Finally, the weekend arrived and it was time for Skip to inherit the Looney Duney. As soon as he and Augie finished eating lunch, they went to the garage to see their mom and Aunt Emma so Skip could take the right of passage for inheriting his father's car.

When they got there, the garage was dark.

"Hello? Mom? Aunt Emma?" Skip called out "I'm ready to get the keys to the Looney Duney"

There was some silence as Augie went to find the lights.

Just then, a small bright light came close to them. It was Kathy wearing a dark cloak.

The brothers almost jumped when they saw their mother.

"Skip Gilroy, please step forward" said Kathy.

Skip nodded as he stepped forward.

Just then, Emma came up wearing a dark cloak and holding a candle in her left hand and a large bible in her right palm.

Augie swallowed as he watched Emma walking over.

Skip gulped and put his hand on the Bible.

Emma raised her hand "Skip Ezekiel Gilroy! You are inheriting the family dune buggy! Now, you must swear to uphold this responsibility your father once held"

"Yes auntie" Skip said as he held up his hand.

"Good" Emma said as her other hand held out the Bible and motioned Skip to place his hand on the Bible. "Now, Skip Ezekiel Gilroy, do you solemnly swear to uphold the responsibility of the family dune buggy in the face of the Lord?"

"Yes ma'am" Skip gulped.

Kathy and Emma both nodded.

"And do you swear to never let anything bad happen to this car?" asked Kathy "Not a scratch or a ding?"

"Yes, mother dear" Skip gulped.

Kathy looked skeptical "I'm not too sure about that son. Especially considering that you and brother just came back from Saturday detention"

Augie glanced at his brother at the remark.

"I promise mom, we won't do anything stupid like that again" said Skip "Just give us a chance, please"

"Well son, since you boys did get yourselves in trouble at school, I shouldn't trust you with this car" said Kathy "But since you do seem serious about wanting another chance to prove you can follow the rules and be responsible, I'll give you one final chance!"

Skip nodded "I won't let you down, mother dear"

"Very well" said Kathy "Skip, I'm going to let you borrow the dune buggy for 24 hours. If you come back here without a scratch on it, it's yours. But if you damage it or cause any trouble, you're taking the bus from now on!"

"No problem." Skip nodded.

"I hope so" Kathy said, still looking skeptical "Sis, go get the keys"

"You got it, sis" Emma said as she picked up a box, which contained the keys to the dune buggy.

After Emma handed her the keys, Kathy turned to Skip with the keys in her hand.

"Skip, you've been given the sacred duty of our family heirloom" she said as she handed her youngest son the keys "I hope you won't violate my trust in you"

"I won't mama, I promise" said Skip.

"I hope so, because this is all we have left of your father besides his skipper hat and our old family photographs" Kathy said as she placed her hands on her hips.

Skip nodded silently.

"Come on bro, let's take this baby out for a spin" Augie put his hand on Skip's shoulder "Don't worry mother dear, we'll bring this car back in one piece"

"I hope so" Kathy folded her arms.

Augie picked up Elmo and followed Skip into the Looney Duney.

"Alright, time to ride" Skip said as he turned the keys in the ignition.

Mudsy soon floated over to join them as Skip started the engine.

He landed in a chair with Boo in his ghostly arms, ready to go for his very first car ride.

"Are you ready, Mudsy?" Augie asked as they fastened their seat belts.

"Not really, but I'm intrigued as to see how modern folk get around, a-square even" Mudsy replied.

"Well, hold on tight, guys." Skip quickly said as he shifted the buggy to drive.

Skip stepped on the gas pedal and they started to drive off.

"You sure the boys will handle that car well?" Emma asked Kathy.

"They'd better" Kathy deadpanned.

Back on the road, Skip was driving the buggy through the neighborhood.

"Odds bodkins, Skip" said Mudsy "This sure is really different. Back in my day, we used carts and horses to get around"

"I see" Augie remarked.

"Why would anyone wanna drive this thing?" Mudsy asked "It's just dinosaur remains and some strange device making cat noises"

"Well why don't you try driving?" suggested Augie "If we give you a driving test and teach you the rules of the road, I'm sure you'll see why we love driving cars"

"I...don't know" Mudsy said "Didn't your mother warn you boys that there would be consequences if something happens to the buggy?"

