Chapter Three

"I'm gonna lay down my sword and shield," Tod Waggner sang off-key, "Down by the riverside. Down by the riverside. Down by the--"

"Shut the hell up!" his fraternal twin, George, exclaimed, "You suck!" Tod responded by pretending to whack his brother in the face.

"Come on, George," Mr. Waggner sighed, "He can't be that bad."

"No," Alex cut in, "He really sucks. Sorry to say this."

The four were riding in the Waggner's minivan, listening to some stupid folk song station. They were on the way to Iroqouis Lake, ready for two weeks of sand, sun, and, uh... instert noun beginning with 's' here.

Alex gazed out the window, where everything was becomming full of trees. The sun shot through every few feet, and at the speed Mr. Waggner was driving down the dirt road, it made the inside of the van feel like a strobe light. He closed his eyes, feeling sick to his stomach. He couldn't possibly hold in his McDonalds' lunch if Mr. Waggner went over another huge bump.

Tod noticed this and patted his best friend on the back. "Hold it in, man. Hold it in."

Fortunately, a minute later, Mr. Waggner rolled to a stop into a more flat area. Just a little bit of grass, wet sand, a dock, the Waggner's cottage sitting nestled in between two huge trees... this was Iroquois Lake. Alex remembered the first day he had ever been here. His dad had taken him on a fishing trip when he was five. That day, he had met Tod and George, his current best friends. This was a pretty special place to him.

Tod whacked him on the chest. "Hurry up, man! Get out!"

"Tod, grow up!" George scolded.

The four got out of the van and began bringing their things up to the cabin. The familiar, salty smell creeped up Alex's nostrils. Tod nudged him. "Come on, man! Go!"

Alex rolled his eyes and they made their way to the bedroom. Alex tossed his suitcase onto the top bunk of the bed. "Hey, no fair!" Tod exclaimed.

George quietly took the single bed. "You gotta act your age, Tod."

Tod smiled with pride. "And you're so much better than me because you're seven minutes older? Besides... July 10th. Finally fifteen."

"What's so great about being fifteen?" Alex demanded, who only celebrated his birthday in September, "I mean, the best birthdays are 13, 16, 18, and 21. What makes this one special?"

Tod's grin dropped. "Er, well... driver's ed?"

George scoffed and shook his head with a smile. "Dear brother," he lectured jokingly, "In seven minutes, when you are as old as I am now, you will understand the greatness of being old and wise."

Tod's response was throwing a pillow at George.

Alex smiled, knowing this would be two weeks to remember.

***

"No way," Carter muttered under his breath, looking up at his big cousin, Mark, "Tod and George Wanker are here."

Mark smirked. Carter was staring angrily at their minivan. "Who cares about them?" he asked, "I rented us this sweet cabin. And tomorrow, my friend Dozer is comming. He's a party god." Carter looked up at him admiringly.

"Yeah," Carter agreed, trying to sound mature, "I have some people I want to invite. There's these three really hot girls... Blake McCallister, Christa Gordon, and, er, Terry Chaney. They would be a blast."

Mark shrugged. "How old are they?"

Carter pretended to be casual. "I dunno. Maybe 16," he lied.

Mark's response was punching Carter on the shoulder and telling him, "Get your stuff in the cabin. Your room is the one with the broken door."

Carter gulped. So far, nothing was quite what he thought it would be.

***

Terry ducked her head down in the car while they drove along the beach. Erica laughed at her. "What's wrong?" she asked, "Car-sickness?"

Terry slowly brought her head up and shook it. "Carter Horton."

Erica looked back, to where she saw two guys, one younger than her, and one older. "The shorter one?"

"Yeah. I've had a crush on him forever."

"So?" Erica asked, shrugging, "Now that you're skinny, he'll treat you like..." she trailed off, realizing Terry was upset by her skinny comment. "Ter, all I'm saying is that people who are skinny get more respect than fatasses like me."

The car stopped. Terry looked at her friend, pained. "So why did you call me Skeletor?"

Erica blushed. "It was a joke..."

"Not a funny one," Terry muttered, slamming the door.

***

Billy Hitchcock gazed at the familiar blonde that had just walked out of her car. He knew he should have been paying attention to what his supervisor was telling him, but he was really going mad trying to figure out who this person was... who cared if he missed the instructions on the slushie machine, or how to open the cash register?

"Billy!" the older guy warned, "Are you paying attention?"

"Yeah," he signed, turning his attention back to the small tuck shop he had a job at for the summer. It was about a third the size of his room. For the next week he would be working here nonstop, open 'till close, morning 'till night... he considered himself lucky he wasn't still working at Arby's, though. "So, what about discounts?" he asked eagerly, "I mean, do employees get anything free?"

His supervisor sighed heavily. "You get a free six-inch sub and slush puppie every day."

Billy grinned. "Shibby!"

"STOP SAYING THAT!"

Billy rolled his eyes. "Man, you have to loosen up." He poured himself a blue raspberry slush puppy, spilling some onto the ground in the process. He noticed the supervisor crossing his arms and muttering something to himself.

"Billy," he told him, "You're not going to last two days here."

Billy was now caught off guard by the hot blonde, who was walking closer to him. The face was so familiar... oh, wow! It was Terry Chaney! Formerly known as The Blob! Was he losing his eyesight, or had she shrunk? And... he looked at her chest... she also "grew."

He smiled politely. "Terry!" he exclaimed when she reached the counter, "What can I do to you--er, do for you?"

Terry blushed. "Can I have a Pina Colada slushie?" she asked meekly.

Billy smiled stupidly. "Sure." He poured her one sloppily, handed it over with shaky hands, and accepted her money. He managed to get the register opened, he just slammed his fingers in it while closing it. Terry laughed at this, but in a cute shy way.

"So," Billy conversed, leaning on the counter, "What brings you here this summer?"

"I'm just camping out. You know, getting out of the house, have a little fun for once..."

"Cool!" Billy exclaimed, maybe too eagerly, "With who? Anyone I know?"

"Er, well, Erica Hannamn is with me. And I saw Carter here somewhere."

Billy's big eyes widened. "Carter Horton?"

"Yeah..."

"Shit."