Okay, so I was watching Stand By Me for the millionth time yesterday, and I got this brilliant idea!


Chapter 1 - An Idea

I peaked down the stairs of my unnecessarily large house, and saw that the front door was completely vacant. I'd be able to sneak right out. So, I slipped down the stairs and to the exit. My hand was on the handle when his voice echoed from beside me.

"Judith!" Our butler, Jamison, shouted at me, even though we weren't even a full foot apart.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath. God, I hate Jamison.

"You aren't going out to meet with those hooligans, are you?" He demanded, and I rolled my eyes.

"Of course not, Jamison," I grumbled in a monotone. "And it's Judy."

"Because your father gave me very strict orders to not allow you to leave the house if you're going to meet up with those despicable human beings!" Jamison was shouting again. I know I shouldn't be upset about it, since he was in the war and all and his hearing isn't so great, but my hearings not gonna be so great if he keeps shouting!

"I'm just going to run to the store, okay Jamison?" I turn to glare at him fully.

"Why ever would you need to do that?" He demanded, his voice not lowering. "I assure you, whatever it is you need, I can get for you!"

I thought quickly, and mentally congratulated myself. Damn, I'm good. "Well, Jamison, I need some girl products."

His face reddened. "Oh, of course, Judith. Go, go, get what you need."

"Thank you, Jamison," I opened the door, but before I left I turned to him. "And it's Judy."

A few minutes later, I was sweating a little as I did our special knock on the door of the treehouse.

"Come in!" I recognized his voice immediately, Chris.

"Morning, boys," I greeted, climbing into the tree house. "Ooh, where'd you score these?" I inquire, taking the cigarette from Chris's hand and taking my own drag. He looks disappointed, but doesn't say anything.

"I don't know," Chris shrugs. "Ask Teddy."

"Teddy?" I turn to him, blowing a ring of smoke.

"Stole 'em from my old man," Teddy answers.

I know about Teddy's father, and I turn to look at his ear at this. It's silent for a minute before Chris speaks up.

"Hey, how do you know a Frenchman's been in your backyard?" Chris inquires and I rolls my eyes.

"Hey," Teddy scolds, sounding offended. "I'm French."

"Your garbage can is empty, and your dog is pregnant." Chris continues anyways, and I laugh at his joke.

"Didn't I just say I was French?" Teddy snaps.

"I knock." Chris says.

"Ooh, we knock?" I peek over his shoulder at our cards and nod. "Yeah, we knock."

"Why are you always on his team?" Teddy whines.

"Because he wins," I claim simply, even though that's only half the answer.

"Yeah I do," Chris mutters, only to me. "29." He says to Teddy.

"Shit!" Teddy groans. "22."

"Ha!" I squeal, leaning back, handing Chris the cigarette.

"You know what?" Teddy says to me sarcastically. "You're a bitch."

"At least I'm not a pussy!" I say in a singsong voice.

"Come on, man, deal," Chris says to Teddy before he can bite back at me.

Gordie enters the treehouse next.

"I knock," Teddy claims proudly.

"You four eyed pile of shit!" Chris groans angrily.

"That pile of shit has a thousand eyes!" Teddy counters.

"Peeping Tom!" I clear my throat over my words and Chris and I laugh.

"Only for you!" Teddy makes kissy faces at me, and I respond with a punch to his shoulder. "Ow! Okay, okay. Come on, I've got thirty, what have you got?"

"Sixteen," Chris says, laughing with me.

"Go ahead, keep laughing!" Teddy snaps. "I'd turn you right down."

Another knock came from outside, and we all knew who it was because there was only one person missing from our gang. But Gordie still yelled seriously, "Knock the secret knock!"

"I forget the secret knock, let me in!"

In unison, Chris, Gordie, Teddy, and I groan, "Vern."

"Come on you guys, open up!" As we let him in, he starts to go on about something, panting slightly. "Oh man, you guys are not gonna believe this. This is so boss. Oh man, wait 'til you hear this, wait 'til you hear this. You won't believe it. It's unbelievable. Let me catch my breath. I ran all the way from my house."

The guys and I look at each other, and we can't hold it back. "I ran all the way home!" We sing. "Just to say I'm sorry! Sorry! What can I say?"

"Come on, guys, listen to me." Vern whined over our singing. "Guys, come on! Okay, forget it. I'll tell you nothing."

"Alright, guys, alright," Chris shuts us up, though I know it's not the end. "What is it, man?"

