It was a gorgeous Friday afternoon, and Sherri was busy packing for the weekend. The "Pats" were headed up the canyons for a night of camping and an all day hike the next morning. The "Pats" included Sherri, Kevin, Lisa, Micah, and Jen. They all lived on one cul-de-sac in Orange County, Patrick Street, and had been friends as long as Sherri could remember. Their parents had originally called them the "brat pack" (because of the 80's movie and because of the trouble they often caused), but they had changed it to the Pats (after the street) when they got older. They were older now and would be starting their senior year in just three weeks. It was hard to believe the summer was almost over... At least they still had a little more time.
Sherri tucked the sleeveless, blue shirt into her white shorts. As she grabbed the Walkman off her desk, she noticed the picture from the women's state basketball championship. It was hard to believe this was the same bunch that had learned to ride two-wheelers together in the middle of the street. Now they were all 18 and ready to start their senior year.
Lisa stood in the middle of the picture, holding the game ball. Micah stood next to her, arms raised in victory. With both of them in their basketball jerseys and short, you would swear they were sisters. Both were tall (nearly 5'9") and very trim with long, blond hair. Micah's only came to her shoulders while Lisa's went half way down her back, but both always kept it in a braid or ponytail, so you couldn't tell the difference. Lisa had always been stronger than Micah, and was a little thicker than Micah. Lisa complained about not being as thin as Micah, but Micah always responded that at least Lisa had the boobs to match. Micah always had joked good-naturedly about the size of her breasts. She was only a 34B, while Lisa was a perfect 34C.
Of course, Jen always rolled her eyes when Micah and Lisa got started. Jen was barely a 32A, and didn't even need a bra... although you couldn't tell it from the picture. She was standing on the left in her cheer outfit looking much more than an A cup. She always wore a water bra AND padding when she was in her cheerleader outfit (which was just about always at school). Not that she needed to. Nobody was looking at Jen's chest when she wore that short skirt. She had the longest, tannest, shapeliest legs in the school, and everyone knew it. Still, she kept on with the water bra and padding. Since she didn't have a boyfriend, the Pats were probably the only ones at school who knew how small she really was.
Kneeling in front of everyone was Kevin. What a goofball! He was always doing something strange. At least he was entertaining. He played on the boy's basketball team, but always came to all the women's games. In fact, he had always done everything with the girls. They had all been together so long, Sherri sometimes almost forgot that he wasn't "one of the girls". It had sometimes been hard for him growing up, being the only boy in the neighborhood. It didn't seem to have affected him too much though. At 6"1', he was point guard and setter (on the volleyball team) for the school. He was popular at school, and had even dated the head cheerleader last year. (Of course, that had ended after Jen told him what she was really like.)
Then, of course, there was Sherri. She hadn't wanted to be in the picture, but everyone else had gotten Mr. Parks to take the picture so she could be in it. It wasn't that she wasn't attractive, quite the contrary. Sherri was the shortest of the Pats, by about four inches. Sherri was a sprinter and long jumper, so she had very strong thighs, and the hardest ass in the school. Luckily, they didn't look out-of-proportion, because she had much larger breasts than the other girls. At 36D-23-35, she was the object of desire for many of her classmates. (Of course, she hated her tits, and said she could jump two inches farther without them.) Sherri didn't like pictures though, she had always liked to just sit in the background and watch rather than be part of the action.
Sherri shook her head to come back to the present and realized she was late. They would for sure give her a hard time about it. Growing up together, the pats had always competed in everything. Sports, school, games, even eating and playing. It was always good-natured, but it was always a contest. She would have to listen to the ribbing the whole weekend if she was the last one there. Rushing into the bathroom, she grabbed the stuff she had gathered up and ran out the door.
"See you Sunday, Mom," was all she had time to yell as she headed down the street to Lisa's. She still couldn't believe they were able to go. At the beginning of the summer, everyone had gotten jobs, and it looked like they were never going to have time to do anything together. But about two weeks ago, Kevin had announced he was going to quit early and play for the last few weeks. He convinced everyone else to join him. So, they all had three weeks before senior year started, and this was the "kick-off" weekend for the last summertime fun. Their parents hadn't been that excited about this trip either, but Lisa had finally convinced her dad to let her use the Explorer. Besides, it was just the Pats, so eventually all the parents agreed. They were only driving about 90 minutes into the mountains. They would campout for the night, and then hike the Meadow trail in the morning. It was an all day hike to Silver Lake and back. Depending on the time they got back, they would either drive home Saturday night or Sunday morning.
Sherri reached Lisa's house, barely panting from the run. Micah and Jen were loading food in the back of the Explorer when she got there.
"Where is everyone?" asked Sherri.
"Lisa's inside getting the gas credit card from her Mom. Kevin hasn't gotten here yet," answered Micah, tossing a sleeping bag on top of the food boxes. As usual, Micah was in a black halter top and biker shorts.
Lisa came out wearing a pair of short cut-offs, white canvas shoes, and a white tank top. The four girls finished loading the Explorer and climbed. They were just ready to drive down to Kevin's house when he came running up, panting.
"You're late, buddy boy," called Jen.
"Yeah," said Lisa. "You'll have to pay up. Cokes for everybody at the first stop, Kevin's buying."
"Okay," replied Kevin. "Sorry I'm late."
"Did you at least bring the tent and the other sleeping bags?" asked Sherri.
"Oh, I forgot. We'll have to go back and find them," said Kevin. Everyone groaned as Lisa turned around and drove back to Kevin's driveway. After ten or fifteen minutes rummaging around in the garage, Lisa. Kevin, and Sherri returned with the tent and three of sleeping bags. Micah and Jen were smiling mischievously as they got on the road again.
"Now you owe us double, Kevin," said Micah.
"Okay, I'll get snacks with the drinks too." Kevin looked unworried about the extra cost, but became uncomfortable as he saw Micah and Jen shaking their heads.