The History of the Fab Four

IV. The (Possible) Future

  1. A. Summer of Sophomore year

    1. The best for Brian and Maria who merge into couplehood during Brian’s declared "basketball break." For June and July he doesn’t darken court the first, burnt out over the Danny thing, saying he’s felt like he’s spent every summer doing it and wants to spend time with Maria.

      1. Richard is kind of annoyed, but practices so he can start and spends time with Diana and Pat. R and D seem on and off since Melissa’s interview, sometimes Pat is a welcome third.

    2. Anne meets Rob, her first big love and is usually with him and his friends. They try to meet up sometimes to do things together, but the common interests simply aren’t there. The other three try to deal, having love interests of their own, but the boys and occasionally Maria do the "We miss you" calls and they see her every now and then.

    3. Another thing that changed after the dust cleared from Sophomore year was Brian and Pat’s reconcilation stuck. With the Diana and Richard business they saw more of each other and the old arguments rarely came up. To be sure there was the all new issue of Maria and Pat annoying each other, but Pat tries to keep cool and Maria plays the smiling martyr. They quit their pushing and pulling over Diana and use her as a buffer zone.

    4. In August, Richard talks Brian back onto the court, giddy with the prospect of Danny, Mike, and Clint-less basketball. "The start of our reign" says R.

      1. Brian and Maria’s golden summer hits a bit of a snag, but he works to keep her happy, and Pat works to keep her own mouth shut, with little success.

  2. 11th Grade

    1. Richard and Diana or Richard and Pat, R seems to jump back and forth, now he interested in D, now he and Pat get along swimmingly. Pat claims not to be in the running, which Maria doesn’t believe for a second. She tells Pat basically to bow out and the fit hits the shan with P telling M to mind her own business about things she doesn’t know anything about.

      1. Wonderful time for Brian, stuck between two people claiming his loyality. He speaks to both and everyone lays off the topic of who Richard likes

      2. Brian in a moment of dead seriousness tells R to quit screwing around with his sister and cousin or they aren’t friends.

      3. So when Pat is at Girls' state or Model UN R and D start going out for real. Pat seems bothered when she gets back, but not for long.

    2. Maria is co-President with Michele in the new Black Student Alliance.

      1. She and Pat’s struggle abates a bit when Pat supports group with Diana, claiming to need balance in her life. She’s got the whole speech/debate/newspaper crowd, but they’re mostly white. To be sure, they clash about almost everything, but at least some sort of solidarity is there.

      2. Ironically, it starts to come between Brian and Maria. As basketball practice and tryouts signals the coming of Brian’s (and Richard’s) first starring season Maria starts in with his responsiblity to the group, the school, Black student athletes etc.Brian chaffes at the thought of being a poster boy, especially when (gag!) Yvonne gets into the act.

        1. B is beginning to see Yvonne with his family’s POV, their worst nightmare is Brian and Maria having sex, him getting her pregnant and them running off to marry and he (and subsequently, they) would have to deal with her forever. He makes sly remarks and recieves them not with the blanket denial of a teen in love, but with polite patience that is somewhat adult.

      3. On the Anne front, Anne supports their efforts, even though she is not permitted an active role. Michelle runs for Pres against a friend of Rob’s and loses, "typical" says BSA, who thinks their candiate was better and lost in a popularity contest. Plus Rob’s crowd is the antithesis of the BSA and Anne loses touch with everyone but Richard, especially since she and Maria have it out about Anne never being a good enough "best friend" and Yvonne, etc Brian never sways from liking Anne and makes it a point to say as much after a game. They recognize that they are caught between Rob and Maria and share a sad hug.

    3. Basketball starts up and Richard and Brian are both starters. Senior Ben Kranich is elected Captain in a final resurgance of the old guard, and probably gets more attention that is absolutely necessary, but it is Brian and Richard who are profiled before the big Robinson game and Brian who keeps things going when tensions are brought on between black and white players over some BSA issue; he refuses to have a repeat of his Sophomore season.

