The Beach Boy

Chapter 3

It was October 1962, and I had been attending Hawthorne High for two months. I had made so many new friends, but I really hit it off with Lexa, Julia, Robert, and John. All were seniors except for Julia, who is in my grade. We ate lunch together, which Dennis, Carl, and my brother, Greg, would occasionally join. I had math class with Carl, which was a class we both dreaded together.

On one weekend, Dennis and Carl invited my brother and I to actually witness one of their recording seesions. We arrived there just in time before the guys started recording "Little Girl (You're My Miss America)" for their album. I was surprised and excited to know that Dennis would sing lead vocals on this song. They all waved before they began recording, and Dennis was able to quickly say, "Hi Greg and Katherine."

While the guys were recording, I met Brian's girlfriend, Marilyn. She was very nice, and we got to have a quiet conversation. Brian and Dennis would look at each other whenever Marilyn and I would quietly giggle, or glance at them when they were singing. There were times when Dennis was singing is when I questioned myself if I was beginning to develop a crush for him. I would catch myself staring at him for a long time, which was odd for me.

After the guys were done recording for the day, Brian and Dennis kept bugging Marilyn and I on what we were talking about. My brother said, "Girl talk, the usual. They just liked looking at you guys to see your reaction, but they were talking about something else." I just smiled a little, while Marilyn promised Brian that we weren't talking about them. We all decided to go to the beach and have a good time. Everyone basked in the sun, while Dennis, Greg, and I surfed the waves. I would often be sitting on my surfboard, watching my brother and Dennis surf. I was feeling tired and weak, remembering that I only had a banana for breakfast, and no lunch. Dennis looked at me and said, "Lillian, are you alright? You don't look too well."

I slowly nodded and said, "I'm fine i think." After that, I remember falling in the water, but after that, it went dark. The next thing I know is that I'm lying on the beach sand, wrapped in a towel. Everyone was crowded around me, and my brother was panicking.

"Katherine! Can you hear me? Did you eat breakfast?"

Mike Love immediately said, "How do you not know if your own sister ate breakfast? Don't you eat with her?"

Dennis and my brother told Mike to shut up. Marilyn gave me some crackers and water, which made me feel better. Everyone was relieved that I was doing fine. My brother took me home and I rested for the whole weekend. My parents practically grounded my brother, only allowing him to attend football practices and school. I felt like I should of taken part of the blame, but my brother didn't mind taking all of it.

When my brother and I went to school on Tuesday, we learned that Dennis was expelled from Hawthorne High for fighting with another student. Every girl at school was gossiping about it, and were bummed that good-looking Dennis wouldn't be at school. I was bummed, but at least I live near him and go surfing with him every weekend.

When we pulled up in our driveway, we were greeted by Brian & Carl. I was wondering if Dennis wanted us to get something out of his locker, or tell his track coach something.

"Hey Greg and Katherine. Carl and I are wondering if you can help plan a surprise party... for Dennis. His birthday is in December, and since he's been having kind of a rough time lately, we thought it would be nice to surprise him."

This was exciting. My brother quickly said, "You know I would love to help, but I don't know if my parents will let me help plan or buy stuff. I mean, after what happened at the beach weeks ago, they're still pretty upset, especially my father."

"Greg, mom & dad will let you help, especially if it's a surprise party for Dennis. We'll love to help plan a party."

"Thanks you two. And remember, don't tell Dennis. Or Mike, because Mike is a chatterbox who likes to screw up everything for Dennis."

And so the planning began.