"Mudsy's right, Aug" said Skip "Besides, Mudsy wouldn't know how to operate a car and he could crash it into something"

"Besides, why would a 200 year old ghost need to learn driving when he can fly?" asked Mudsy.

At that moment, they drove by April's house.

"I can't wait to see the look on April's face when she sees that I've got this new car" Skip said as he got out of the dune buggy.

"Lucky jerk" Augie mumbled.

Skip walked over to the front door and rang the doorbell. April's father answered.

"Hello Skip, what're you doing here?" he asked.

"Hi Mr. Stewart, can April come and hang out with us?" asked Skip "I really wanna show her something"

"Sorry Skip" said Mr. Stewart "April's gone out of town for the weekend. She'll be back Sunday night"

"Oh, I see." Skip nodded understandingly.

"May I ask what you wanted to show April?" Mr. Stewart asked.

"Well, you see, Mr. Stewart, I got my driver's license recently and I was given a dune buggy and I thought that April will be interested to join me as I drive around town" Skip explained.

"I see" said Mr. Stewart "I guess I'll have to tell April when she comes back"

"Anyways, have a nice evening, Mr. Stewart." Skip said.

"Same to you, Anderson." Mr. Stewart nodded before closing the door.

Skip then walked back to the buggy, where Augie, Mudsy, Elmo and Boo were waiting.

"So?" Augie asked.

"April's away for the weekend" Skip replied "Guess it's just us guys for the entire weekend, huh?"

"I suppose so." Mudsy replied.

"Anyways, back to my suggestion" said Augie "Come on Skip, let's give this old timer a driving lesson. After all, you're never too old to learn a new trick"

"But Augie, mom said we can't let anything happen to the car" said Skip "If Mudsy damaged it and mom never trusted me again, I could never forgive myself"

"And I don't want Skip to get into trouble again" Mudsy added "I already got you boys into trouble in school."

"And we still have to be in detention for the rest of the month, might I remind you?" Skip folded his arms.

Augie sighed "Fine"

"Good" said Mudsy "Now maybe we can take a ride down in the country, the continent even"

"Good idea, Mudsy" said Skip.

Skip then started to drive down to the country.

Meanwhile, April and Maria arrived at Brenda's new house in Coolsville.

"I can't wait to see the look on Brenda's face when she sees us" said Maria.

"Yep" April agreed as they arrived at the front door and rang the doorbell.

In just a minute, Brenda's father came to the door.

"Hey Mr. Chance" said April "Surprised to see us?"

"April, Maria, what a surprise" said Mel "Brenda's gonna be so excited to see you two"

"She sure is" said April "Is she home?"

"Yeah, she is" Mel replied "Brenda! Come downstairs! I've got a surprise for you!"

"Coming, daddy" Brenda called.

Brenda limped downstairs and then put on her crutches when she got there.

"Surprised to see us, girlfriend?" April asked her friend.

"April? Maria?" Brenda gasped "But, I thought you guys were coming next weekend"

"We were, but we decided to surprise you" April replied "Are you surprised, B?"

"Yes indeed!" Brenda nodded "But come on in!"

April and Maria followed Brenda inside to the living room.

"So how's the leg?" Maria asked as they sat on the sofa.

"It's getting better" Brenda said as she rubbed the cast "I'm getting it taken off next week"

"That's groovy, Brenda" said April "But is there anywhere for us to sign your cast? We really want to, since we're your best friends and all"

"Of course, there's some room" Brenda replied before gesturing to some blank spaces on her cast "Be my guest."

April and Maria signed their names on the cast.

"So guys, what do you want to do, since you're here and all?" asked Brenda.

"Beats me, Brenda" April shrugged "We just got here and I never really thought about doing anything"

"Well we could go hang out with my Coolsville friends" suggested Brenda "I'm sure they'd love to meet y'all"

"Sounds like a swell idea." Maria said.

"Groovy" April added.

"Come on, let's go" said Brenda.


Author's Note:

Looks like Skip's got a brand new car and he's going to take it for a test ride, hoping he doesn't do anything horrible to it and it looks like April and Maria are going to meet the Teen Angels. I hope this leads to nothing conflicting. Do you? Stay tuned.