sample chapter 14

I’m in American Government and totally tuning out of the lecture because I’m thinking about my dream from last night. It was about Chessa and I and we were in some house, but I’m not really sure it was her. It sounded like her but didn’t really look like her, but I can’t really remember because it was dark. We were in some room and there was a couch and she was wearing a white nightgown. I came up behind the couch and we started hugging and then we were fully kissing and she was breathing in my ear. Something serious was going on like I had to go away or do something dangerous, but I just can’t remember what it was. I just know that the moment was intense and we were like almost crying and stuff.
We get our first book assignment in advanced comp, and it’s Farewell To Arms. Last semester in writing class it was All Quiet On The Western Front and now another book about war. It’s my first time reading Hemingway so I’m wondering what it will be like. I write down some Smiths lyrics on my Pee-Chee from that song ‘Frankly Mr. Shankly’ off The Queen Is Dead album because I was listening to it all night while talking to Chessa and Kirtis. When the bell rings, I’m all gay and lame because that dream is still stuck in my head and so I’m the second to last one out of class right before the nerd who’s all upper pants and huge backpack.
I’m walking towards my car when a girl with light brown hair comes up to me out of nowhere.
“Hi, I’m Shawna.”
“Hey,” I nod and give her a once over. She’s all young and cheeks but looks rad wearing tight bleached jeans.
“You’re Brent right?”
“Yeah, how did you know that?”
“Haha, that’s funny,” she laughs and then looks away and then over at some other girls who are unlocking their bikes. “You know my friend Trista? She’s the blond standing over there hiding from you,” she laughs.
I look over at the girls and see a tall brunette who is all elbows and then some short fat one and then there’s Trista. “She the one with the red shoes?”
“Yep, that’s her. So you had tennis with her last year and she totally has this big crush on you,” she looks at me and then back at Trista. “She’s totally too shy to come over.”
I look back at Trista and she looks over at us quickly and I can tell she’s fully embarrassed and then they start laughing while I just stand there, not really knowing what to say.
“So here, that’s Trista’s number and she wants you to call her okay?”
“Uh, okay,” I say while looking at the torn piece of notebook paper with Trista Chamberlain written on it in big letters and then the phone number underneath.
“So call her, like for real okay,” she says and then starts giggling while going back to her friends.
I put the piece of paper in my pocket and then wave toward them and they all wave back. I start going through my backpack while checking out Trista on her bike. She seems cute but really young like probably a sophomore. Her body seems young too like she doesn’t have a lot of curves and stuff. She has curly light brown hair which isn’t really blonde with some freckles on her face. She’s like around the same size as Lisa but with less body.
I grab my stuff and then head out to the parking lot. I spot my 210 under the tree and now it has leaves all over it. I open the hatch back, throw in my stuff and slam it shut, then get in and start the engine. I just sit there for a second remembering that day when those girls on bikes where waving to me, but I was already past them and it was too late to wave back. I’m pretty sure now that it was Trista and her friends that I saw that day.
I leave the parking lot and head down the street toward Walnut and see that an accident just happened. The light turns green right as I arrive and while slowly turning left, I see a Celica parked in the middle of the street and then a bike with its front wheel all mangled lying in front of it. Some girl is sitting on the curb with a few people standing around her. I can see that the girl is crying and an older lady is checking her out her leg which is all bloody and then I’m past it and down the road. I just keep driving while looking in the rear view mirror and after I turn right at Yale, I hear sirens and can see a fire truck coming out of the fire station on the corner. I make two quick lefts and then pull into the driveway and shut off the ignition. I just sit there, listening to the sirens and the image of that girl crying and her bloody leg start making me sick and so I just sit there for a few minutes until the sirens stop.
And at work later I’m still bothered by it but don’t say anything to anyone because I know that if I do, everyone will want to know all the details and stuff, but I don’t really feel like talking about it and getting that sick feeling again. I go out back twice with Shana to smoke cigarettes and during the last one, she asks me what’s wrong with my ass today because I’m all quiet and stuff so I tell her about wanting Chessa and also about the accident. She tosses her cigarette and then tells me “That sucks”, but then she’s just all whatever about it and goes back inside and I’m glad she wasn’t all efforts for the details.