    4. As the season really gets going, Maria starts the "responsibility" argument again. She’s saying he’s selling out, he says the BSA has caused enough hassle in his life. Two weeks after ring exchange they are on the verge of taking a break because of the whole thing. Plus, things between them seemed to have changed so much. Brian is happy for the distraction of History Day and Jennifer Farrow to get away basketball and Maria. Whom he still loves of course, he’s quick to tell people. They do break up for a couple of weeks or "take a break," as Maria puts it.

    5. Brian and Pat, while nowhere near the chummy levels of Troy and Yolanda, have still managed not to have a huge breakdown of last year’s truce. They can still disolve into the Jock/Spaze argument, but it doesn’t stick anymore, now Pat is a true fan of Seb Bball and Brian doesn’t miss her articles in the school paper. This is the year they start the "Where are you really going?" tradition and basically have the camaderie they used to get only when babysitting more often.

    6. In fact during really good moments, the family sees a bit of the return of "Damien and Rachel" because they have more scrapes after Danny’s party:
      1. a. coming in late
      2. b. double attitude
      3. c. still not all that nice to twins
      4. d. Richard can talk them into stuff, in fact they’re quite the triumverate when R’s in an off again phase with Diana (that whole thing still goes on even though for all intents, they’re together). Richard sometimes talks of wondering about decisions he’s made, references Pat ignores in deference to Diana. She makes the angry Brian not say anything to him, pointing out the parallels between her situation and his with Jennifer Farrow. A sounding board, that’s all.

    7. Guilts Brian into giving him and Maria the ole HS try again. She chills on BSA, History Day and Basketball finish and an uneasy peace settles in the valley.

    8. That summer everyone gets jobs, Brian and Richard at a men’s store, Diana at Baskin Robbins, Pat at a Bradlees type dept store, Maria watching a neighbor’s kids for the summer, Anne at the Friendly’s where lots of Seb kids hang out. Everyone’s busy with relationships, the ongoing RandD saga, they’re taking a break, but are friends, B and M are on the comeback trail, Anne and Rob the super couple.

    9. New resolve, Maria decides that they are almost 18, (well, her,R,D and Mich K) and they don’t act like it. Act like adults! Good practice for Junior girls. Everyone shudders to think what that means, but in the space of time before senior year, she redoubles her Brian efforts, announces she throwing support to a Jr for BSA pres to focus on getting into college, leaves Pat, R and D alone. She convinces Richard one night to combine plans with Anne and friends with them to Fourth of July and goes all out to be nice. She talks to Anne a little bit about their Captain status in Cheerleading and Drill Team respectively and how they can get the two groups to get along. "!!!!" say friends, but they eventually have to admit she’s making them look bad. At the end of the summer they hear that Rob’s family is transferring to New Jersey.

  3. Senior Year

    1. Brian and Maria get back strong at the start of this year. He says its just like tenth grade, the good parts. He tells her he loves her right before he leaves for the first game of the season, an away deal.

    2. Drill Team and Cheerleader captains Maria and Anne land in SGA meetings to gether and begin to talk after Anne asks, "What do you want from me?" Maria says is this "be an adult" year she’s realizing what real friends are were. Sorry for last year. They work on Drill Team/Cheerleader relations

    3. Rob still comes down for some weekend visits, but LD relationship is a strain. Anne starts to talk to Maria, who is there after they decide to break it off, Rob starting college courses and wants to see others. Maria and Anne discuss in a relationship that’s a different tone now, they’re both different.

      1. Anne to Brian, friends out in the open again—ha!
      2. they see a little more of Anne, "you know, lots of Rob’s old friends are assholes" lot of BSA people getting annoying. Everyone afraid of jinxing it by talking, but B says privately to P, FF may be back...

    4. Diana and Richard are still at it, a little more firm now, the gf and bf words are used. They seem fine with it B/P/M and A are like "Whatever…."

    5. Basketball is finally all Brian and Richard. They are senior stars, BMOC, etc… Somehow they got the "decent guy" label, although people sometimes wonder about Richard…jokester Joey S. to Bri’s Jim M, sometimes he jokes about sidekick status. B denies. D is living the highlife with the association.

