Carlos Ramon couldn't help but thank God for the weekend as he drove away from his law office in D.C. For the next two days, he wouldn't have to suffer through traffic, deal with bosses or clients, or quickly wolf down take out lunches or ramen noodles at his desk. Don't get him wrong, he loved his job, but like most people, he needed the break that the weekends provided.

Carlos was a bit of a complex fellow. He had always been a jokester, and he gained a reputation as a class clown in high school, although his jokes were seen as bad and barely tolerated by his peers. Luckily, he had some redeeming features. He was the captain of the junior varsity soccer team in his sophomore year, and he became the captain of the varsity team in his junior and senior years. He was very athletically gifted (although Ralphie always liked to brag that he was better due to him playing more sports). He could also play guitar really well, which helped his rep a lot. He also found that the guitar helped ease his stress when he had a lot of work or bad days.

Playing soccer all the time helped him gain a very muscular body and helped him grow to 6'2''. On top of that, he had wonderful chocolate brown eyes, long, messy raven hair, a chiseled face, and an irresistible deep voice. Many of the girls saw him as hot. Some even considered him the hottest guy in all of Walkerville High. Most of the time, he took advantage of his reputation as an extremely hot guy and milked it to the max. There were many times when the old Frizzle crew saw him hooking up with some random girl. Sometimes, all he had to do was wink at a girl, and it turned her legs into jelly.

Despite the fact that he had a large female following, there was something stopping him from gaining a long term, serious relationship. Some might think that he was just like Ralphie who didn't want to settle down, but it wasn't like that. He had thought of settling down with someone for quite some time during high school, but he never did. He always wondered what stopped him, but he could never figure it out. There were actually a few times when he thought he figured it out. He thought that he hadn't settled down with any girl because the girl he wanted to settle down with would never date him. He was very close to this girl and was so similar to her, yet so different. However, every time he thought of this, he would almost immediately deny it and say that she was just a friend. Most of his other friends seemed to think that he was wrong and just in denial, but he always dismissed them. Still, even now there are a few times when he thinks about if he really is in denial.

Anyway, there was something wrong with his high school life. His reputation as either a clown or a hot soccer/guitar player prevented people from knowing all the parts of his personality. Many people thought that was all he was, and he wasn't a serious student.

Oh, how wrong they were.

Carlos was actually one of the smartest students in all of Walkerville High. He didn't look smart because reading and researching wasn't his style of learning. He preferred learning through hands-on learning and experimenting. It did bother him a little bit that no one paid attention to his intelligence, but he also liked it that way. He loved having to prove himself to people, so this arrangement worked for him. At the end of high school, many people who looked down on Carlos couldn't help but see the error of their ways and began to respect him when he graduated in the top 10% of his class.

It was in high school that Carlos realized that law would be the career for him. The thrill of the fight in a courtroom and the chance to greatly benefit society fascinated him. Ever since that day in third grade when he argued at town hall to not get rid of wetlands to build a mall, Carlos grew to love the debating experience. He carried that fascination in high school, and it grew stronger with his constant fights with Dorothy Ann. Ever since third grade, Carlos and Dorothy Ann had gotten into a lot of arguments, and Carlos could never forget the purple vs violet argument they had. In high school, Carlos found that his constant arguing with DA helped strengthen his debating skills, mainly because they were constantly challenging each other's viewpoints, so he had come to be thankful for those fights.

After high school, Carlos attended Amherst College. He had heard many great stories of its pre-law program. Again, his college peers did not see him as a serious student, but Carlos enjoyed that since he could still prove people wrong. At the same time, he worked on getting over his jokester personality, knowing that it would make him look bad to his law school peers and professors, and especially his future employers. He became involved in Mock Trial and the Debate Society, which further strengthened his debating skills. He also worked on his womanizing ways in college. He went on a lot of dates his first year, but he began reducing the number of girls he went out with every year since then. He again surprised his peers when he graduated in the top 10% of his class again.

Due to his high GPA, large number of extracurricular activities, and LSAT score of 172, he was accepted into Stanford Law School. He was really excited, especially since he could follow in the footsteps of people like Sandra Day O'Connor and William Rehnquist. Of course, the law school experience was not all peaches and cream. There were many days where Carlos found himself suffering through large headaches while he was at the library buried underneath a pile of books, or at his apartment buried under piles of paperwork or books. Nevertheless, he persisted and worked his hardest to ace his classes and pass his exams.

At the same time, Carlos had a huge passion for science, all thanks to Ms. Frizzle's class. Carlos wanted to honor Ms. Frizzle by doing something in the name of science. Luckily, Stanford Law had the perfect way to help him merge his love of law with his desire to honor Ms. Frizzle. He chose environmental law as his area of interest and spent a lot of time involved with the Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Program, as well as the Environmental Law Clinic. He again graduated in the top 10% and officially had his J.D. Degree.

Afterwards, Carlos decided to work closer to Walkerville, as he had always had this huge connection with the town and couldn't be so far away from it for too long. 7 years away was already bad enough for him. He decided to work in D.C., where environmental policy is made, and luckily, it was close enough to Walkerville for him. He took the Uniform Bar Examination when he got to D.C. and after passing it, was finally allowed to practice law.

Currently, he worked as a young associate for the biggest law firm in D.C. that specialized in environmental law. The hours were long and the work was huge and tedious, but he was okay with it. He was satisfied with the amount of money he made and the fact that he could stand up for the environment.

Carlos finally reached his home in the outskirts of D.C., parked his car in the garage, and went to the kitchen to cook a nice meal. Cooking was one of Carlos' favorite hobbies since he loved experimenting and he saw every meal as a new chance to experiment by mixing new flavors and trying new cooking methods. After searing a nice ribeye steak in a cast iron skillet with melted butter and garlic and preparing a nice hollandaise sauce from fresh ingredients, he prepared a nice side of mashed potatoes with butter and bacon, poured himself a glass of nice pinot noir, and enjoyed his meal.

After his meal, he went up to his room and sat on his bed for a few moments before picking up his guitar and playing the chords to some of his favorite songs. It helped relieve his mind from the stressful week he had at work.

After a while he set the guitar down and went to the living room. He wasn't in a relationship at the moment, mainly because his tight work schedule left almost no time to date. He maintained his attractiveness, so it was still easy getting a girl. He did go on a few dates, but again, nothing ever turned into a serious relationship. He could say that he's been busy with work, but that would just be making excuses.

Well, I guess I'll check the mail.

He got the mail from the mailbox, went back inside, and sorted through the pile. He saw a letter from Walkerville Elementary. It was pretty surprising. He hadn't been there since he was a student. What could they have to say? He opened it and read the letter. After reading it, his face became saddened.

"The Friz is Dead?!" He couldn't believe what he had just been informed. He was about to start sobbing when his phone rang. He saw the caller ID as Ralphie, his best friend, and answered. "Hello?"

"Hey man," Ralphie said, "I have to ask you something."

"What?"

"Did you get a letter from Walkerville Elementary?"

"Yes. I can't believe it."

"I know man. I'm going to the funeral. You coming?"

"Well, I have a lot of work, but I guess I can make time."

"Great. Also, can you check to see if anyone else will be there?"

"I can check if Tim will be there."

"Alright. I'll check with Keesha. See you around, man."

With that, Ralphie hung up. Carlos took a few minutes to quietly sob, processing the news he had just received. Once he had composed himself enough, he checked his planner and saw that he would be available on the day of the funeral. He got his phone and dialed Tim's, his second-best friend's, number. "I hope he'll be there."