I watch Three’s Company before starting homework and it’s the hilary one where Jack secretly goes on a date with Larry and Terry and sits in the booth next to them at some restaurant. Larry is all nervous and doesn’t know what to say so he listens for Jack to tell him stuff and then repeats it to Terry. Then Jack starts getting distracted by his date who is that blonde idiot named greedy Gretchen and so things all are confusing and stuff when Larry thinks Jack is talking to him when he’s actually talking to Gretchen. I fully roll when Terry looks at Larry and she’s all “Why would you say that?” and he just looks off into space and says, “I don’t know” because he was just repeating what Jack was saying. Full House comes on after, but I don’t feel like watching it so I open my Sociology book and start reading chapter seven. I decide that tonight I’m going to tell Chessa that I like her and ask her out for this weekend. I’m so not into this chapter so I pull out my diary instead and write about last weekend and then hear the garage door opening and the Mazda pulling in.
Dad makes Halibut, rice and peas for dinner and normally it’s one of my favorite meals, but tonight every thing looks like the accident and especially the halibut so it takes awhile for me to eat it. I feed Sneakers and then go into my room and close the door. I look in my closet for some alchy, but there isn’t any and I already knew there wasn’t, but I had to check anyway. I look at my clock and it says 8:52 p.m. I decide to call Kirtis first.
“Hey what’s up?”
“Not much, just doing homework.”
“I’m gonna tell Chessa tonight.”
“You’re gonna call Chessa tonight…and?”
“I’m gonna tell her that I like her and ask her out for this weekend.”
“Fuck yeah! About fucking time.”
“Okay I’ll call you after.”
“You better.”
We hang up and I immediately rise to 159°F. I look up at Morrissey and then over at Richard Butler and finally at Bono. They just stare at me like they know everything and they’re fully pissing me off and then I imagine Bono calling some chick and telling her that he fully likes her and it cracks me up.
I dial her number.
“Hi.”
“Hi, how are you?”
167°F. “I’m good,” I say while leaning back against my bed and staring at my feet.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh just taking a break from doing homework. I’m just like all tired and stuff so I wanted to call you before I get started again.”
“Cool, so how was your day?”
“It was okay. There was like, this accident after school.”
“Really…what happened?”
“I was just leaving and so as I was turning left at the light, I saw some girl on the curb and her bike was all thrashed. I think she was hit by a car.”
“Oh my god, was she hurt?”
“She seemed okay but like her leg was all bloody and stuff.”
“That’s horrible. Did you stop or anything?”
“No, there were already people there and stuff and then as I was driving away I heard the sirens.”
“God that sucks.”
“Yeah. It made me feel sick and then when I went to work, I just kept thinking about it and stuff. So how was your day?”
“Well nothing like that, but it was okay I guess. I had a chem test today and then Erika came over and we ate like a whole bag of Doritos while studying,” she laughs.
“Cool.” I look up at Bono again and almost start laughing but don’t and then put in the Organization tape and ‘2nd Thought’ starts playing. “So I was just like wondering about well…just what’s going on with stuff.”
“What stuff?”
“I don’t know…like, it’s just that we talk all the time and like I haven’t even seen you since like that first time at the dance,” I say and now I know there’s no going back.
“I know, that’s totally hilary. But I asked you to that party last weekend,” she laughs and I feel all lame.
“Yeah I know. I was just wondering like, I don’t know…like, I guess just how you feel about stuff?”
“You mean about you?”
“No, about Nathan,” I laugh and then punch my pillow.
“Oh god, you know we’re totally just friends.”
“I know, you told me.” Pause. “I guess I just wanted to say that we should like go out, like maybe this weekend if you want to?”
“That’s cool. Well Friday there’s the football game and on Saturday I’m going over to Erika’s because it’s her Mom’s birthday.”
