Chapter 9: Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad

Nevin’s House, Bryanston, Ontario

11:45am, Saturday, October, 20, 1979

“Heck no, I’m not upset that your Momma asked if E and Mikey could go with us to the Knights game, tonight,” I replied from my bedroom over my Energist’s computer-telephone.

“If Mikey likes Harvey’s hamburgers, we’ll stop at the one on Highbury, and then head on to the Gardens ... Yeah, the game starts at seven, so if I pick you guys up at five-thirty that should give us plenty of time to grab something at Harv’s ... Yes, Bricky, last night was super amazing. I really thought your kisses were awesome! ... No, you’ve got nothing to apologize for ... No, you didn’t leave me high and hard, I chose to focus on you, last night ... Stop, stop, stop. We have all the time in the world ... That was the whole point, Brick ... Yes, I wanted you to experience that without worrying about doing something for me ... Would you, please stop apologizing! ... Trust me, I’ll let you know when you’ve done something worth beatin’ yourself up over or when I need an apology, ‘kay? ... Okay, just chill for this afternoon and I’ll be around to get you guys between five-fifteen and five-thirty ... For the last time, I’m not upset about bringing Mikey or E, or last night! ... I’m going to hang up now, Brick ... Alright. Be sweet and I’ll see you guys in a little bit. Bye.”

I let out a long deep sigh when my computer ended that call and faded into nothingness. ‘Good Lord,’ I thought as I leaned back in my desk chair. ‘Why can’t girls take what we say at face value like most guys do? If I say I was fine or didn’t need you to do something ... then I was fine and didn’t need anything! Sheesh!‘

Just then my computer reappeared on my desk and I saw a call coming from Lynette’s home number on the screen. “Hey, Cano. I thought you had a pool tournament this morning?” I asked to start off this conversation.

“I did, but that can wait. I just can’t deal with a jealous prick! Mike!” Lynette exclaimed over the telephone line.

“What happened?”

“We barely made it out onto Richmond last night before he was fussin’ at me ‘bout you and me, and you touching my butt a time or two. Jeeze-Oh-Peeze-Oh!”

“Did you try to... ?” I started to ask.

“I’d have more luck getting Samson and Delilah here to understand how we are, than I did with that ‘pea-brained’ idiot, Rannndall!” Lynette interjected knowing what my question was going to be. Samson and Delilah were the Robertson’s two Jack Russell Terriers.

“Oh, crap! This ain’t good if you’re already exaggerating his formal name,” I said trying to ease the tension level within my former girl.

“Oh! ‘Ain’t good‘ is an understatement! He was lucky I let him stop the car to get out of it. I was thisssss close to pushing him out of my car as we drove to his place down Wonderland Road.”

I could picture Lynette’s thumb and index finger with maybe enough room for a hair follicle to fit between them as she related her nightmare experience with Randy.

“Still kinda hot over this, I’m thinking, huh?”

“I was frichin’ knocked out of my snooker tournament in two straight games to players I should have, and actually have murdered in the past! Every one of my shots was ... urgghh! All I could see was his face on my target balls.”

“Ayyy-eyy-eyy, Cano! Power is good for breaks and not much else in billiards,” I replied.

“Yeah, no shit! I just donated that thirty dollar entry fee to the Kiwanis Club, and didn’t put more than three shots together in those six games. I still can’t believe I was swept 3-0 and 3-0 by two, two nobodies!”

“Should I even bother asking?”

“Ohh! Hell no! If I ever see that jealous prick again, I may send Sammy to kick his ass from here to eternity!”

“I seriously doubt you’d need Sammy’s help to do that, Cano!” I chuckled.

“You’re probably right, Cuda. You’re probably right,” she said in a half-way civil tone for the first time since her opening statement in this call.

“What time is your volleyball practice?” I asked in hopes of changing the subject to anything besides Rannndal.

“It’s from three to five, five-thirty. What do you have planned for later today?”

“Taking Brick, E and Mikey to Harvey’s and then to the Knights’ game at the Gardens. Want to hook up with us?” I replied and offered.

“Nah. Thanks, though. I’m hoping to burn off all this bad juju at volleyball, and then I think a good relaxing soak in the Jacuzzi would be better for me than sitting in a chilly arena.”

“Sounds like a plan, Cano. Still, I’ll be here ‘til five-ish before heading out. If you change your mind...”

