I stared out the window of English class, almost convinced that my life was doomed. Almost. My English paper apparently hadn't been good enough, having several grammatical mistakes. Bah. I was hardly getting the Algebra class myself now, and I was supposed to be helping Chris with today's lesson after school- in just a few hours. It was making me a nervous wreck.

Several songs were playing inside my head. Bobby Rydell songs. Bobby Rydell was my favorite singer. He had a good voice. Well, I thought so. Jenny and I were always combining our allowances and fighting between Pat Boone and Bobby Rydell records. Personally, I hated Pat Boone. And I think she hated Bobby Rydell because I hated Pat Boone. We used to fight all of the time. Now we don't fight at all. We don't even talk. Odd as it sounds, I miss that. I thought of the times when we actually were a family. But when did I feel like this? I didn't care. I didn't care that Mom and Dad were acting weird and Jenny wasn't being a good sister or daughter. I was always away from home, so it didn't bother me. I didn't care.

Maybe I did.

I guess I did.

It was then I noticed that I wasn't the only one in the room, despite the fact that I had gotten here 5 minutes early. A boy was sitting in a desk, scribbling in his notebook. I think his name was Gordon Lachance. He was a quiet boy. I had never talked to him. He only answered questions when the teacher called on him, but he got the answers right every time. Smart kid. I walked over to talk to him. "Hi," I said.

He looked up at me, slightly surprised. "Hi."

"What are you doing?" I asked, gesturing at his notebook. It was the only thing I could think of to say.

"Ummm, nothing." He closed the notebook.

"My name's Liz." Hah. Like he would care.

He nodded, still looking puzzled. (I was right.) Did he not get the fact that I was just trying to be friendly?

I received a tap on the shoulder and looked behind me. A girl looked at me and pointed at the seat. I nodded at her and slid out of the seat. I looked at Gordon, wanting to talk to him again.

English class had my almost undivided attention today. Of course, I was still stressed over Algebra. Talking to the Lachance guy or wondering about my family hadn't changed that. It was near Fall Break already this year. I wasn't really planning on doing anything or going anywhere. No vacation, no special celebration, no relatives, no nothing. Sleeping in would be good, though. Oh, and no homework for a couple of weeks. The only thing I really didn't like was not being able to go to the train tracks, as it was obviously getting a little chilly for that.

I went straight home when the day ended, ready for some rest, apprehensive at the thought of going straight home. My thoughts in English class rekindled. The chemistry of my family was slowly fizzing and sizzling out. I was indifferent about it; I really didn't think about it. But this afternoon I remembered what fun we had, what good times we had experienced as a family. Not that I'm forgetting the times I had this summer. I was having a great time without them. I just had to let go and move on.

Chris and Gordie and I became friends. I hung out with them almost as frequently as I did with Teddy and Vern. But nothing ever interrupted my Saturdays at the diner.

Nothing.

That's right. Nothing.

Then how come you are here, sitting in the tree house, talking to Chris and Gordie? And it is a Saturday morning?

The thought kept nagging me, over my curiosity as to why Chris and Gordie claimed dibs on the tree house, too. It was still an hour than I usually went to the diner. I found myself frequently glancing at my watch, then stopping in aggravation. Since when was I such a worrier? I would be on time, and if late, only by a few minutes. What was the big deal?

"You like Gunsmoke?" Gordie asked me.

"Yeah, it's my favorite TV show. Westerns are always my favorites. I don't get to see it that often, though. Back in New York, nobody in our town owned a TV. I only got to watch when I visited my Aunt Millie in Rochester. I guess that's one up to living near the Big Apple." I said, rolling my eyes.

"I just can't picture a girl liking 'Gunsmoke.' I've never met any that don't like romance. Of course, my mom only watches soap operas…"

I laughed at that. I hated soap operas.

"What about 'Have Gun Will Travel?'"

I shook my head. "Never seen it. I have heard of it, though…" I started singing 'Paladin, paladin, where do you roam…' I had a strange way of proving my points.

"What's your favorite band?"

I thought for a second. "The Del Vikings. But Bobby Rydell's my favorite singer."

Chris chortled. "What about Elvis?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

He and Gordie howled with laughter.

"What?" I asked. Then I remembered what Teddy had said about me not liking Elvis, and it all made sense to me. And I started laughing, too. This was fun. But I still had to leave in about an hour. The more time that passed by, the more often I glanced at my watch, and the more often I glanced at my watch, I got more pissed off and more guilty at the same time. So, when my guilt reached its limit, I left a few minutes early for the diner, and waited for Teddy and Vern to arrive.

"Hi Liz," Vern greeted me.

I grinned at him and said 'Hi,' to him. "Where's Teddy?"

"Oh, he'll be here in a few minutes."

A 'few minutes' came and went. Me and Vern talked about the new hit 'Surfin' Safari.' It looked like this band, the Beach Boys, had a promising start. I had to admit that I liked the song. It wasn't great or anything, but it was short and cute. Yeah, I guess that's how I'd describe it.

Teddy finally walked into the diner, and I glanced at my watch. He was 49 minutes late. I would be irritated on any other occasion, but I was quite content talking about the Beach Boys.

"Hey guys. What's up?" he asked as he sat down.

"Aw, nothing much… only you're almost an hour late!" I accused. "What happened?"

He looked at me strangely. "Late? Daylight Savings Time ended, you moron!"

I stared at him, dumbstruck. "You serious?"

"Really?" Vern was also puzzled.

"No. And Mighty Mouse just defeated Superman."

Vern said "Oh," and nodded in understanding.

"Huh?" I was lost.

He looked at me like I was crazy. "Don't you see? Mighty Mouse CAN'T defeat Superman. Mighty Mouse is a cartoon. Superman is a real guy."

"Yeah, but it would be a good fight, though." Vern interjected.

"Guys, sorry to interrupt, but what does this have to do with Daylight Savings Time?"

Teddy stared at me blankly. "Huh?"

I couldn't help but laugh.