“Oh really, that’s cool.”
“Yeah, she’s totally been bugging me about what to get her and stuff because it’s her 40th birthday.”
I look over at the window and then at Morrissey and it’s like he doesn’t even care what’s going on.
“So I guess this weekend your busy then?”
“Yeah but we should totally do something. Are you going to the New Order Concert?”
“Yeah, Kirtis and I got tickets so we’re fully going.”
“Cool. Erika and I are going too so maybe we can see each other there?”
“Yeah totally. We can just meet somewhere.”
“Okay. Well I have to go finish some homework, but I’ll call you tomorrow…no wait, I’m going out with my parents tomorrow night to some dinner, but I’ll call you on Friday okay.”
“Okay,” I say and I’m just all lame and the moment is over anyway so I just say goodnight and then she’s gone.
After telling Kirtis about it, he says that she fully likes me and that something will probably happen the next time we see each other and it fully makes me happy and excited for the concert. I fall asleep to the rest of the OMD tape while thinking about Chessa and she’s wearing that nightgown from the dream last night and the weekend of the New Order concert seems so far away.

I toss my backpack on the bed and flip on some TV. The Dating Game is on and Chuck Woolery is all tan and perfect hair. This blonde chick is all teeth for her date and when they do the phone call, the guy she went on the date with is all teeth too and so it’s like the perfect match. I decide that I want to play some ball so I put on some shorts and a t-shirt, grab my basketball out of the garage and then head over to the courts. As I cross the street and into the parking lot of the elementary school, I make a duck face at some kid who’s riding by on his bike and he fully cracks up and then I realize that I was upper duck and I fully start rolling.
I shoot around for a little but it’s just with Dave and Than and some other guy that I don’t know, but no one else comes so after I nail a three-pointer from the top of the key, I bail.
And later that night I talk to Lisa and then Kirtis and he tells me about a party in Laguna Beach this weekend and how he knows the two guys who are throwing it and how they’re called Camarash Productions, and I fully roll because it’s like a business or something. I remember that I’m supposed to call Kim and tell her about it, but I still haven’t heard from Traney and so I don’t feel like talking to her yet. He also tells me that Dana is going and that they talked about it during photo shop so he’s all teeth for Saturday night, and I’m just gums because I wish Chessa was going, but she’s got plans this weekend.
I’m Friday teeth and during tennis class we play against Christine and her partner Kelly. I totally take it easy on my serve against Christine, but Kelly is all buff legs and backhands and when the whistle blows, we’re tied at three games each. I’m all slow and stuff while putting my racket away, but Christine and Kelly take forever and they’re all conversations and things so I just end up walking back to the gym by myself while wondering what time Chessa is going to call tonight.
Grace is all efforts during trig and after the quiz, she asks me about clubs because she wants to go to one. I tell her about Jagg and then Sensations but then she says that she wants to go to one in Newport so I tell her that I don’t know about clubs there and then she tells me that they’ll probably just go see Rocky Horror again.

“Hello.”
“Hey faggot.”
“Traney?”
“You got a good memory,” he sort of laughs.
“What the fuck? Where were you?”
“I’m in fucking Dallas man. That’s where I moved,” he laughs but it’s all asshole like.
“No shit dickhead but like what took you so long?”
“Yeah yeah, always fucking complaining.” Pause. “Things are cool. I hate school but met some cool people and stuff. And the scene is awesome. Fucking different chicks every night.”
“Really. So you’re like fully getting action and stuff?”
“Yeah, it’s different here. Not so much bullshit and crap like in fucking Irvine.”
“Have you called Kim?”
“Was wondering how long it would take you. Look, I like Kim. She’s cool and stuff and not all fake and shit like those other fucking bitches there, but I’m not gonna call her ‘cause there’s just no point. I mean I’m in fucking Dallas and she’s there. What’s the fucking point?”
“The point is that she fully digs you man and you guys fully got together right before you left,” I tell him with force while standing up and opening my window. The air feels good and then I walk over to my stereo and turn up ‘She Sells Sanctuary’.