“I’ll be at practice ‘till then, but I doubt I will, thanks, Cuda ... And thanks for letting me yell and scream ... and cuss and vent at you. Have fun at Harv’s and then at the hockey game. Say hi to Brick and E for me. Talk to you later.”

“Have a good burn out at volleyball and enjoy your soak, Cano. See ya, Monday morning.”

“Bye!”

“Bye, Cano.”

“Dang,” I softly said out loud to myself. I also sighed and slumped back into my chair once more after that eventful call from a ‘girl’-friend. I then chuckled, “All I need now is for Cathy to call and complain about Timmins and her band’s keyboard player, Clarence.”

I should have known better than to ‘think’ stupid things like that. Not ten seconds after my computer faded, it was back on my desk with the McGregory’s number on the screen. When I heard Paul’s voice say, “Hey! Cuda! How’s the band and school treating you?” I let out a hearty laugh at Paul’s question to which my friend added, “Do I really want to know?”

“No! Dude, you really-really don’t want to know!” I replied as I somewhat settled myself back to normal. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your telephone call, Paul?”

“I, uh, I know you don’t really like talkin’ ‘bout girl stuff, but with you a gazillion miles away, I just can’t help it. Me and Shania, er, Gina ... well we hit it off real well and uh...”

“Congratulations, my man! I’m really happy for you. I figured it was only a matter of time before she broke your defenses down. Ha! Ha!” I replied with a slight shot at my best bud.

“Good Lord! Mike! She’s just so, so incredibly hot ... and damn wild!” Paul exclaimed.

“That’s about all the descriptive information I’m gonna need on your Gina ... Shania activities, Dude!” I laughed and then confusingly tried to get those names for Paul’s girl straight in my head. “So, uh, what’s up with the Longshots? Are you able to play more often?”

“Yeah! Yeah! But the biggest change is in our band’s name. Shania, uh, Gina and Cathy got sick of Clarence’s bitching, so they tossed his ass to the curb. We got a new keyboard guy, and he seems pretty laid back.”

“Like you, huh?”

“More than me, if you can believe that?” Paul chuckled at my sarcastic reply. He then said, “Because Gina - Shania does all the lead vocals, we decided to change our band’s name to The Shania Twain Band instead of the Longshots. Shania, well, she never liked her real name Eileen. She wasn’t too thrilled with Gina, so she decided to use an Ojibwa name like her dumb-ass, step-dad. She bounced back and forth between Shania and Taneea for a few days, and then she told me last night that she was now, Shania Twain.”

“That’s a sweet name, Paul,” I replied.

“For a sweet and sexy girl!” Paul added, with his huge grin being transmitted through the telephone line.

“So, how’s Cathy and my second set of parents?” I asked.

“Shania set Cathy up with a tall, built Native Indian guy from school, Daniel Two-Bears. She seems to really like him, although I’m not completely sold on him, yet.”

“Well, give the guy a chance, but also keep an eye on him,” I replied.

“That’s what I’m planning on doing, Cuda. Ah, Mom’s been pretty busy with some new school thing, but she won’t give us any hints as to what it’s about. No biggie, I suppose. Dad’s traveling a good bit. He wants to check on all the outreach places before the wicked winter weather sets in up here. Hell, I thought it was already wicked! We’ve had two big snows and tons howling cold wind already! Can you believe that?”

“You’re in prime, Great White North country, Dude. Welcome to the beginning of some serious winter weather, my friend!”

“Yeah, thanks for frickin’ reminding me,” Paul softly whined. “Anyhow, I just wanted to pass those bits of news along to you. Share it with the Time Bandettes ... maybe not what me and Shania were up to, but the other stuff, ‘kay.”

“I will, Dude. Have a great weekend and do your best to stay warm!” I chuckled.

“At least I’ve got Shania to help me with that now!” Paul exclaimed and then added, “Later, Cuda! Bye!”

“Say hi to Cath, Tom and Bertha for me. Later, Paul.”

Masciotro House, London, Ontario

10:25pm, Saturday, October, 20, 1979

“You’re not going be out here suckin’ face, are you, Mike and Lisa?” Mikey Masciotro asked as he climbed from the back of my Barracuda.

“Mikey! I’m gonna blister your butt when I get my hands on you!” Brick called out laughing as she took two quick steps after her younger brother, and then stopped chasing the fleeing whipper-snapper.

“So, are you gonna be sucking face?” Eda asked with a grin. She immediately put her hands up in a boxer’s stance and laughed at her sister’s blushing face.