"Okay, great, you won't believe this sincerely." Vern is so pumped, its hilarious as we cut him off again.

"I ran all the way home!" We shout.

"Screw you guys!" Vern pouts.

"What is it?" I ask, elbowing Teddy beside me lightly to shut him up.

"Can you guys camp out tonight?" Vern inquires. "I mean if you tell your folks, we're gonna tent in my backfield?"

"Yeah," Teddy says.

"Yeah, I think so," Chris nods. "Since my dad's kind of on a mean streak. You know, he's been drinking a lot lately."

"Yeah, and my dads out of town on business," I explain. "I'll come."

"You got to man, sincerely!" Vern says to Chris, and he shrugs. Vern turns to me. "Well, at least Judy can come. But, you guys won't believe this! Can you, Gordie?"

"Yeah, probably." Gordie says.

"So what are you pissin' and moanin' about, Verno?" Teddy continues.

Chris glances at me as I stare over his shoulder. I nod. "We knock."

"What?!" Teddy exclaims. "You guys are liars, you ain't got no pat-hand. You didn't deal yourself no pat-hand!"

"Make your draw, four eyes," I say smugly.

"You guys wanna go see a dead body?" Vern's words get our attention immediately.

"What the hell are you talking about, Vern?" I inquire cautiously.

"Well I was under the porch, digging, you know . . ." Vern explains, happy to have our full attention.

We all understood what Vern meant right away. At the beginning of the school year he had buried a quart-jar of pennies underneath his house. He drew a treasure map, so he could find them again. A week later his mom cleaned out his room and threw away the map. Vern had been trying to find those pennies for nine months. Nine months, man. You wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Anyways, he explained to us that a kid our age, Ray Bower, had been missing for three days. He'd been out picking blueberries in a few towns over from ours, and he hasn't come back home.

Apparently, Vern heard his older brother and his older brothers friend talking about how they saw Bowers dead body (he'd been hit my a train), when they boosted a Dodge yesterday.

"I know the Back Harlow Road!" Teddy exclaims when Vern finished his story. "It comes to a dead end by the Royal river. The train tracks are right there! Even my dad used to fish for cosies out there!"

"Oh, shit man," I say in awe.

"If they would have known you were under the porch they would have killed you." Chris adds, knowing what I'm thinking.

"Could he have gotten all the way from Chamberlain to Harlow?" Gordie inquires. "It's really far!"

"Sure," Chris nods.

"He must have started walking on the train tracks and just followed them the whole way." I assume.

"Yeah. Yeah, right." Teddy says, catching on. "And then after dark the train must have come along, and -- El smacko!"

"Jesus, someone's violent today," I tease, and Teddy rolls his eyes at me.

"Yeah," Chris nods (to Teddy's words, not mine). "Hey, hey guys! I bet you anything that if we find him we'll get our pictures in the paper!

"Yeah, we'd even be on TV!" I add.

"Sure!" Chris agrees with me, and we smile at each other.

"We'll be heroes!" Teddy gushes.

"Yeah!" Chris and I nod with him.

"I don't know," Vern says, doubtful. "Billy will know how I found out."

"He's not gonna care," Gordie assures. "'Cause it's gonna be us guys who find him. Not Billy and Charley Hogan in a boosted car."

"Yeah," I agree. "They'd probably pin a medal on you, Vern!"

"Yeah, you think so?" Vern asks me.

"I know so!"

Vern's happy for a moment, but his features grow gloomy quick. "What'll we tell our folks?"

"Exactly what you said," Gordie explains. "We all tell our folks we're tenting out on your backfield. You tell your folks you're sleeping over Teddy's. Then we'll say we're going out to the drags races the next day, and that gives us until dinner tomorrow night."

"That's a plan and a half." Chris speaks my mind.

Of course, Vern finds the negative again. "But if we do find the kid's body over in South Harlow? They'll know we didn't go to the drag traces! We'll get hided!"

"Nobody's gonna care 'cause everybody is gonna be so jazzed about what we found it's not gonna make a difference!" Teddy beamed happily.

"Yeah!" Chris grins, as well. "My dad would hide me anyway. But, hell, that's worth a hiding!

"Shit yeah!" Teddy says.

"Of course it is!" I agree, bumping Chris with my shoulder. "Let's do it!"

"Alright," Teddy nods.

It took some convincing on Vern's part, even though he brought it up, but in the end we'd established that we'd be meeting at the tree house at noon tomorrow to find Ray Bowers body.

It was the worst and best idea we'd ever had.