“You’re just gonna have to tell her then?”
“Tell her what?”
“What I just fucking told you. Are you there Brent…hello, anybody home?” He’s all force and angry and stuff and I don’t get why is so pissed off.
“Well I’m glad you’re having fun and shit, but fuck you for asking me to tell her that,” I say and then ‘Little Face’ comes on.
“Dude, just do it for me okay. I’ll call you later,” he says and then I hear the click and he’s gone. I hang up the phone and stare at my pillow and then grab my nerf basketball and do a reverse dunk. So he just called to tell me to blow off Kim. Asshole.

Brent's Freewrite from 4th period advanced comp, 11/18/86

It's Tuesday and I'm bored. I think it's time for a poem. You know it wasn't that bad of a conversation last night. I mean she said "don't worry" when i said that i was confused again. She was being cool and she was just sick and you know how it is when you're sick. She was sort of reassuring when she told me to have a good day. And also she said she hasn't been calling anyone lately so she said she called Nathan but then that "...well the only reason I called him was to argue about someone."
She says These things so that I know that she doesn't like Nathan even though I already know she doesn't. I was just depressed because she was and also because I want her to go so bad this friday. Go go gadget Friday. She might be going to the football game that's in La Habra but then again she might not(I hope).
I just want her so bad. For so long I have waited. I'm continuous Chessa in the brain 24 hours a day. I respect her decision if she goes to the game. She wanted to make sure that I didn't think it was an excuse not to go dancing.

Chapter 3 'She Smells Good' / The party scene

We arrive after driving up some hills with big houses and park between a Fiat and a Suzuki Samurai. I step out and glance around and there are a couple of people standing outside the front door but then they go inside. It’s at that moment that Gary comes over.
“Okay here’s the deal. It’s my bros party so he’s just invited some of his friends over and it’s cool if I bring some too, but we’re keeping it mellow so the cops don’t come.”
“And your parents?” Kirtis calmly adds.
“They’re away for the weekend,” he smiles. “So like there’s plenty to drink but like just keep it cool ‘cause we don’t want to fuck it up,” he tells everyone.
“Cool man. What’s your brother’s name?” Traney asks.
“His name’s Mike. He looks like me but taller,” he says and looks toward the house.
“So Becky says all of you are cool. And I already know you,” he says and rubs Kim’s head and she tickles him but he deflects her hand and then rubs her head again. “So just go in and hang out, have a good time,” he says and nods at Traney.
“Cool,” Traney says and then they slap hands and bang fists and it’s all solid and perfect and then Gary heads back to his car to meet up with his friends.
“Hey thanks for the invites Becky,” Kirtis smiles and pats her on the shoulder. “He seems pretty cool. How do you know him?”
“Oh we used to be neighbors when I was little. My parents adore him,” she smiles. “We used to take vacations together, like our families and stuff and we still get together for parties and things like that.”
“Oh okay so…which one was your house?” Kirtis looks around as if he would be able to figure it out.
“Not here dummy! I told you I moved from the valley like when I was ten,” she says and sighs.
“Oh yeah that’s right…you did,” he says and gives her a lower lip of reassurance.
I look back at the house and see Gary heading toward the door, some girl holding his hand and some other guy following. I check out the girl’s ass and I see Kirtis glancing at it as well. We start walking toward the front yard as Becky goes over the story with Kirtis again.
“So yeah like first they moved when I was around nine I guess and then after fifth grade during the summer we moved to Irvine,” she says and she’s all hand gestures and things.
“Yep and now she’s my neighbor!” Kim adds and shows teeth while hugging Becky.
Kirtis leads the way into the house and as the door opens, a Yaz tune starts playing and it's like perfect timing. We all stand around and we’re all lame for a moment but then everyone starts moving around and soon enough we’re absorbed by the party. As usual Kirtis and I scan the place looking for babes. Kim and Becky have beers and talk to Gary and some tall dude who looks just like him while we head for the kitchen. The counter is piled with various bottles of hard liquor and some guy is working the blender.