“That’s a distinct possibility,” I replied with a smile. I then decided to ramp up Eda’s emotions a notch or two. I gave Brick a little wink and then asked, “Brick, you wouldn’t mind if your sister joined us for a little fun now, would you?”

“No, No! As a matter of fact, I’ve heard she’s a pretty good kisser,” Brick replied with a straight face.

“She’d have to be one hell of a kisser to top your sugary sweet kisses, though,” I said as I walked around the front of my car and wrapped my arm around Brick’s slender waist.

Eda didn’t know what to make of our little semi-serious and semi-ruse type conversation as she stammered, “I, uh, yeah, I might would...”

“Relax, E,” I said as I leaned down and gave Brick a little kiss on her right cheek. “Right now, I think one Masciotro girl in my life is all I can handle.”

“That’s just not right, guys!” E exclaimed but had a huge grin on her face as she realized we were yanking her chain. “Like ... Brick, just know ... somehow, some way, I’ll get you back for that, Cuda.”

“Should I be concerned about that, Brick?” I asked as I rocked her in my arms from behind.

“Nah, I wouldn’t be too concerned. If, sometime down the road you do to her what you did to me ... she’ll forget all about this little bit of foolery.”

“Maybe,” Eda softly said, “but I’d really need something like what you did with Brick for me to wipe this from my memory banks.

“And do you see a time line for erasing this from your memory banks, E?” I asked as I rested my head on top of Brick’s brunette head.

“I don’t know ... maybe if I get something similar by, uh, say ... next Saturday, then I may forget that this happened!”

“Next Saturday!” Brick shouted and then laughed at her sister’s brazenness.

“How would a year from today work as a good deadline for this proposed get together, E?” I asked and held my hand out towards her to seal that agreement.

“Ha! I’m good with your little bit of fun, here. If the time comes ... as I’ve heard a few times since being in the Bandettes, then the time will come,” Eda replied as she moved in and created a sandwich of her sister, with me and Eda as the bread.

When Eda stepped back, she said, “I’m gonna run in the house. Don’t get too ‘sucky face’ out here, ‘kay.”

“Thanks for the advice, Sis,” Brick replied as we all walked to the back yard with Brick and I going to sit at the picnic table, and E heading in the back door.

“This picnic table might be a fun spot, huh, Mike?” Brick chuckled as she turned my previous statement back at me.

“I suppose we could find out if your Momma and Nonna are really okay with me having my way with you. Why don’t you hop on the tabletop and we’ll find out, Bricky.”

“You’d like that won’t you?”

“Yes, and I’m darn sure some beautiful young Italian girl would, too,” I replied and continued with our ‘one-up-manship’ game.

“Okay, okay! Enough, Mike. You mentioned you had something kinda important to talk with me about, so I’m guessing now is a good time to talk ... seeing how we could talk about fooling around on this table all night long and...”

“Are you gonna be okay if I go out with, but not date-date someone else?” I stated as plainly as I could to switch from our little game to our real life.

“Who? Do I know her?” Brick asked as she reached her hands over to mine.

“She’s not a student; not at Medway, or anyone from the schools we’ve played at,” I replied. I said this because Brick has seen girls fawning over me, similar to the hounds sniffing around her and the other Bandettes at our shows.

“Do you want her more than me ... like as a girlfriend?”

“Oh God! No! This would be a one, or every so often thing. Neither of us want it to be serious relationship,” I honestly replied to Brick’s rightful question. When I saw her troubled expression, I added, “Listen to me, Lisa ... if you’re not okay with me seeing this person ... or anyone, and that includes Lynette, Sammy, Stephanie, Jennifer, anyone; I’m more than willing to have it be just you and me,” I softly said as I picked her hands up in mine.

“So, uh, I’d still be your main, uh, what girlfriend? If you can tell me that this girl isn’t trying to steal your heart ... that she’s okay with just a few good times ... then, uh, yeah, I’m okay with you being with someone else. I know how things have been with you and girls since you’ve returned. So, uh, I just want to know that when you’re with me, that I’m your main girl, your main focus.”

“Lisa, YOU are my main girl ... and if this upsets you, you’ll be my only girl. We both know life is short and nothing is guaranteed, so I’m willing to give my all to you... this time through high school.”

“No, no. If I want to be treated as a big girl, like Lynette, Sammy, Cathy and Jennifer, I’m not going to pitch a fit and ask you to change your ways. I’m Lisa ... I maybe the youngest girl in our group, but I want nothing more than to be treated like the other Bandettes.”

