ, he took off his hat for a second to adjust his hair.
"Oh my gosh!" said Brian.
"What?!" asked AJ, getting a bit annoyed.
"You have brown hair!" said Brian.
"Yeah, yeah, shut up," said AJ.
"Aw~ he looks so cute," said Nick. AJ replied by giving Nick the meanest stare.
"Alright boys, get what you want. It's on me," said Denise.
"Alright!" said Brian. AJ went back to his work cleaning the lobby. After they were done eatting, Denise took them all home. All the boys thanked her as she dropped them off at their houses. Brian and Nick sat up in his room playing games on Nick's playstation. It was pretty late so Aaron had already fallen asleep on Nick's bed. Nick paused the game and slowly and gently picked Aaron up and took him to his room and put him on the bed. He came back and sat down on the floor and Brian said, "I remember when you were that little, wasn't that long ago."
"Oh shut up. At least I grew!" said Nick.
"Ooh, the boy has got some comebacks. At least I grew mentally," said Brian.
"Well at least I beat you on my playstation," said Nick, sticking his tounge out as he beated Brian again.
The boys soon after fell asleep. The next day, none of them went to school. Instead, they went to the funeral. It was one of the only times Tomi wore a dress. At the funeral, they looked for Kevin but they couldn't find him. The funeral wasn't too different from any other funeral. They showed a video of her. They showed her childhood, they showed her with her friends, they showed her at her prom with Kevin, scenes with her parents, etc. They even showed scenes of Angel with the boys and Tomi, including scenes from Brian, AJ, and Nick's last birthday party. Tomi tried her best not to cry but tears streamed down her face. Nick put his arm around her and she burst into tears. The other boys had watery eyes as well. AJ tried to hide it behind his sunglasses but a few tears escaped AJ's eyes. After the funeral was over, the boys went up to the Mitchells. AJ excused himself and went outside to smoke. Cars were whizzing by while AJ lit his cigarette. He looked up and looked across the street and saw a tall dark figure walking away. It was Kevin.
"Kev!" shouted AJ, but he didn't look back. "Kevin!!" He just kept on walking. AJ then finished his cigarette and rushed back in to find the rest. They were on their way out as he came back in.
"What's wrong AJ?" asked Howie.
"I just saw Kevin. He was across the street," said AJ.
Brian ran out to see for himself, but there was no one resembling Kevin. The others soon joined him. "So he did come, or attempt to," said Howie.
"Come on, let's go," said Brian, "he's already gone."
Three days past by and Brian and Kevin still weren't talking, nor have they seen each other. Friday afternoon, Nick looked in his locker and he found a little note. On the note, it said:
"Meet me at the park at 7PM, alone"
Howie.
Nick stuck it in his pocket and went to meet AJ and Brian in the parking lot. "Hey guys," he said.
"Hey Nick, have you seen my basketball?" asked Brian.
"No. You actually can't find your basketball?" asked Nick.
"Amazing huh?" asked AJ, "Brok actually lost his basketball."
"I swear someone took it!" said Brian.
"Did you look in your classes?" asked Nick.
"Yeah. It wasn't in any of them though," said Brian.
"I'm sure it'll turn up," said Nick.
"Well, I'm gonna go around and keep looking. I'll see you guys later," said Brian.
"See ya, Bri," said Nick, "Hey AJ, have you seen Howie?"
"Nope. He got a ride home from his Mom like right after school though," said AJ.
"Hmmm, alright," said Nick.
"Why?" asked AJ.
"No reason," said Nick.
"Aight, let's go," said AJ. Once Nick got home, he quickly finished his homework, ate his dinner, and at 6:50, he left the house to go to the park. He sat on the bench next to the basketball court. He was the only one there. He looked up into the sky and saw dark clouds forming. "Great, it's gonna rain," mumbled Nick to himself. He looked at his watch. It was 7PM and Howie still wasn't there and it wasn't like Howie to be late. Finally, a few minutes later, someone finally showed up. Except it wasn't Howie, it was AJ.
AJ seemed to be surprised as Nick was to find him here. "What are you doing here, Nick?" asked AJ.
"I was supposed to meet Howie here," said Nick.
"You too?" asked AJ.
