Summer between 10th and 11th Grade, High School

Age: 15-16

August 2008

…

Gus hands the small bag across the counter to Mrs. Wilson and waves goodbye as the older woman heads out of Mr. Kelso's store. As soon as she's out of hearing, he chuckles slightly under his breath. When they were younger, he and his friends used to run across her yard as they traversed between the Detweilers and the Spinellis, and Gus remembers being terrified of her and her husband's disapproval. Now he knows better. Mrs. Wilson loves the neighborhood kids, but especially TJ, who mows her lawn and regales her with stories over iced tea after on her porch.

One day, they'll have to go see if they can still point out their initials that are carved into the base of the Wilson's tree in their backyard.

Gus sits down at the bar stool he has behind the register. Mr. Kelso, wanting to spend more time with his family this summer, had asked Gus if he wanted a job. Gus had jumped at the opportunity. Who could be a better first boss than Mr. Kelso? As soon as he turned sixteen at the beginning of July, he started taking a few shifts a week to give the man a much needed break.

Now that the summer is winding down and the school year is only days from starting, he feels that he can say he had a good summer experience. As his father had said, he learned the value of a dollar and the responsibility of work, more so than he had with his chores growing up. Plus, having Mr. Kelso as a boss was probably as good as it could get for a teenager working his first job. He knows he shouldn't take the opportunities he was afforded for granted.

Especially since he knows not all his friends were as excited about their summers as he was his.

All of his friends had been busy, just as they always seem to be during the summers. Mikey had taken a job as a camp counselor at the Young Voices Training Program, the same summer camp he had attended in elementary school. He had a great time and when they had all met up at Kelso's upon Mikey's arrival back, Mikey had regaled them all with stories. But, being a counselor had meant Mikey was gone almost all summer and so up until a few days ago, Gus felt like he hadn't seen Mikey in forever.

Instead, this summer he spent more time with Vince and TJ, spending their off hours down at Muddy Bottom Pond with a smattering of other neighborhood kids like Sam, Dave, and Phil. Vince didn't turn sixteen until the end of July, so he figured at that point getting a summer job was a little pointless. Gus isn't sure when Vince would have found the time to work a summer job anyway. Vince was on more summer sports teams than Gus could count on his fingers.

TJ, on the other hand, had gotten a job at Floppy Burger through his sister and Gus doesn't think he has ever seen anyone hate going to work as much as TJ. Sometimes he and Vince would ride their bikes through the drive-thru when they knew TJ was working, ordering the most absurd orders they could think of just to give TJ some fun. Vince has already promised TJ that next summer the two of them could work at the new stadium in Springdale where the minor league baseball team was playing. Last time he was at TJ's house he noticed TJ is literally crossing off the days until he can quit his job at Floppy Burger and go work the concessions for the Naturals instead.

He hadn't seen much of Spinelli and Gretchen this summer either. Spinelli was, yet again, being paid under the table by Madame Pavlova to help her run her summer camp. While Madame Pavlova ran the sessions for the older girls, Spinelli had the four- to six-year-olds. When he did see Spinelli, it was usually on the weekends or late at night while they sat in booths at Floppy Burger watching TJ close up. She said she enjoyed her job, which she said was little more than making sure the little kids got all their energy out before their parents came to pick them up at five. It's less ballet and more all-day gym class, she had told him a few weeks ago.

And Gretchen he had seen even less than Spinelli. When she wasn't at her internship at the University of Arkansas working in some lab that Gus thought sounded both cool and intimidating all at the same time, she was busy working on her college lists. She and her parents had started taking tours at some of the more local schools and she was now busy clustering schools by location so her family could utilize the school breaks to see as many as possible. Whenever Gretchen mentioned whittling her list down from, say, a hundred to ninety-six, it made Gus feel like he was falling behind.

Because, while he has thought a little about college and jobs and careers, he hasn't made any lists. Or, really, no serious lists. He has a few ideas in his head.

The bell above the door rings out and Gus looks up to see the newest patron. At first, all he sees is a flash of brown hair dashing over to the small paper and school supplies section. Then the door swings open again and Ashley T walks in.

He hasn't seen Ashley T, or any of the Ashleys really, all summer. He had waved goodbye to her when their math class had let out on the last day of school and that was the last he saw of her. He quickly takes a glance around, but he already knew there weren't any other patrons in the store at the moment. Not that that should matter.

