Instead of seeing the girls they wanted to see, when Gordie and Chris pulled up in front of Castle Rock High School, they saw Teddy Duchamp leaning against the bike rack and enjoying a cigarette. While Chris and Gordie's friendship was as tight as it had ever been, maybe even a little stronger, they had drifted away from Teddy. It had been a slow, gradual, necessary process. Teddy had gotten too wild for their likes; always drunk, always getting in trouble with the cops, always stealing. He'd gotten two girls pregnant that people knew of. One had an abortion and the other girl's family sent her to live with her grandmother because they were ashamed of her. Teddy denied ever having anything to do with either of them. Gordie had grown up being disappointed in people who meant a lot to him, and he refused to let a friend like Teddy become a statistic on that list, so he gave up on their friendship. And Chris decided years ago that he wouldn't run around with the crowd that everyone expected him to run with. Even if that meant abandoning a friend that used to make him laugh and make him mad and make him forget about life at home.

They got out of Gordie's truck and warily approached Teddy. "Hey man," Chris called. He didn't want to initiate a conversation, but he didn't want to be rude, either. Whenever the two of them had any sort of conversations, it was always Teddy bragging about what new shit he'd pulled and got away with.

"Hey," Teddy said, breaking into a grin, exhaling cigarette smoke through his nose. "What are you guys doing here? You're not here for Saturday detention are you?"

"No," Chris replied, crossing his arms over his chest, not consciously putting up a barrier between himself and Teddy, but doing it anyway. "I'm here to get help in biology, and Gordie's here for student cou--"

"I am here to pick up chicks," Gordie interrupted frantically.

Chris burst into a smile that was much like an attack of laughter. He gave Gordie a side long glance, and then nodded back to Teddy. "Yep, and Gordie's here for the girls. He's such a sly dog."

"Well, good luck, man," Teddy snorted. "The only girl here that I know of is Jody Evans. She's here practically every Saturday. She's got the biggest mouth of any girl I've ever met, if you know what I mean, hahaha." He received blank looks from the other two boys. "...I don't think she'd have you."

"Oh, damn," Gordie sighed. "Well, we'd better get going. The early bird gets the worm, I've always said."

Teddy nodded, lowering his gaze, and was that disappointment in his eyes? It was hard to tell, but Chris shrugged at Gordie and then asked Teddy, "What are you here for?"

"Detention."

"I gathered. What did you do?"

"Well, honestly, I had an adventure with the US Army."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. You know how they were here on Thursday for recruitment?" Teddy beamed. "I went up to the table and I was like 'Can I have a pencil?' And they were like 'Sure' and then I was like 'Actually can I have TEN?' and they were like 'What do you need ten pencils for?' and I was like 'To keep my grades up to join the national guard after high school.' So then they were like..nods 'Okay, here's twenty.' And so then I was like 'I'm gonna need a lot of lanyards too.' And they were like 'What the hell for?' And I was like 'Because I enjoy lanyards, quite frankly.' And they were like 'One per person.' So then I was like 'What if I tell you a joke?' And they looked at me all fish-eyed. So I proceeded to tell my joke. Do you guys want to hear it?"

"Um, well--" Chris stuttered, knowing Teddy's taste in jokes.

"Okay, so I was like 'How do you get ten dead babies out of a blender?' And they just kept staring at me, so I was like, 'Tortilla chips!' And come on, that's fuckin hilarious, right? That's funny. Then they were like 'You know what can get you a lot of lanyards?' And I was like 'Cat like reflexes?' And they were like 'WRONG' and then I was like 'I LIKE MASH' and they were like 'That doesn't help. You could give us your name and address so we can contact you about the national guard. So I was like 'Wicked!' so I took an application and I said my name was Your Mom and that I lived in Your Bed, in FU, USA, and they got fucking mad and ratted me out to Kinsey, and Kinsey was like 'Psh, I am the principal and you are stupid, you're coming in for all day detention on Saturday, Mister.' But seriously, those army fucks are whiny little pricks, eh? I was just joking."

"Teddy, sometimes you have a way of joking that isn't always very funny for all the parties involved--"

Gordie cut Chris off. Chris' voice was low and gentle, but he knew that Teddy didn't respond well to truth. "That's an awesome story, Teddy. It's a detention well-earned. But we'd better get going. Well, I'd better, anyway. Ass awaits me."

"Okay. See you guys," Teddy said, taking another drag on his cigarette and looking away.

Gordie stole a quick look at Chris as they approached the front doors. Chris looked a little torn up, and the dapples of sunlight flickering over his face didn't shine away the sadness. "You okay?" Gordie asked.

"Yeah, definitely," Chris replied automatically, swinging the door open wide and holding it for Gordie before he went in. "It's just..." He waited for the door to close behind him. "Teddy just..."

"Rains on your parade?"

"Well, I wasn't exactly having a parade, but yeah, he makes me gloomy."

"I know what you mean."

"Yeah?" Chris looked at him with sudden hope. "You do?"

"Well...I think so," Gordie said, unsure if he really did know what Chris meant. "He was our friend and now he's just interested in getting in trouble and stuff."

"And he's proud of it." Chris shrugged. "I don't know. I think it's that he never really got much of a chance in life, you know?"

Neither did you, Gordie held himself back from saying.

