As Les cried, Jimmy placed a hand on his shoulder. Jimmy's dogs, Venus and Mars, came to comfort Les. Venus and Mars were both mixed breeds. Although they looked intimidating, the large, wolf-like appearance of both of them was the only intimidating thing about them. They were very affectionate with those they knew, especially Jimmy and his friends. They were wary of strangers, but they were not at all aggressive. Les asked, "Why does my father hate me?" Jimmy said, "I don't know, Les." Les said, "My mother loved me. Why did she have to die?" Jimmy said, "I know, buddy. She was taken from you, and that's not fair." After a pause, he asked, "Do you want me to help you with your homework?" Les said, "No, I'll get it." Jimmy said, "All right. I'll see you tomorrow, Les." Les reluctantly did his homework and straightened his bedroom. Just then, his father came in and said, "Nicely done, Les. I'm proud of you." Les said, "You're proud of me as long as I do what you want." His father said, "Oh, come now, Les! I'm your father, and I know what's best for you!" Les said, "No! You know what's best for you! Well, I'm not you, Dad! I am Les! If I was an engineer like you, I'd be miserable. Do you even want me to be happy?" His father said, "There are more important things than being happy, Les. A respectable career is one of them, especially if that career makes a lot of money." Les said, "If you're doing it for the money, and you're miserable, what's the point?!" His father sighed and said, "You are so your mother's child. Of course, if it weren't for you, she'd still be alive!" He then left. Les burst into tears. It wasn't his fault his mother died. He wasn't the one who had the accident. He then fell onto his bed and went to sleep. The next morning, breakfast was very quiet. Les didn't feel like talking. His poor excuse of a father had slammed him, not once, but twice. After he got ready for school, he packed a sandwich and drove to school. Les noticed Jimmy and some others laughing. Les asked, "What's so funny?" Jimmy said, "Oh, we were talking about our senior prank. We're going to leave a jar of marbles on the principal's desk with a card that says, 'Since we made you lose your marbles, we're giving them back.'" Les wanted to laugh, but he was in too much pain. Jimmy asked, "Are you all right?" Les said, "Not really." Jimmy asked, "What's wrong?" Les said, "I don't want to talk about it." Jimmy said, "Come on, man. I'm your friend. You can tell me." Les told Jimmy what his father had told him. Jimmy said, "That's horrible! Why don't you get away from him?" Les said, "I don't have anywhere else to go. He's the only family I have left." Jimmy asked, "Who said it had to be with family?" Les said, "You're not suggesting...." Jimmy said, "I am. I talked to my parents, and they agreed that you could stay with us. If I weren't your friend, I wouldn't be suggesting this to you, but I am your friend. I just want you to be safe, brother. If you can't come to me, then you're going to go somewhere that might not be safe, and I'm not about to let that happen." Les said, "If I move out, my father will call the police." Jimmy said, "And tell them what? That his eighteen-year-old left home? That's not a crime." Les smiled and said, "Yeah. You're right."
Shortly after the incident, the members of The Devil Wants Peace were interviewed. The interviewer asked, "John, is it true that you overcame your fear of water before you saved Allen?" John replied, "It's true." The interviewer asked, "Is it true that the rest of you were surprised when John swam so quickly?" Stan said, "Yes. I knew that his girlfriend, Caryn, taught him how to swim, but I didn't know she taught him to swim so well." Peter said, "I was impressed at how brave he was, too." Allen said, "Yeah. I'll never forget what he did for me." John said, "Thank Caryn. She's the one who taught me how to swim." Caryn saw the interview on the news, and she was very touched. Later, John said to Caryn, "Thank you for everything you did for me this summer." She said, "You're welcome." He said, "Your love for me is what motivated you to help me, and in the end, I was able to help my mates. Love conquers fear. I truly believe that."
THE END
THE END
During the 4th of July celebration in Oak Ridge, the members of New Religion decided to take Klondike out with them to get him used to noise and crowds. Lots of people stopped them and asked to pet Klondike. He was very happy getting petted. One person said, "He's a beautiful dog. What kind of dog is he?" Erin said, "He is a cross between a German Shepherd and a Siberian Husky." Another person asked, "How old is he?" Paul replied, "He will be three months old later this month." Klondike enjoyed all the attention he was getting. He didn't seem to mind the noises during the parade. That night, he wasn't even bothered by the fireworks. Carl said, "I think he's mascot material. He doesn't have a problem with crowds or noises." Lola said, "Yeah. He will do well when he starts touring with us." The members of New Religion knew that they got the perfect dog to be their new mascot when Fritz retires. Klondike will have big shoes to fill, but he'll certainly fill them.
THE END
THE END
The next day, Leila and Greeley took Paul for a walk on the beach while Leila's aunt and uncle relaxed on the beach. Greeley said, "I can't believe today is our last day here." Leila said, "I know. Vacations always go by so quickly." He said, "Let's make the most of the time we have." She said, "Yes." That evening, they had a seafood meal. They then began packing for their things so that they would be ready for their trip back home. Greeley said to Leila, "Thank you for inviting me to go on vacation with you, Leila." She said, "You're welcome, Greeley." He said, "We'll have to do some more fun things this summer." She said, "Yeah. That would be great." They settled into their beds to rest for the trip the next morning.