I smiled at the ‘grown-up’ attitude shown by Lisa. I still wanted to make sure she thought completely through this adult situation, so I added, “You are a Bandette, Brick, but how about sleeping on this for a night or two ... then get back to me with your feelings, ‘kay?”

“Sure, Mike ... but I just don’t think it will change,” Brick replied and then yawned for the third time at the picnic table. “Do you mind if we just kinda call it a night, Mike? I’m kinda tired and, well, I didn’t sleep real well last night, if you know what I mean.”

“No, no probs at all with saying good night, Bricky.” We both pushed up from the picnic table and met at the end closest to her house. I leaned down to her upturned head and shared a light kiss with my grown-up teenager.

“Drive home safely, Cuda,” Brick said as she walked to her back door and I walked to the fence-gate.

“Sleep tight, Bricky. See you at church in the morning.”

“Nine-fifteen-ish!” she exclaimed before I heard the back door slam shut.

Main Office, Medway High School

10:35am, Friday, October 26, 1979

“Mike Nevins, what can I do for you this fine Friday?” Mr. Williamson said as I knocked on his office door.

“I just wanted to ask if it would be okay for me to bug out of here after the fourth, fifth period. I’d like to go and watch the Parkside - Voaden game in St. Thomas. Mom said it was okay, and I’ve already talked with Mr. Chidley and Miss Auzins, and got the homework in Physics and Latin. I doubt Froggy will mind if I miss PE in the ninth period.”

“So, your mom is cool with this and you’ve got your homework from your teachers, huh. But ... haven’t you heard that it is usually better to ask for forgiveness than for permission?” Mr. Williamson queried with a straight face.

“Come on, now, TR. You’re not gonna say I can’t go after I’ve been responsible and did all those ‘adult’ things, are you?” I somewhat whined after his question.

“Sign the ‘out’ book at noon, and bring a note from your mom on Monday, ‘kay?” he stated after keeping me hanging for a good three to four seconds.

“You ‘da Man, TR!” I said with a fist pump.

“Don’t get a speeding ticket in that purple monster of yours. Last thing I need is a call from the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) or City cops asking why one of my students was racing during school hours!” Mr. Williamson said with a smile.

“Yes, Sir ... Hey! Those are some sharp looking whistles, there!” I exclaimed as I pointed to the opened box of twenty, twenty-five neon green whistles on his desk. “Want me to take them down to the PE offices for you?” I asked thinking that was their obvious usage location.

Mr. Williamson picked one up from his desk and gave it a little blow. It created a unique high-pitched shrill. I also noticed a buzzer sounded in his office and in the main office area right after that whistle lightly howled

“These aren’t for the PE folks,” Mr. Williamson said as he dropped it back on his desk and hit a button to cancel the buzzer sound in his and the main offices. “You’ll find out about their use, probably on Monday morning,” he added with a smile and sat down behind his wooden desk.

“Thanks again for the permission ... so I won’t have to beg for forgiveness on Monday, TR,” I said as I backed out of our VP’s and my basketball coach’s office.

“Have a good weekend and I’ll see you back here... on Monday morning,” Mr. Williamson replied with a funky accented ‘back here’ sound to his salutation.

As I walked to my second floor locker to grab my math books, something about Mr. Williamson’s ‘back here’ phraseology still bugged the snot out of me. As I slammed my locker closed, a vision of eight students included me, sitting around the main office conference room table flashed in my visual cortex for a fleeting moment. I lightly banged my head on my locker when I couldn’t maintain or recreated that image. I then saw Tempe Sullivan coming down the hall, so I waited for her to get her math books from her locker.

“What was that ‘locker knocking’ all about, Cuda?” Sammy asked as she bounded up alongside me from the other direction.

“I just had a stupid short vision ‘bout me, you, Tempe, and a few other students ... sitting in the main office’s conference room. Weird, huh?”

“I guess that could be weird,” Tempe softly said as she snagged her books from her locker.

“Tempe, I’ve been meaning to ask. Why didn’t you, and that other girl, not wanna come eat with us at the Lobster, last Friday?”

“I, uh ... Me and my sister, we had a family outing planned. I, I appreciated you a-asking, though, Mike,” Tempe replied.

“Tempe, you’re always more than welcome to hang with us at games or whenever,” Sammy added with a smile at the pretty, petite blonde.

“You ready for Quig’s Friday math quiz?” Sammy asked after we walked down the side stairwell and neared our teacher’s first floor room.

