... Five minutes after Bernie turned onto First Street, Clark Olsen slammed the door of his house, jammed his hands deep into his pockets and tromped down Park Street toward town. He didn’t have a destination, he was just walking. Aimlessly, miserably walking. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was fourteen years old - practically grown up - he felt like he might even cry, he felt so bad.

Clark kicked at the rocks on the sidewalk as he walked. For a long time his life had been pretty simple: home, school, sports and hanging out with the other guys in the neighborhood. Now it was getting more and more complicated all the time. He had always been at the top of his class, the best at everything, and for that reason he expected that he always would be. Thank goodness, from the outside looking in, it still seemed that way. He was still the best looking boy in eighth grade, still a basketball champion, still the president of the Blazing Bandits. But that wasn’t enough anymore. Now life could only be complete if he had all that and Lisa Wondermore too.