"Me too? You mean you're supposed to meet him here too?" asked Nick.
"Yeah," said AJ.
Then to add to their surprise, Brian showed up. "Brian?!" exclaimed AJ and Nick.
"What are you guys doing here?" asked Brian.
"Don't tell me, you're here to see Howie too?" asked AJ.
"How'd you know?" asked Brian.
"Because we're here for the same reason," said Nick.
"Well, I found a note in my locker saying he found my basketball," said Brian.
"What are you guys doing here?" asked someone behind them. It was Tomi.
"You here to see D too?" asked AJ.
"Yeah... you guys too?" asked Tomi.
"Yeah..." said Nick.
The four heard some slow footsteps approach them. They turned around. It was Kevin. He looked somewhat better and presentable.
"Kevin... what's up?" asked AJ, not really knowing what to say.
"Have you guys seen Howie?" asked Kevin.
"Howie seems to be popular," said Nick.
"He said he wanted to see me here alone," said Kevin.
"I think Howie doesn't know the meaning of "alone"," said Brian. As they waited for Howie, they didn't talk much. They still didn't know what to say to Kevin. It started to rain slightly and it was getting a bit darker. Finally they heard a sound of a basketball bouncing on wet concrete getting closer and closer. Howie finally arrived, along with Brok's basketball.
"Hey D, what's up? Why'd you call us all up here saying to come alone?" asked AJ.
"Then I knew for sure you'd all come," he said, dribbling the ball.
"What do you want?" asked Kevin.
"Let's play some ball," said Howie, passing the ball to Brian.
"You called us here to just play basketball?" asked Tomi.
"D, it's dark, and it's starting to rain. Let's make it another day," said AJ.
"Sorry Howie, but I have homework to do," said Nick, which was a lie. He started to walk off. His back was turned to Brian. Nick understood what Howie was trying to do. Nick was a perfect target. He set himself up for a perfect shot. Finally what he was waiting for happened. The back of his head suddenly felt a blow from a cold and wet basketball.
"Hehe," grinned Brian. Nick turned around and picked up the ball. The rain started to pour. He threw the ball back for Brian to check it and when it came back to him, he dribbled right passed Brian and did a lay up. AJ smiled. He understood what Howie was trying to do now. Brian went for a lay up and missed. AJ snatched the ball and had the most evil grin on his face. Then he made a mad dash like a bat out of hell. Nick and Brian ran after him and caught him about 100 feet away. The three came back and started to play. Kevin just watched them as the rain started to get heavier and heavier. AJ was losing terribly and Brian dashed by him and went for another lay up when Tomi slapped the ball out of his hand.
Tomi dribbled the ball and then said, "Now it's on, baby!" She went to the three point line, threw the ball up and the ball went in with a swish. AJ gave Tomi a high five and then passed the ball to Howie. Howie stepped up to the three point line and the ball went in and came back to Howie. He then turned around and passed the ball to Kevin.
"It's your shot, Kevin," said Howie.
Kevin looked down at the ball. He then looked up at the hoop and shot the ball into the hoop. He then smiled and said, "Let's get it on!" And this time, it was a real smile. They divided up into their teams and the game was on. It seems like they totally forgot that it was raining. Tomi had the ball and Nick went to guard her. She then spotted a puddle and stomped as hard as she could in the puddle splashing Nick's face and running past him and scoring a point.
Nick glared at her while the others laughed. "Why you little," said Nick, running after Tomi. Tomi wasn't stupid, she started to run. What would you do if you had a 6'1" blue eyed blonde running after you? Nevermind... Nick eventually caught her and lifted her up.
"Nick! Put me down!!" screamed Tomi. Nick scanned around and saw a huge puddle which looked like a small lake. He gave Tomi the most evil Nick grin he could give and started to carry her over to the puddle. "Nick! Let go of me!! Put me down!!" They approached the puddle and Tomi rethought her plea. "No, wait. DON'T put me down!!" But it was too late. Nick dropped her gently into the puddle. The others laughed while Tomi stood up taking off her soaked flannel and ringing it out.
AJ kept laughing and then found Tomi's flannel in his mouth. They finally got back to the game and played for about another hour. They all laid down on the cold wet pavement. The rain had finally stopped. They all looked up at the clear night sky. Suddenly, Brian called out, "AJ!"