“Oh, yeah. Factoring equations ain’t an issue with me,” I replied and stepped aside for Sammy, Tempe, Liz and Joanne Gramm to enter the room before I laughed and slipped in front of Brad and Andrew Wearing.

As we walked out of Quig’s math class, I asked Tempe how she thought she did on that factoring quiz. “I know I got four of the five right, and I think I may get part points on question 3, the one I think I screwed up on,” Tempe thoughtfully explained.

I leaned over towards Tempe and whispered, “I like it when you put multiple words together like that.”

“I’m a ... little more relaxed and comfortable with you and your friends, now,” Tempe replied with a small smile on her face.

After I gave her right shoulder a gentle squeeze, I told the rest of our crew that I’d see them either on Saturday at band practice or on Monday as I was heading down to St. Thomas to watch the Parkside - Voaden game.

“Want company?” Brad asked with his eyes pleading for me to say yes.

“I’d say yes, Brad, but I’m meeting up with Todd Daymend, Parkside’s QB and I’m going with him and a few of his teammates to Outback after the game. I’m not sure what time I’ll get back here.”

“You can’t be late picking me up, either!” Elizabeth said as she tugged on Brad’s arm.

“I guess I’ll be making a St. Thomas run with you some other time, then, Cuda,” Brad said.

“Drive safely down to St. T, Cuda,” Sammy said as she headed back towards the front of the school with Liz, Brad, Tempe and a few others who were milling around outside Quig’s room.

As I walked towards the rear hallway, I spotted Lynette coming from the gym and yelled, “Cano, got a sec?”

“Hey, Cuda, thought you were heading out to the Parkside game.”

“I am. I just wanted to check to see how you were doing after having a week to process that ‘Randy’ thing.”

“Nothing more to process. Like I told you at practice on last night, I’m not gonna put up with jealous control freaks. That only leads to trouble ... even my mom and dad said I was right to dump his sorry ass.”

“You got anything special planned for tonight?” I asked.

“Just gonna hit the pool table and work on my game. I’m still pissed about how I reacted at that tournament last Saturday,” Lynette replied and slapped her hands together for emotional emphasis.

“You’re gonna need to clear your mind like Kevin Costner does in For the Love of the Game,” I added as I gave my former girl a hug. It was sure nice to be able to do that, and not worry about her ‘new-ex-boyfriend’ getting all pissy about that mild PDA.

Mike’s Barracuda, Queens Avenue, London, Ontario

12:22pm, Friday, October 26, 1979

“Hey, RSFH!” Dr. Candi exclaimed as I opened my door and walked around to open the passenger door for her as she waited for me at the front entrance to her apartment.

“RSFH?” I quizzically asked as I leaned down to reach for the door handle and to give her a small kiss on her cheek.

“If I’m DC, Doctor Candi then you have to be RSFH,” she chuckled as she ran her hand over my cheek before she ducked into the bucket seat of my Barracuda.

When I hustled around and sat in the driver’s seat, I smiled at her and said, “Hmmm, RSFH, huh? Let’s see now ... RS ... Rock Star!”

“Football Hero!” DC added as she slapped me on my right thigh.

“Well done, DC. I kinda like it ... from you. I doubt it would go over too well with my friends, though,” I said as I pulled out into traffic on Queens Ave.

“Here, I bought this cassette for you. I hope you don’t mind that I opened it and got it set up like I wanted it,” DC said as she pulled an open cassette tape from her purse and slipped it into the tape deck in the dash.

“What is it?” I asked as I hit the turn signal to make a left turn onto Wellington Road.

“You’ll find out. I hope I’ve got it in on the right side,” she replied.

She most definitely did have that tape in on the correct side as I immediately recognized the piano introduction to Meatloaf’s Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad song.

“Oh, yeah, Candi! That’s a great tune and a great album! Thanks!” and then sang along with Meat:

“Baby we can talk all night.
But that ain’t getting us nowhere!
I told you everything I possibly can.
There’s nothing left inside of here.”

“You don’t remember why I cued up this song, do you?” she asked with a small pout on her pretty face as I sang along with the lyrics.

I turned to her at the stoplight and gave her a ‘Dahhh’ look. “Seriously! ... Medical degree ... Cracker Jack box! C’mon now, DC. You should know better than to doubt me on my music and my ... beautiful ladies.”

“So have the beautiful Bandettes ever doubted you on your music, RS?” Candi asked.