She steps toward the counter and smiles at him.

"Hey, Gus," she says. "I didn't know you worked here."

He nods his head and, when his mouth malfunctions slightly and doesn't say anything, he just continues to nod until he can finally speak.

"Oh, yeah. I, uh, just started a few weeks ago. Giving Mr. Kelso some days off," he rambles. "It's been good. I'm enjoying it, but I mean, who doesn't like Kelso's?"

Oh man. What is wrong with him?

She smiles and nods. "That's good."

"Did you, uh, do anything this summer?"

He nearly kicks himself when he asks. Of course the Ashleys probably aren't working this summer. They're probably spending most of their days by the pool, sunning themselves and enjoying their time off.

But, she surprises him by nodding.

"The receptionist at my mom's office is on maternity leave," Ashley says. "So, I'm helping out there. Scheduling appointments, checking people in."

He frowns. "Your mom's office?"

"My mom is a dentist," she says. "She has a practice in Fayetteville."

Huh. He had always just assumed that the Ashleys had stay at home moms and fathers who made all the money by working as big wigs at one of the Fortune 500 companies nearby. Just goes to show that he shouldn't assume.

"I didn't know that," he says. "That's really cool. Are you going to be a dentist too?"

She laughs and shakes her head.

"Oh, absolutely not. I'm not the biggest fan of teeth," she says, flashing him a wide toothed smile. Then she shrugs. "I don't know. I'm still figuring it out. What about you?"

He shrugs. He had always just thought that he would join the military, but he isn't sure that he would make a good soldier. His father was an excellent soldier and a great leader and Gus isn't sure he can fill the shoes he left behind. That being said, his father still works for the military as a civilian and Gus has been debating that route. He can get a degree that he's interested in and still serve his country in a capacity that he's better at than holding a gun.

"I think I want to be an engineer," he says.

He hasn't told anyone that, not even his parents, but he thinks he would be good at that. He likes math and has always enjoyed building things. He used to make so many model airplanes with his father growing up that his mother forbade them from making any more until they cleared out the guest room. Plus, he could get his degree and be an engineer in the military if he wanted to do so. It seemed like a good fit.

"That's a solid career," she says. Then, before she has a chance to say another word, she turns to her side where her sister is now standing. "Find what you need, Britt?"

Gus does a quick calculation in his head, unable to believe that the girl beside Ashley T is one of the Brittanys. Although he supposes the girls weren't going to stay kindergarteners forever, that's how he always thinks of the Brittanys – tiny versions of their sisters. Now, standing side-by-side, Gus can see that not only is the younger Tomassian now almost a teenager herself, but that the two girls are not one in the same. Though they have similar coloring, with light brown skin and slightly darker hair, their facial shapes and features must take after different parents.

"She has her first day of middle school cheer tomorrow," Ashley explains, gesturing for Brittany to place her notebook on the counter for Gus to scan. "And she forgot that she was supposed to bring a notebook with her. Either that or she wasn't paying attention."

The younger girl rolls her eyes at her sister's words and taps her painted nails against the counter.

"Can we just hurry up?" the younger girl whines.

Gus rings the girls out and Brittany nearly yanks the bag right out of his hands, turning on her heel to leave the store.

"Sorry about her," Ashley apologies. "There's some stupid show that's on and she's missing the group chat apparently."

Gus waves her off. "Don't worry about it."

"I'll see you around?"

"You know where to find me," he says, gesturing to the counter.

She nods and gives him a small smile. "I guess I do."

As she turns to leave, Gus swallows hard, trying to stop the twisting of his stomach. He has always had a hard time not embarrassing himself around pretty girls. Usually it isn't too much of a problem. The only girls he really communicates with are Spinelli and Gretchen, which is not to say that they aren't pretty. It's just different. They're like his sisters.

Ashley T on the other hand…is not someone who had ever really been on his radar. Then this year he realized she can actually be nice. They've talked a few times in class and he does think she is pretty. Even though he will go to his grave before he tells anyone that – she still is an Ashley after all. He can't even imagine what Spinelli would do to him if she knew. His arm would be bruised for weeks.

Then, almost like karma, the bell over the door jingles and Spinelli stomps in. He shakes his head, ridding himself of any thoughts of Ashley T as Spinelli walks over to him. She slides onto one of the bar stools and crosses her arms.

