11.

Louis took Mr. Wexler's ultimatum very seriously. For a change. He spent the final three weeks of high school slacking off. With it being the last weeks of high school, Louis contracted a fatal case of "senioritis" a condition that many high school seniors get when they're almost done with school and are very unmotivated to do any work at all. Almost everyday after school Louis would go out to eat with Twitty and Tom. One day the three amigos were sitting at their usual table at "Crazy Hal and Sal's Wing Shack," their favorite after school eating joint. Their specialty was buffalo wings doused in hot sauce. "Hey, Louis, I can't believe we're almost done with high school. Soon we'll all be in college," Twitty said. "Say, when is Ren gonna be back?"

Louis was taking a bite into a spicy wing. "She got home a couple days ago. She took some extra stupid course. That's why she wasn't here like three weeks ago. She's already been nagging me."

"What's she doing this summer?" Twitty asked.

Louis kept eating. "I dunno. Probably some stupid school stuff. Oh, by the way, she's not interested in you, Twitty. Whether it was junior high or high school, dude, she doesn't like you, not in that way. Plus, don't you have a girlfriend?"

Twitty was taken aback. "Sorry, man. I was just asking."

"Nah, don't worry about it. Sorry I burst out like that. I guess I'm just a little twitchy because Wexler threatened to suspend me if I pull one more prank or one more anything. But time is almost up. We've got finals coming up at the beginning of the week and then it'll all be over. We graduate Friday night and then it's over. Then Louis Stevens will be back." Louis took another bite, "Oh, and it would be way too weird for you and my sister to be together, too." The guys shared a laugh, with Tom's being the loudest and most annoying. Louis and Twitty stared at him until Tom realized what was going on.

"What is it, home-brothers? What is the deal, yo?" Tom said, trying to sound hip and cool. However, it only made Louis and Twitty laugh more. It was like the good old days. "So, what are you guys up to this summer?" Tom asked.

Twitty said that he was just trying to get some gigs for his band and probably try to write some more music. Then it was off to college. He was going to UCLA. Louis, however, did not have much of a plan at all. He figured it was time to finally get an after-school job, especially since he was about to be done with school. After that, Louis figured he would probably watch TV and play video games. "I might go to college. The old man keeps bugging me about going to college, like it's a big deal or something."

Tom looked across the table and said, "Louis, it is very important to get a college education. I mean, without a college degree, you could end up at a dead-end job, packing groceries, picking up litter, washing cars and you'll be kicking yourself because you blew a great chance to expand your mind, broaden your horizons, study some of the greatest philosophers . . ."

With food still in his mouth, Louis stuck out his hand and said, "Tom! Tom! Relax. Have some of your little herbal tea or hug your mom or something. Just take it easy. I mean, I'm not even 18 yet. There's still lots of time to figure things out. I mean, I figure I'll go to college eventually anyway. So just settle down. Sheesh."

But before Louis could continue ranting Tom, Tom burst out waving, "Tawny!" Twitty started waving but Louis was slow and still had his face down in his food. "Long time no see!" Tom greeted.

Although it was 85 degrees in Sacramento and nearly everyone was wearing shorts, Tawny was still wearing jeans with a t-shirt and sandals, and had a silver necklace hanging around her neck. "Hey guys. Hey Twitty, Tom. Hi Louis." Louis sort of grunted and waved a greasy hand in Tawny's direction.

"Miss Dean, to what do we owe this pleasure? We hardly see you anymore. You're usually off with your new boyfriend." Tom asked.

Tawny grinned in embarassment and said, "Yeah, well, Corey and I have been out doing a lot of stuff together lately."

A mischievous grin came across Twitty's face, "What kind of stuff are you talking about, huh?"

"Nothing that I'm sure you pervs are thinking about. Corey's not like that. He's not some hot-rod. He's a nice guy."

"Cool," Twitty replied. "So, where is he right now?"

"He's parking his car."

At that moment, Louis looked up from his wings and saw a bright red Camaro went screeching by, swurved tight into the parking spot next to where Louis had parked his Nova, and the Camaro took out Louis' sideview mirror. Louis saw this and made a high pitched sound and dropped his buffalo wing. Yeah, the Nova was pretty crappy, but it was his. Then he saw a guy in cargo shorts walked out with the sleeves torn off his shirt exposing his muscles and it was none other than Corey. His hair was full of gel and he had sunglasses shading him. He made his way into the restaurant and he hugged Tawny. "Hey, Tawn."

"Hi, Core."

He flipped off his shades in dramatic fashion. "Tawny, you should see the pathetic looking little excuse for a car that I just swung by. It had to be from the 80's. What a load of . . ."

Tawny cut him off. "Um, Corey, I think that was Louis' car."

The big, goofy grin was gone from Corey's face. Thinking on his feet he said, "Nice car, Louis," flipping his shades back on. "Say, Tawn, do you want to get something to eat here?"

"Nah. I just thought I might see these suckers here. I haven't seen them too much since we were in the play. Sorry about that guys. But, hey, school's almost out and we'll be able to hang out a lot more."

"Cool," Twitty smiled and said as he brushed his blonde hair out of his face. "So, what've you been up to lately?"

"Oh, Corey and I have been hanging out a lot," she said as they held each other. "Sometimes we'll go for a walk in the park or read together. Nothing too crazy."

"Well, it's good to see someone new for a change. It's just been we three guys for awhile now. We've been getting tired of just looking at each other!" Twitty joked.

Tawny chuckled too. "Well, I imagine we should be going. We just came in to say hi to you guys. I figured you might be here. But I'll see you later. Corey and I are going to a film festival in San Francisco this weekend. It should be very nice. Good luck on your finals, guys. See you next week! Bye!"

"Bye, Tawny," Tom said. Twitty did likewise. Louis kept eating. Never even looked up.