“Yes ... and they’ve lived to regret it a time or two,” I chuckled as I darted past an LTC (London Transit Commission) Bus, which was slowing to either pickup and/or drop off some passengers.

“Ahhh! How so?” Candi softly asked as she tucked her left leg under her butt and turned to face me.

“That’s for me to know and...”

“And for me to try and find out?” Candi laughed as she finished my statement.

“No,” I confidently replied, “I was thinking more along the lines of you ... experiencing, instead of finding out.”

“Ohhhh! Rock Star, Football Hero is a bad boy! ... I like bad boys!” Candi sultrily replied and drummed her fingertips over my bare right arm and Levi covered thigh.

“We’ll just have to see if you do or don’t,” I chortled and gave her a wink.

I then rejoined Meatloaf’s song and sang along:

“I want you.
I need you.
But there ain’t no way,
I’m ever gonna love you.
Now don’t be sad,
‘Cause two out of three ain’t bad.
Now don’t be sad,
‘Cause two out of three ain’t bad.

You’ll never find your gold on a sandy beach,
You’ll never drill for oil on a city street.
I know you’re looking for a ruby,
In a mountain of rocks,
But there ain’t no Medical Degree (Coupe de Ville) hiding,
At the bottom of a Cracker Jack box!“

(Note: Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad was written by Jim Steinman in 1977, and performed by Meatloaf. It was the first hit single from the Bat Out of Hell album, and reached number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number five on the Canada’s RPM Hit chart. The original lyrics are in () in that last verse regarding Candi’ Medical Degree.)

At the end of Two Out of Three, Candi softly said, “You sing that better than Meatloaf, Mike.”

“Thanks, but I’m thinking you may have a slight concussion if you really believe that,” I replied and then wiped a few loose strands of her browny-black hair from her face and tucked it behind her left ear. When my fingers touched her ear, Candi instinctively tilted her head to encourage a little more of those surprisingly pleasurable touches.

I had to laugh after Candi asked, “Have you had any Paradise By the Dashboard Lights experiences in this Barracuda?” when that song started to play after Two Out of Three.

“You are seriously, seriously asking for trouble, DC with all these ‘dahhh’ type questions. What am I going to do with you or more likely ... to you?” I asked in a dead serious tone.

“You’ll just have to give me your best ‘bad boy’ routine, and see if the good doctor can handle her medicine,” Candi replied in her own stone cold serious tone of voice.

“A challenge, huh? There ain’t nothing better than a good challenge from a beautiful lady,” I replied and stomped on the gas after being stopped at the last red light from south London into St. Thomas.

“Damn this Barracuda packs a punch!” Candi replied after being jolted back into her seat.

“Put some wings on this muscle machine and she’d fly!” I laughed as I had it over 80mph in a heartbeat. Just then a warning note appeared on my front window, which only I could see. The Energists’ message said, “Speed trap two miles ahead.”

With my ‘Cuda running at eighty-five mph, I eased off the gas, and let her coast back to sixty.

“Why you pullin’ the reins on this race horse, Mike?” Candi asked with a grin.

“Just a second,” I simply replied. As we crested the next hill, we saw four OPP cruisers along the side of the highway; two facing north and two facing south in our direction.

“Jesus! RSFH! How did you know the ‘Smokies’ were here looking for some bandits?” Candi asked as she sat back her seat and buckled up her lap belt.

“My little alien friends told me,” I honestly replied, knowing full well it would go right over Candi’s pretty brunette head.

“Little aliens! Good one, Rock Star, or are your aliens’ friends of the Football Hero?”

“Both, DC! Both,” I chuckled and smiled at her. I then added, “My vice-principal will also be happy that my alien friends told me about those coppers. He specifically told me, ‘No speeding tickets!‘ There sure would have been hell to pay on Monday if he heard I got one!”

When the cassette tape clicked over, I used my legs to steer the car as Bat Out of Hell boomed through my car’s speakers.

“I was a little disappointed that you guys didn’t play this song at that Sunday Aoeline show,” Candi said as she too played a little ‘air-drums’ to go with my ‘air-guitar’ actions. “I know that was a special show for your friends and all, but my brother said you flat ass killed this song’s guitar work and solos!”

“It definitely is a hoot and a half to play. I really-really have to concentrate on the foot switches and tone knobs to get the various sounds from my Silverburst guitar,” I replied and then sang:

“The sirens are screaming and the fires are howling,
Way down in the valley tonight.
There’s a man in the shadows with a gun in his eye,
And a blade shining, oh, so bright... “