“Dude just fucking go for it. You are all over that man!” he tells me and he’s all loud and his breath reeks of tequila. Kirtis goes over to him.
“Hmm...margaritas. Are those strawberry flavored?” He smiles at the guy and introduces himself.
“Dude you don’t even know how good my margaritas are,” he smiles at Kirtis and hands him a red plastic cup.
I decide on a rum and coke and go for the Bacardi. I feel funny in some stranger’s kitchen but no one says anything so I just make the drink. I spot a cut up lemon and squeeze some into the cup and toss in a few ice cubes which I snag from a bucket on the counter.
“Oh dude…duuude! Please make me one of those,” I hear and look over at this tall brunette pointing at me from the dining room. Some guy is hanging all over her while kissing and messaging her neck.
“Yea guy, me too…and…yeah like easy on the coke but put lots of rum,” he says and I can hear his lips smacking. Then the brunette turns and they start making out and fall on a couch.
I make two more drinks while downing mine when Traney appears. I stare at him and then at his eight-buckle boots while he tosses a shot of something, probably tequila and then he heads toward the patio. I leave the two drinks on a coffee table next to the couch and the guy tells me “right on bro” with his mouth full of the brunette’s tongue.
On my way to the living room I say “what’s up” to a tall dude that looks like Gary’s brother.
“Hey dude, you one of my bro’s friends? I’m Mike,” he says and nods with glassy eyes. I slap hands with him and when that happens I feel okay to be here and make my way upstairs. I pass some photos on the wall and notice that both brothers play a lot of sports. I reach the top and there is a large room to the right where people are hanging out. I glance to the left and down a small hallway where there are other doors, all of them closed. I take a sip from my cup,almost finishing it and take a right.
“What’s up dude want some smoke?” some long haired blond surfer type asks me as I walk into a large entertainment room with a pool table, couches and lots of space. There are trophies on shelves and other shit but there are no lights on, only the TV.
“No I’m cool,” I say while holding up my cup.
“Yeah...get the nasty head spins that way,” some girl adds with a glazed look on her face. I glance at the TV and some scary movie is on.
“Well chill out man. Plenty of room on the sofa,” he adds and various people move legs and things so I can sit down.
“Just going to go downstairs and make another drink. So does anyone want something?”
A hand pops up from the floor and I hear “screw driver” and then the hand disappears and the girl with glazed eyes laughs. I nod and glance at the TV as a throat gets slit and I decide that a cigarette sounds good. I turn to go back downstairs and see the drunk couple I just met heading down the hallway, laughing and drinking.
“Okay you win. But we’ll be careful and not break anything,” she warns and shakes a wasted, mocking finger at him.
“Alright...gees mom.” He drops his head and then starts cracking up while she slaps his shoulder.
“Hey how are the drinks?” I ask.
“Oh hey, it’s the bartender dude! Hey man what’s your name again?” He stumbles backwards a little but doesn’t spill his drink.
“Brent,” I tell him and I can feel the rum and coke hitting me.
“Casey man,” he tells me and leans forward. We slap hands while I look over at the girl and she turns towards me, sipping her drink.
“Michelle,” she says with an ice cube in her mouth and then I hear a crunch. “Excellent rum and coke,” she nods while holding up her drink.
“Cool you liked the splash of lemon,” I smile at her and then toss the last sip from my own cup.
“Fuck yeah…perfect,” she smiles and I realize that she’s staring at me strongly. I check her out and she’s all athletic looking like a volleyball player or something. She is tall and all shoulders with a full tan and long hair which is in a pony-tail.
“Well bartender Brent…we’re going in there for awhile,” he tells me and winks while pointing to a room with double doors. “So like maybe we’ll see ya downstairs for another drink Next round is on me,” he smiles and opens the door.
“Where do you think the bathroom is?” Michelle looks at me and then I open a door just behind me and point to it somehow knowing it’s a bathroom. I look over at Casey, but he has already gone into the bedroom and then all of a sudden I smell girl and rum and then feel a tongue and lips all over my ear. Michelle has her arms around me and I look over her shoulder towards the bedroom but don’t see Casey.
