p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"Everybody knew about the graduation party. People had been talking about it since before senior year started. It would be the biggest party the town had ever seen. Invitations went out before Christmas break. Earl and Cecil pushed past the other excited seniors, and ducked into the bathroom./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""Did you get invited?" they both asked at once. Both their faces fell./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""No," Cecil mumbled, and Earl shook his head./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""…I can't believe they didn't invite you," Earl said, frowning at his best friend. "I mean, you're so cool!" His voice cracked, and he blushed./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""Nah, I thought for sure you'd get invited." Cecil scuffed his shoe on the floor./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""Well… well I wouldn't go anyway," the shorter boy declared. "Not without you. We… oh, we can have our own graduation party! It'll be way better than theirs!"/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""Yeah?" The ghost of a smile tugged at Cecil's lips. "What'll we do?"/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""We… We can blast our music really loud, and have all kinds of stuff to eat and drink!" Earl suggested./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""You know what'd be really cool? If we could get Lee Marvin to perform."/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""Yeah! We'll do that too, I bet he'll do it! And we can play games, and all kinds of stuff, it'll be the best!"/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""I can sneak into Mom's liquor cabinet," Cecil whispered loudly./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""That's perfect. We'll have the best party in town, everybody'll want to be there!"/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"Months passed. Neither was sure they would pass all their classes in the end, but they both managed somehow. Sometimes they would talk about the party, full of confidence and plans./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"The ceremony itself was hard to understand, and even harder to remember. But they both came out holding a diploma./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"It was getting dark when Earl slipped up to Cecil's house. He didn't climb in the window, but tapped their secret knock onto the metal drainpipe that ran up next to Cecil's window, and he waited./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"It took a few minutes, but finally Cecil cracked the door open. He sniffled, and Earl thought his eyes looked swollen and wet./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""Hey."/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""H-hey…"/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""Um…"/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""I didn't get anything done," Cecil snapped, throwing the door open and swiping his sleeve over his wet face. "Nowhere to go, no booze, no Lee Marvin. No food, nothing. We… we were never gonna have a party, Earl!" He sniffled and swallowed a sob./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""I… I didn't get any of that either," Earl mumbled./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""I dunno why you even came," Cecil muttered, kicking the doorframe./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"Earl hesitated, then held up a rather dingy case of orange milk. "…This was on sale at the Ralph's because it's dented… It's warm, but I bet it'll still be good."/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"Cecil just stared at him./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""We could… we could go out in the sand wastes. Under the stars."/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"Cecil continued to stare. Earl looked down and gnawed at the inside of his cheek./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""I… I know it's lame. It's all I could get. I'm sorry. But… we don't need a party, Cecil. I just wanna hang out with you anyway."/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""…Really?" Cecil breathed, with a watery smile./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""Really."/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"For a moment Cecil looked like he might hug Earl, but instead he stepped forward, shutting the door behind him and wiping his nose on his sleeve again./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""O-okay," he murmured. Earl smiled, reaching out with his free hand to squeeze Cecil's. Cecil squeezed back, and they headed out to the desert./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""Did you get invited?" they both asked at once. Both their faces fell./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""No," Cecil mumbled, and Earl shook his head./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""…I can't believe they didn't invite you," Earl said, frowning at his best friend. "I mean, you're so cool!" His voice cracked, and he blushed./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""Nah, I thought for sure you'd get invited." Cecil scuffed his shoe on the floor./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""Well… well I wouldn't go anyway," the shorter boy declared. "Not without you. We… oh, we can have our own graduation party! It'll be way better than theirs!"/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""Yeah?" The ghost of a smile tugged at Cecil's lips. "What'll we do?"/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""We… We can blast our music really loud, and have all kinds of stuff to eat and drink!" Earl suggested./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""You know what'd be really cool? If we could get Lee Marvin to perform."/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""Yeah! We'll do that too, I bet he'll do it! And we can play games, and all kinds of stuff, it'll be the best!"/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""I can sneak into Mom's liquor cabinet," Cecil whispered loudly./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""That's perfect. We'll have the best party in town, everybody'll want to be there!"/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"Months passed. Neither was sure they would pass all their classes in the end, but they both managed somehow. Sometimes they would talk about the party, full of confidence and plans./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"The ceremony itself was hard to understand, and even harder to remember. But they both came out holding a diploma./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"It was getting dark when Earl slipped up to Cecil's house. He didn't climb in the window, but tapped their secret knock onto the metal drainpipe that ran up next to Cecil's window, and he waited./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"It took a few minutes, but finally Cecil cracked the door open. He sniffled, and Earl thought his eyes looked swollen and wet./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""Hey."/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""H-hey…"/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""Um…"/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""I didn't get anything done," Cecil snapped, throwing the door open and swiping his sleeve over his wet face. "Nowhere to go, no booze, no Lee Marvin. No food, nothing. We… we were never gonna have a party, Earl!" He sniffled and swallowed a sob./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""I… I didn't get any of that either," Earl mumbled./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""I dunno why you even came," Cecil muttered, kicking the doorframe./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"Earl hesitated, then held up a rather dingy case of orange milk. "…This was on sale at the Ralph's because it's dented… It's warm, but I bet it'll still be good."/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"Cecil just stared at him./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""We could… we could go out in the sand wastes. Under the stars."/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"Cecil continued to stare. Earl looked down and gnawed at the inside of his cheek./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""I… I know it's lame. It's all I could get. I'm sorry. But… we don't need a party, Cecil. I just wanna hang out with you anyway."/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""…Really?" Cecil breathed, with a watery smile./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""Really."/p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"For a moment Cecil looked like he might hug Earl, but instead he stepped forward, shutting the door behind him and wiping his nose on his sleeve again./p
p style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; color: #6e7173; font-family: Baskerville, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;""O-okay," he murmured. Earl smiled, reaching out with his free hand to squeeze Cecil's. Cecil squeezed back, and they headed out to the desert./p