"And he never had anyone let him know that he had the ability to make his own chances. He just went on screwing up and no one did anything about it. They all let him. I mean, of all people, I should have helped him out."

"Chris--" Gordie tried to interrupt.

"I never pulled him off to the side and said, 'Listen, moron, you're smarter than you and everyone else thinks and you could seriously do something awesome with your life and you don't have to be such an asshole and you're not going to have to drink your life away or call your wife names or hurt your kids or go to jail when you grow up just because that's what your dad did and what everyone thinks you're going to do too.'" Chris shrugged. "He never really listened to me when we were kids but I still think he should have heard it."

"Chris," Gordie said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're a good friend."

The wind left his spiel and he looked down at Gordie, grateful and tired. He nodded.

"Oh, sorry. Was I supposed to make a lot of noise so you'd know I was coming?" a new voice asked.

Chris and Gordie turned in the direction of the newcomer and Gordie quickly took his hand back. "Pardon?" he blurted.

Jody Evans. Tall and pretty in a you-can-stare-but-you-wouldn't-want-to-take-her-home-to-your-parents kind of way. Her hair was short and her thick glasses were broken on the side and she had a smile that teased its victims but lit up her eyes.

"Oh, nothing, I was just apologizing for walking in on your tender moment," she said with an indifferent shrug.

"Gee, Jody," Gordie said. "Are you sure your skirt's regulation length?"

"It's definitely not," she assured him, swiping a hand over the hem of her linen skirt, which ended long before it hit her knees. "I was getting dressed this morning and I was going to dress appropriately, but then I figured that Kinsey is enough of a perv to send me home early for good behaviour if I accidentally flash him a couple of times."

"Always thinking, aren't you, Jody," Gordie laughed.

"I am." She looked at them appraisingly. "What are you guys doing here? You don't have a secret clubhouse for you to neck in anymore?"

"You know, these homosexual innuendoes are beginning to lead me to believe that you think we are homosexual," Gordie said suspiciously.

She grinned. "I'm just trying to fuck with you."

"Haha, good luck, we're gay," Gordie giggled.

Chris punched him. "Speak for yourself! And when you're trying to be sarcastic, don't giggle like a gay little girl!"

Gordie paused, and then slowly pointed his finger at Chris. "Um, that would make me a lesbian..." He grinned. "I like lesbians."

"Me too," Chris said hungrily.

"Anyway," Jody said.

"Right." Chris nodded. "I'm looking for Elena Lefebvre. She's helping me with Biology."

"Hmm. Haven't seen her." Jody looked at Gordie. "And you?"

"I'm here to meet Tamsin Bradshaw for our hot steamy date."

"I thought you were gay."

"Oh right. She's painting my nails."

"Talking to you stresses me out," Jody said.

"So, you gonna make your move today, Gordo?" Chris asked with a leer.

"Oh, I'll be moving, all right," Gordie assured him. "Lots of movement. Movement all around. Up and down and side to side and--"

Just then, a girl turned the corner and breezed by, scissors and crepe paper bundled up in her arms, all smiles with a blue ribbon in her auburn hair. She aimed her smile at Gordie as she past. "Hi, Gordie."

Gordie stared.

"I'll be in the Home Ec room for whenever you want to get started," she told him, her mega-watt smile never faltering.

"Yes," he squeaked, his eyes following after her as she walked away, a piece of crepe paper streaming along behind her.

"Oh you are so straight," Jody said, staring at him in awe. "There is no doubt in my mind now."

"So much for making my move," Gordie said sadly.

"YOU DIDN'T MOVE AT ALL," Chris cried. "She walks past you and smiles like the GODDESS OF LOVE IN HEAT and you turn to STONE. She was like 'I want you Gordie, come into my pants' and you were like 'Sorry, there is only static in my brain right now and I can't understand basic human behaviour anymore.' I am both disgusted and amused!"

Gordie turned to Chris suddenly with a wild look in his eyes. "AUGHH."

"It's okay, buddy," Chris said sympathetically, putting his arm around Gordie's shoulders. "Maybe she thought your deer-in-the-headlights thing was cute. I did."

"Fuck offff," Gordie grumbled. "I'm going to go to the Home Ec room now."

"Yeah, she's ready when you are," Jody reminded him.

"Good luck, man," Chris laughed as Gordie sauntered away with his head down. If he'd had a tail, it would have been between his legs, most likely. "So, Jody, I guess I'll see you later too. Good luck with the flashing."

"Thanks." She sighed. "I'm stuck here all day with Duchamp, eh? I saw him out front so I figured he was here for DT."

"You figured correctly."

"Graaah."

"You don't like Teddy?"

"About as much as I like the gynocologist."

"Girls don't like going to the gynocologist?" Chris asked, genuinely shocked. "I always thought if I were a girl, I'd go like every Sunday."

"Why Sunday? Isn't that the day you're supposed to go to church and atone for your sins, not try to get cheap thrills at the doctor's office?"

"I would go to church after my appointment."

"Ohhh. You think about this often, don't you?"

"No, only once. When I found out what a gynocologist does. I thought about it for a very long time, though."

"I never knew you that well, Chambers," Jody said. "If we'd never had this conversation, I never would have known what a strange, calculating, messed up little man you really are."

"Well, now you do!" He smiled. "Don't you love Saturday?"