“Thanks sooo much for being cool,” she says and kisses me hard on the mouth and then smiles at me. She stares at me for a moment and I’m just gay and lame. Then she’s gone and the door closes behind her and there’s no way that just happened. I walk over to the bedroom where one of the double doors is open and I see Casey face first on the bed.
“Have fun in there,” I tell him.
“Thanks dude. Plan on it,” he tells me, his voice muffled by the bed.
I stand in the hallway between the bedroom and the bathroom and I am out of Casey’s view. I focus on the talking and music coming from downstairs and can hear some Van Halen. It seems like a long time before I look at the bathroom and stare at the light coming from under the door and imagine Michelle in there with her pants down. Then I have the balls and go for the door but then I hear the knob turning so I turn and head down the stairs just as she comes out. I look back with one foot on the stairs and “take it easy” comes out and it is all efforts and lame sounding.
“See ya,” she says while smiling and waving and then heads to the bedroom. She’s so insanely hot at that moment and I totally want her. I turn back downstairs and see Kirtis at the bottom.
“What’s up dude…been looking for your ass,” he smiles while pointing at me.
“My ass is here,” I laugh and then float down the stairs. “Fuck dude I am getting trashed.”
“Yeah my ass is already there. Shit, Van Halen rocks man,” he tells me while we high five each other.
“Fuckin’ A it does. The last time I heard this album was in Parkwood.”
“Exactly! Listening to ‘Jump’ and dancing around Stephanie’s apartment.”
“Yeah we just need to turn off some lights and put the Duran Duran album on,” I tell him while checking out the crowd in the living room. I see Traney as I glance down the hall, past the kitchen and out the sliding door. He’s on the patio smoking a cigarette and talking to Kim.
“That’s fucking funny man, the Duran Duran record. It was those last two songs, ‘Save a Prayer’ and ‘The Chauffeur’. Fucking rad make out tunes,” he tells me and I can see him remembering.
“Yeah and like where the fuck were her parents? There was just like a bunch of us in her living room making out,” I say and start laughing.
“No shit. Well it was like just Stephanie and her mom. The mom would go out on dates and Stephanie would have those make out parties. She was fucking hot too, her mom.”
“I don’t remember the mom too much, but I remember having to get up and start the record over,” I tell him and lean over, cracking up.
“Fuck, that is too funny! Someone would have to get up and start the record over and then everyone would just start making out again,” he laughs.
“Dude your killing me. It was always a different person getting up to change the record. No one like said anything, it just happened!” And now I’m doubling over it’s so funny.
Kirtis wipes his eyes and then looks toward the kitchen. “Dude is still in there making margaritas,” he tells me and shakes his head. “I drank a few with him and there he is still going. So you went up stairs? What’s going on up there?” he asks and looks up the stairs.
“Oh there’s just some stoners watching a scary movie. Friday the 13th I think. Shit I’m supposed to make a drink for some dude on the floor. What the fuck was it? Shit…oh yeah a fucking screwdriver. How did I become the freaking bartender? You want another drink?” I point a finger at him.
“Another drink? I still have this margarita!” He looks at me and then tosses the rest of it. “Okay I’m good for another,” he says and nods his lower lip.
I tell him about Michelle and he tells me to go for it. Then I mention the other guy Casey and we agree that they are probably doing it and my chance is gone.
“Well... I’m going to take the dude his drink and maybe I’ll see her,” I say, looking around the party. I make the screwdriver and Kirtis is all questions about how Michelle made the moves on me and why I just stood there and didn’t kiss her back or anything.
“So I’m like on the patio and there’s like lounge chairs and shit,” Kirtis tells me and then I watch him open the slider and I notice Traney with an arm around Kim. Someone has changed the music and now some Oingo Boingo is playing.
“Lounge chairs...what’s going on? Where did they come into the story?” I ask, confused.