"What?" replied AJ.
"I'm sorry about what I said earlier," said Brian, still looking up at the sky.
"It's cool, Brian," said AJ.
"You guys," said Kevin.
"Yeah?" asked Brian.
"I'm sorry," said Kevin.
"It's cool, Kevin. Just chill with the alcohol," said Brian.
"I will. I don't need it anyways. I have you guys," said Kevin.
"Aw~" said Tomi.
All of them stood up. "Come on everybody, group hug, group hug!" said AJ, almost hurting Nick and Brian when he went to hug them both at the same time. Kevin smiled again. They heard a beeping from Nick's pocket. He took out his pager and looked at it.
"I'll be right back," said Nick. He went up to the payphone. Tomi watched him walk cheerfully to the phone with a frown on her face. She didn't realize she was frowning on the outside. "Hey Misty," said Nick, in a very cherry tone. Tomi turned around and walked away. The look on her face caught both AJ and Howie's eyes, but they didn't say anything then. They sensed something, but htey both decided to leave it alone for now.
When Nick came back, Kevin asked, "You guys, I haev a favor to ask."
"Shoot, Kev," said Howie.
"Would you come with me to Angel's grave?" asked Kevin.
"Are you ready for this?" asked Brian. Kevin nodded.
"Alright, let's go," said Howie. They all took Howie's van up to the cemetary.
They walked up to a beautiful white stone with flowers laying all around it. Kevin kneeled down and moved a few flowers around to reveal the name on the stone. He then faced down to hide the fact that he was crying. Brian stood Kevin up and he hugged him. Kevin then let it all out. Tomi also started crying again. Nick saw this and he hugged her. Her heart stopped again. She attempted to hug back but she couldn't. She just let him hug her and those five seconds and it seemed like forever. Howie put his hand Kevin's shoulder. All of them wished that there was something more that they could do for their friend. They didn't know how long it would take him to recover, but they knew that they had their friend back.
June finally rolled by, meaning it was time for graduation. Kevin was doing much better. He was happy to be able to see his cousin and one of his best friends graduate. Nick, AJ and tomi were all present to see their friends graduate as well. While the principal was going on and on about his speech, Tomi whispered over to the other three, "Do you think Brian will behave?"
"We're talking about Bri Bri right? Yeah right," said AJ.
"Well, it's going to be hard for him to do anything, when I have all of this," said Kevin, getting out three cans of silly string and two beach balls.
"Seems like someone was prepared," said Nick. Finally, the calling of the names began. About fifteen minutes later, Howie and Brian's names were called. They got their diplomas, met in the middle of the stage and hugged. They then both looked out into the crowd and saw Kevin, AJ, Nick, and Tomi standing out in the stands cheering and screaming. AJ and Nick started to jump up and down. Kevin was clapping and Tomi was cheering. AJ then turned around and was about to moon them but Kevin and Nick stopped him. Brian and Howie smiled and returned to their seats. A few more minutes passed by and finally, the last name was called. Brian looked back at Kevin, AJ, Nick and Tomi and gave the most evil grin.
"Uh oh..." said Nick.
All hell broke loose. Silly string went flying everywhere. Beach balls were bouncing around, whistles were going off, cheering, screaming, and yelling. After a few minutes, they all sat down and let the final speaker speak. Finally, the principal said, "Congratulations to the class of 1998!" The cheering started up again and the caps went flying. The boys met their friends and Howie's family outside. They each hugged and they congratulated Brian and Howie again and took numerous pictures. Brian, out of the blue started to cry a little bit.
"Brian, what's wrong?!" asked Nick.
"We made it," said Brian.
They all smiled. Howie put his arm around Brian's shoulders and said, "Yeah, we made it."
"Come on, come on! Let's go! We'z got to get the party goin' on!" said AJ.
"Alright, alright, come on. Party at my house," said Kevin.
"Cool, cool. Hey Kev, do you have anymore of that champagne around?" asked AJ.
"NO!!" shouted the others simultaneously.
"Ok, ok, jeesh," said AJ.
While they were all driving down to Kevin's apartment, Tomi started to think about her future. She reconsidered her feelings and didn't know what to do anymore...