Casey & Joan

Casey & Joan is the third episode of the first season of Tales From Starlet City.

Summary
Gil, Goby, Oona, Casey, and Hopsalot are going for a day at the lake, and they invite Joan to come with.

Story
One Friday at Davy Jones Elementary, Gil, Goby, Oona, Casey, Hopsalot, and Joan were having lunch in the cafeteria.

"So, how do you guys think that science quiz was," asked Gil.

"I thought it was pretty easy," said Goby.

"Me too," said Oona.

"Me three," said Casey.

"Same here," said Hopsalot.

"Yeah, I agree," said Joan.

"Hey, who's ready for our day at the lake tomorrow," asked Gil.

"Heck yeah," said Goby.

"Sure am," said Oona.

"Totally," said Casey.

"Uh-huh," said Hopsalot.

"What are you guys talking about," asked Joan.

"We made plans to go to the lake tomorrow," said Goby.

"Yeah," said Casey.

Just then, Casey had an idea.

"Hey, Joan, wanna come with us," he asked.

"Oh boy, would I," said Joan, "Just let me ask my mom."

"Okay," said Gil.

Later, after school, Joan went into her house and approached her mom, Carrie, who was folding some laundry.

"Hi, Mom," said Joan.

"Hi, honey," said Carrie, "How was school today?"

"Great, as always," said Joan, "Say, Gil, Goby, Oona, Casey, and Hopsalot are going to the lake tomorrow and they invited me to come. Can I?"

"Of course you can," said Carrie with a smile, "Anyone who's a friend of yours is a friend of mine."

"Thanks, Mom," said Joan.

"No problem," said Carrie.

The next day, just as they promised, Gil, Goby, Oona, and Hopsalot pulled up in front of Joan's house. They were being driven by Gil's dad, Gil Hall, Sr., in his 1984 Dodge Aries station wagon. Casey went up to the door and rang the doorbell. Sure enough, Joan answered.

"Hi, Joan," said Casey, "Ready to go?"

"Yup," said Joan.

"Great," said Casey.

"Mom, I'm leaving now," said Joan.

"Okay, honey," said Carrie, "Have a good time!"

"I will," said Joan.

Joan then joined Casey as he got back in the car. Soon, they arrived at the lake and the kids disembarked.

"Have a great time, kids," said Gil Sr.

"We will, Dad," said Gil.

"Alright," said Gil Sr., "See you later!"

Gil Sr. then drove away while the kids waved to him.

"Alright, gang," said Gil, "let's get this lake day started!"

"But first," said Oona, "let's put on some sunscreen."

Oona then got out a bottle of spray-on sunscreen.

"My dad prefers this kind," said Oona, "He says it's easier to put on."

"My mom thinks the same thing," said Gil.

They all put on the sunscreen, and then they were really ready to start their day of lakeside fun.

"I know a great radio station my mom found that we can listen to," said Joan, "It plays nothing but sixties music!"

"Oh, nice," said Goby, "And my mom let us borrow her portable radio, so we can listen to it!"

"What setting is it on," asked Gil.

"The station is 196.4 FM," said Joan.

Gil then turned the tuning knob and found the station. Sure enough, the moment it reached said station, "Help Me Rhonda" by The Beach Boys. was playing clearly through its speakers.

"Now that's a good song," said Gil.

"Yeah," said Casey.

Hopsalot then got out the beach ball he brought.

"Anyone wanna play catch," he asked.

"I'm good," said Gil, "I'm gonna go for a swim."

"Me too," said Goby.

"If that's okay with you," said Joan, "I'd like to just sit for a while."

"I'll play," said Oona.

"Me too," said Casey.

"Alright then," said Hopsalot.

With that, while Gil and Goby splashed around in the lake, Casey, Oona, and Hopsalot played Monkey In The Middle, while Joan sat down in the deck chair she had brought and buried her feet in the sand.

"Ah, this feels nice," said Joan.

A while later, the kids decided to have the picnic lunch they brought, so while Joan helped Oona set the blanket up, the boys unpacked the basket, which Goby's dad had helped pack. After they got out the plates, cups, and napkins, they unpacked the food. There were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with small bags of Lays Classic potato chips for the boys and Joan, a garden salad with saltine crackers for Oona, and to drink was a bottle of apple juice.

"Man, this looks delicious," said Gil.

"Yeah," said Goby, "I'm so glad my dad helped pack it."

"Well," said Casey, "let's dig in!"

After they ate, they played a game of Go Fish with a deck of cards Gil had brought that were themed around his favorite hockey team, the Chicago Blackhawks. After that, they went up to the ice cream kiosk for ice cream. Gil got a Choco Taco, Goby got a Rocky Road cone, Oona got a raspberry popsicle, Hopsalot got an M&M's cookie sandwich, and Casey and Joan both got soft-serve chocolate cones. After they had their ice cream, they sat around on the shore for a total of 30 minutes, all the while playing another game of Go Fish. During the second game, Casey took notice of the swan boats that were moored at the boat dock.

"Hey, Joan," said Casey, "Why don't the two of us go in one of those boats after our game?"

"Sounds good to me," said Joan.

After the game, Casey and Joan went over to the boat dock, where they put on life jackets in their appropriate sizes and got into one of the swan boats, but not before Casey untied it. Soon, they were ready to go.

"Ready, Joan," asked Casey.

"Yup," said Joan.

"Alright," said Casey, "Here we go!"

They then started pedaling backwards. Luckily for them, the pedals were connected to the paddle wheel by a system of gears, which made pedaling much smoother. Once they were a safe distance from the dock, Casey put the boat in forward and they began pedaling forwards. While they paddled, Gil, Goby, Oona, and Hopsalot built a sandcastle on the shore. As the boat went along the water, Joan put her hand in it and watched the stream it made.

"This feels just as nice as my feet in the sand," said Joan.

After about two more minutes, they pedaled back to shore, but after they moored the boat, they sat on the dock and dipped their feet in. It was a little chilly at first, but after a few moments, it warmed up.

"Man, this sure is relaxing," said Joan as she treadled her legs.

"I couldn't agree more," said Casey as he softly splashed his feet.

Just then, Gil came over to them.

"Hey, just so you know, my dad's gonna be here to pick us up soon," said Gil.

"Okay." said Casey.

Soon enough, Mr. Hall arrived in the Aries, and after Casey and Joan dried their feet off, they gathered their stuff, got back in the car, and drove off for home. The first stop was Joan's house, where just as she was walking up to the door, she found a note taped to it. The note said:"'If you find me gone by the time you come home, I went grocery shopping, and I'm bringing home Good Burger for dinner.""- ❤ Mom'""Oh, okay," said Joan.

Joan then went inside, to her room, and laid down on the bed, gazing at the ceiling.

"Boy, I sure had fun today," said Joan, "I'd love to do stuff like that more often.

The End