Chapter 2

Finally, the day ended. Louis met up with Twitty in the parking lot. "Hey, man," Twitty said.

"Sup."

"Hey, Lou, what was the big thing you were trying to tell me earlier?"

"Oh yeah. Check this out," Louis said as he pulled out a devious looking remote control.

"Uh oh. What's gonna happen, Louis?"

Louis grinned his mischievous grin and pressed the magic red button. Some 50 yards away a make-shift catapault let go a banana cream pie that made a direct hit on . . . Tom Gribalski, who else? Tom was covered in cream and banana wedges. He noticed Louis cackling away in the distance. Tom marched over towards Louis and Twitty and said, "Louis, I must say that I am offended at this attempt at jocularity."

"Whacha gona do, Tom?" Louis directed.

Tom shrugged his shoulders, ran his finger across his cheek and tasted the cream. "It's actually quite tasty. Another very clever antic, Louis."

"Well, thanks, Tom. Craftsmen like me always enjoy hearing that their work is appreciated." But as this dialogue between Louis and Tom continued, Tawny appeared, almost out of nowhere. She observed the mess that was dripping off Mr. Gribalski and was intrigued.

"Tom! What happened to you?"

"It appears that I have once again been on the receiving end of one of Louis' very clever farces."

Tawny rolled h er eyes and said, "I'll see you later, guys."

Tawny usually got a real kick out of Louis' shenanigans, but she seemed a bit upset. Louis couldn't figure it out. Tom was absolutely covered and Louis thought he was simply brilliant. What could Tawny have been upset over? But Louis reminded himself that every once in awhile she would get that way. There were those days when Louis' immaturity would get to her and she'd get that "Oh, grow up" look on her pale, yet lovely face. But Louis quickly got over the problem: He saw yet another pretty young face in the parking lot. No, Louis had struck out with Amanda earlier that day. This was Tanya. Ohhh Tanya. She was a brunette and in the French club. That didn't bode too well for Louis because all the French he knew was "Oo Lala." Apparently he thought that would be enough to woo Tanya. But while Louis was trying to show off for her, Tawny was standing at the far end of the lot and shook her head. What a loser, I better get to the theatre, Tawny thought. It was the night before the big performance.

Meanwhile, across the parking lot Louis was striking out with Tanya. Louis was telling every joke he could think of to get her to laugh. Eventually Tanya was able to figure out that Louis was trying to be funny and by the end of the conversation she let out a pitty smile. Maybe he'll go away if I just smile, the girl thought. Then Louis took the hint and headed back towards his car where Twitty was still standing with Tom beside him. "Struck out, huh?" Twitty asked.

"Nah, I could have her, but she's not for the Big L, if ya know what I mean." Twitty stared at Louis for a second. Louis realized that his self-appointed nickname really bombed, "OK, so I'll try to find a better name. I just wanna leave a mark on this school before I leave, you know?"

Twitty looked over at the school building and pointed, "But what about the time you spray painted on the outside wall of the school? You remember, 'Wexler eats worms.'"

Louis grinned and said, "Heh, they never proved that was me!" Come on, Twitty, let's go home."

"Hey, Louis, are we going to the play tomorrow night?"

Louis was befuddled, "What play?"

"You know, the school play. The one where Tawny has the lead female role: 'The Long Walk Home.' Remember Tawny, Lou?"

Louis sensed Twitty's sarcasm. "Yeah, yeah. She's the girl, right?" They both cracked a smile. "Yeah, we're going. It's just that prom is coming up in a month and I don't have a date. I'm just scouting it out. I'm just seeing who's out there. I mean, Tawny and I haven't really been together for awhile. We were always better as friends."

Twitty sighed and said, "Yeah, I see your point." They slammed the car door shut. "Let's get some tunes going." So, the two buddies rolled their windows down, sped away and played music from their favorite band: "The Rotten Turn-ups." It was music that made no sense, had no musical organization, no decipherable lyrics, so naturally they loved them.