“Okay where like the fuck have you two been?” Traney is all eyes and teeth and hugs both of us.
“Well I was like around and upstairs and what not and I think Kirtis has something to say about lounge chairs,” I say looking at Kirtis. He walks behind Kim and does this trick thing to remove the cigarette and takes a drag. I notice three other people sitting on lounge chairs.
“Kirtis, what’s this about lounge chairs?” Traney asks and takes a drag off his cigarette.
“Brent, let me have a sip of your drink!” Kim yells me and goes for the cup.
“Well okay you can have it, but it’s for some dude upstairs so like you can make another then?”
“Yeah of course,” she says and she is quicker than light while swiping the drink. She takes a sip while Kirtis and Traney are laughing and I look at my watch which tells me it’s almost midnight. Becky walks over and says that we need to go soon.
“Cool party eh?” Kim asks us.
“Yeah man. Everyone’s cool...no assholes or anything,” Kirtis nods.
“Drinks flowing,” Traney adds.
I nod while looking around the yard and out past the fence at all the city lights blinking. Up here in the hills it’s quiet and there’s just a light wind blowing, some voices and the music inside the house. I close my eyes and get the spins again.
“Okay that guy keeps wiggling his finger at me. Like what is that?” Kim asks while looking into the house.
“Um...it means come over here so I can lick you,” Traney says and he’s all serious and then Kim smacks him in the arm. I look at an upstairs window wondering if Michelle and Casey are in there but there are no lights on. I picture them up there having sex and…then we’re in the car and I’m in the back seat with Kim and Traney who are all over each other and I wish I had a Del Burrito and fries.

Excerpt from Brent's diary / May 1993: Chuck E. Cheese

Was having coffee with Kirtis today at Diedricks and neither of us could remember that guy's name. So right after that hot raver chick walked by and smiled at us, we started talking about him. He was this wild dancer who was all arms and legs and made faces while he danced. We called him Voodoo. This was back in 1984 when we were break dancing at Chuck E. Cheese pizza . They used to have dancing on Friday nights and the crowd was like between 12-16 years old. Some high school and some junior high. We got to join Matt Otto's crew there one night. The famous popper and break dancer who was in the Irvine World News once doing his famous pose. I'm off the subject...Voodoo, as he was called has since taken several aliases such as lightening and electricity. Actually not really aliases because we just gave him those names when we couldn't remember Voodoo. Not sure why we gave him those names anyway when they have more to do with each other than they do with Voodoo(what a crack up). He did look like this crazy magic guy. Remember that Voodoo guy from the classic James bond Film Live and Let Die with the snakes? Picture him but as a 15 year old white teenager. Chuck E. Cheese...also the place of that fateful meeting with Jennifer Sewell. She would break my heart two years later and i would write a 5 page essay about her in my advanced comp english class in senior year.

Excerpt from Brent's Diary / November 1989: Why is Terry Happy?

No idea. But he was, at least in the drawing anyway. Kirtis and I went to Rancho junior high school together and that is where we met back in 7th grade. Every morning a bus would arrive from the El Toro marine base bringing kids to Rancho middle school in Irvine. The kids that got off that bus from El Toro were called 'the base kids' by the rest of the kids who lived in Irvine. The base kids seemed a little tougher and louder than the rest of us. Terry was a base kid. He wore striped t-shirts and jeans a lot and he seemed much older like a high-school kid and he was taller than everyone. I remember playing basketball with him or against him and his body...it was just bigger than anyone else and when he'd go up for lay-ups he would make this like....ahhhhgggg type sound like it was hard or something. The base kids normally stuck together and didn't mingle too much with the Irvine kids so i didn't really know Terry but he never seemed threatening to me. Kirtis drew a picture of him once(we drew a lot of pictures of different stuff at Rancho especially in Mr. Schram's spanish class)of just his face and he is smiling. Above his head it's written, 'Terry Happy'. Maybe that's how Kirtis saw him. Who knows but Terry is in my head now and i can't get him and his striped aaahhhgggg t-shirt out??