"What's wrong?" he asks, his eyes immediately keying in on her scowl.

She blows out a breath through her nose. "Just wait for it," she grumbles.

"Wait for what?" he mumbles, but he barely gets through his sentence before he hears commotion at the front door, the bell jingling once again.

He looks away from Spinelli to see TJ rush in, followed by Vince, Sam, Dave, and Phil, all in their football practice jerseys. The twins and Phil all seem to be laughing at something and while Vince isn't laughing, he has a grin on his face.

TJ sits down on the stool next to Spinelli and nudges her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he says.

"Shut. Up," she says.

The boys all hoot and Sam leans against the counter on Spinelli's other side. "You're in the doghouse now."

"And you can shut up too," she hisses.

"Oh, come on, Spinelli. Stop being such a girl," Sam continues.

Spinelli lifts her middle finger and Sam retaliates with the same gesture. Gus glances around the group, but no one fills him in immediately as to what happened.

"Spin, I'm sorry I laughed," TJ says again. She still doesn't look at him and instead crosses her arms over her chest. "It wasn't funny."

"Oh, it was hilarious!" Dave says. Phil chuckles. "You just can't laugh because you're the boyfriend."

"What happened?" Gus asks.

"It's not as interesting as it seems," Vince tells him. "Spinelli's just being a diva."

She throws her head back and groans, pushing back from the counter so hard she nearly falls off the stool. TJ reaches behind her to catch her as she regains her balance and she stands up, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You guys all suck so much!"

Sam and Dave both look at each other and with identical glints in their eyes, say in unison, "That's what she said."

Gus figures this must have something to do with it because Spinelli turns red, stomping her foot on the ground and then heads toward the door as the boys laugh. TJ sighs and scrambles after her, leaving the four boys at the counter.

Sam slides into the stool Spinelli just vacated and shrugs at Gus. "She sets herself up for it."

Dave takes the seat TJ left, still chuckling. "Oh, that was so good."

Gus is still confused, having missed whatever happened earlier. He turns to Vince, hoping for a little more of an answer.

Vince sighs and leans against the counter.

"Long story short, she met us after practice and ended up being the butt of a that's what she said joke and she got all upset about it when TJ laughed," Vince says. He snorts at a memory. "In his defense, it was a really good one."

Sam pats his shoulder. "I think it might be one of my best ever. So witty."

"It's not all you," Dave insists. "You need a good set up for a that's what she said joke."

"And she set me up so well," Sam says.

Gus nods. He doesn't need to ask for more. The boys have been watching The Office all summer and have decided these jokes are the funniest ever. Sometimes they go over Gus's head, so he doesn't want to ask about this one, just in case. Then he'll end up the butt of the joke.

"Jeez, I don't know how TJ deals with it sometimes," Sam says.

"I mean, he has a type," Dave adds, nodding toward Vince.

Vince crosses his arms. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Literally his best friend and his girlfriend are the same person," Dave says, holding up his hand and ticking off his fingers as he adds, "hot-headed, world-revolves-around-me fools, the both of you."

Phil nods his head. "This year is gonna be a shit-show, isn't it? The two of you and the Ashleys running everything. None of you guys are going to agree."

Vince shrugs. "I'm president. I get the ultimate veto. That's how that's gonna work."

Dave pats the counter and Gus turns to the boy trying to get his attention.

"You've got your work cut out this year," he says. "Make sure his head doesn't explode, will you?"

Gus nods. "I think it'll be fine."

At least, he hopes it will be.

…

Notes

Gus mentions that TJ and Vince want to get summer jobs next summer working at the minor league baseball stadium. Arvest Ballpark opened in April 2008 and is where the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, the minor league team for the Kansas City Royals play. Where I grew up, so many of the boys (and girls!) in my class worked at the local minor league baseball stadium doing just that.

The Office aired from March 2005 to May 2013 and was a huge hit for this age group. Michael Scott (Steve Carell) utilized the That's What She Said joke often. (Side note: If I were fancasting for a live-action for these characters, I imagine Steve Carell would make a decent Bob Spinelli.)

I wanted to have a nice fluffy-ish chapter to start because junior year is going to touch on some heavy topics. So, just a short set up.

Welcome to Junior Year.