Launching the Guppy

By Gregory M. Mize

In the late 60's, three teenage boys set out for a summertime adventure down the Sacramento River and discover more than they had expected. Along with the crumbling of youthful innocence, they stumbled across a kidnapping of a classmate. This book will take you back to a time when high school students had more freedoms.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 12, 2011
• ISBN: 9781257592517

Book preview

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Chapter One

The year was 1967. Lyndon B. Johnson was President and Alexsei Kosygin was the Premier of Russia. The Viet Nam conflict was in full force and The Beatles had just released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Gas was still under a dollar a gallon and a Coke had gone up to twenty cents. Three astronauts, Grissom, White and Chaffee, had died in a fire aboard Apollo I on the launch pad and Elvis Presley had just married Priscilla. It was another hot June afternoon in the Sacramento Valley and all the high schools were preparing to unload their screaming masses onto an unprepared adult community.

***

Five more minutes remained until the final bell released Robert Banks IV and the rest of Miss Edling’s English class for the summer. Robert was a big kid and one of only three black kids at San Juan High School. John Cage and Raylene Banks, Robert’s younger sister, were the other two. He was over six foot tall and strong as a bull from working weekends packing hod for a friend of his father. It was good money, and kept him in good shape.

Rob was a junior, well liked and played varsity football. He didn’t play much this year because San Juan had an All State fullback, Craig Griffin, but Coach Miller knew that next year would be a different story. Rob was fast, strong and had lots of natural talent.

San Juan High School is located in Citrus Heights, California twelve miles south of downtown Sacramento. Rob was excited about getting his summer vacation underway. He and the boys had been planning this summer break since Christmas. They were going to finish off the raft they were building and planned to float down the Sacramento River from the Bend Bridge Park in Red Bluff to Sacramento’s Discovery Park. The Sacramento River is an old river that cuts through the center of northern California and empties into the San Francisco Bay.

Rob sat behind Pam Thompson and noticed her dress was hiked up to her thighs. Pam liked showing off her long perfect legs and Robert didn’t mind looking. He was staring at those legs when the buzzer ended the class. The summer adventure had started!

The classroom emptied quickly. When Rob reached the door, Mike was already leaning up against the lockers...waiting. Michael Williams was tall and lanky with light brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing 501 Levi’s with the cuffs rolled under, a short sleeved dark blue T-shirt with a pocket and high top Converse tennis shoes. Mike’s eyes opened wide when he saw Rob.

How’d you get here so fast? Rob yelled.

Mike smiled. Coach Miller let us outta P.E. early today. Said it was the last day and we wasn’t gonna do crap anyway. Hey man, are you ready for this? It’s gonna be bitchin man!

Sure Mike. It’s gonna be great, Rob said, trying to look nonchalant. But he was also exited. This was going to be the best summer of their lives. Did you see Pam Thompson today? Man, that girl’s got legs clear up to her neck.

Yeah, heard she broke up with that senior over at El Camino, Mike responded with no interest. Guess her phone will be buzzin’ all night, huh? Mike was more interested in a sophmore named Kathy. He had been seeing her since the very first day of school.

***

On her first day at San Juan, Kathy Hinrichs had gotten herself completely lost. Mike saw the deer caught in the headlights look on her face and how cute she was. Being the nice guy he was, Mike offered to help her find her way around school and he’d been helping her ever since.

Kathy was your typical girl next door. She was taller than most of the girls in her class, with medium length blonde hair, blue-green eyes and a firm lean body. Her family had moved to Citrus Heights from Grass Valley at the end of her freshman year. Grass Valley is a small gold rush town in the Sierra foothills.

***

Have you seen Gabe today? Rob asked. I was hoping to get a ride from him.

Nope! Think he cut school again today, Mike answered, And on the easiest day of the year. Damn, I think he’s missed more days this year than he’s attended. Think I’ll just walk home today.

Rob didn’t say anything. He started trailing after Mike. When they arrived in the parking lot, Gabe was leaning against his dad’s dark green 1967 Buick Wildcat with the doors wide open waiting for them.

Gabriel Costello was heavy set with a thick black hair, dark brown bulgy eyes and a wide mouth that reminded everyone of Kermit the Frog. His father was English and his mother was Mexican. Kent, his father, traveled most of the time and Marie, his mother, was a working mom, so he and his younger brother, Larry, were left to fend for themselves most of the time. When Kent wasn’t home, Gabe would often take off with the car.

Hey man, what’s going on? Gabe uttered with a sheepish grin. Wanna lift?

Shotgun! Mike hollered and hopped into the front seat.

Rob climbed into the back seat, Gabe started up the car and drove off.

Hey man, how about some gas money first? I’m on empty, Gabe said.

Gabe was always on Empty. Rob came up with two bucks and Mike had another $1.43.

Cool! That’ll get us just under a quarter of a tank. We can get out to the lake and back before my dad gets home and mom’s working late again.

Sounds great, replied Robert, But I need to drop by the house first and check in with the folks.

Me too! echoed Mike.

***

Pamela Thompson hiked to and from school every day with Barb Johns and Sandy Marshall. Barb Johns looked like a super model, tall and thin with dark brunette hair, a large mouth with sparkling white teeth and large dark brown eyes. Sandy was her opposite, short and heavy set with bright red hair, green eyes and freckles. San Juan was about two and a half miles from Pam’s house. It took the girls more than an hour to make the trip but they were in no hurry.

Pam was