    6. Kept college choices from each other, so no pressure. M ends up at Hampton, Richard at Radford-type school and Brian and Anne at VSU, they discover this off college postings and are excited.

    7. Prom is Anne and Clay, a hanger-on, shoulder to cry on in the Rob aftermath. He goes to parties with her etc… Diana and Richard make it to May and go, D is so stressed and puts on no airs, so Pat enjoys helping her. Anne and Clay at same restaurant.

    8. Brian and Maria have this big plan to have sex, but the build-up is killing them. Their dinner is Tension City, they go alone, even though Anne/Clay/R/D having a blast. They finally abandon the big plan to get pressure off and join friends and night is fun after that. Fab Four end up sprawled out together in the room at some party a mix of their friends followed them to. D’s passed out—well asleep, and Clay has hooked up. Everyone looks askance at Anne, who shrugs and says, "It was a friend date—the idea was to hook-up, not necessarily with each other. He’s liked that girl for awhile and I still miss Rob, I don’t care you guys." The four end up taking Richard’s car to the Mall and just walking around in their finery and looking back at it all:

      1. kid stuff (Anne: "I feel like I was there!" "Us too!")
      2. EB White and Anne basically putting them together. A/M social troubles.
      3. 8th grade party
      4. HS 9th grade was the best….summer rocked! Remember the schedules?
      5. 10th…Oh God…what was up everyone’s butt? Well, Brian and Maria came out of it.
      6. 11th, let’s pretend that year didn’t happen either. No Rob, says Anne so they the full story on that.
      7. Senior year, B/M come clean on plan. "Oh my God, we threw a party in the room…no it’s okay….you mean you never…you guys have?
        1. Anne and Rob of course
        2. Rich in a long off-Di period, an away game date
      8. Suddenly remember Diana! Rush back to the hotel.

    9. Meanwhile D has awakened, found herself Fab Fourless and called C’s house. Pat miraclously answers, sneaks out to rescue D at hotel. D’s crying, worst night..etc P pissed when FF return from Mall jaunt.

    10. For the first time in history, Fab Four is repenting! Possively falling o’er P and D. So sorry, track of time, catching up, Senior year….Richard apologizes and in front of everyone tells D what a great night he's had, how beautiful she is. Woo…..

    11. Suddenly things get a big too mushy for P and A, with Dand R and B and M disappearing to pick up where they left off. A is Clayless so P offers up rides home to R and D and A, leaving Brian and Maria alone at last.

    12. And? Haven’t decided, either yes or close with no cigar, like no condom or something to leave it open for summer and college. Wonderful night together.

    13. Richard and D do do it however, at R’s empty house. D says it’s okay to drop her off, and night’s redeemed for her.

    14. Anne and Pat don’t feel like calling it a night. P thinks it all rather anti-climatic for A’s prom night. Pat calls Melissa and Aimee, who are at C’s and secures secrecy by letting them play, "where are you really?" with her. But mum’s the word on whereabouts.

    15. Back at Crindles, Anne changes and she and Pat go out, they get coffee in G-town, very adult and just dish on FF and her and D and Rob etc…Moira’s home later, she calls C’s and gets P out of hot water (parents love us Anne explains) and Pat finds herself liking Crindle women. She stays over and next morning she says hopes Anne is always around. She actually makes it home after Brian, who is waiting for her mood after her parental grilling. Pat resolves not to be mad, stays somewhat mum on Anne stuff, letting B then D discuss their nights. Prom ’87 is a lot of talking for her.

    16. For graduation they are all nearby, because of the C last names. Wait at end of stage for Richard for group hug, someone gets picture. "I missed this," says Anne.

    17. Mothers are adament, no D and P at Beach Week. Also boys’s and girls rooms. They go with an ecclectic mix of BSA and Rob’s crowd and manage not to kill each other. Their last summer together dawns as jobs get in the way of fun and college looms.

      What does the future hold in store for Fab Four?



Ancient history Recent history Back to Brian Back to Pat

All material and characters Copyright 1997 Lisa Hill-Corley

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