¢ÜWhen I grow up to be a man¢Ü If there's one way to describe adolescence...
It might be this...
¢ÜWill I dig the same things¢Ü It's a gamble.
¢ÜThat turn me on as as a kid¢Ü An adventure into the unexpected.
¢ÜWill I look back and say¢Ü A step into the unknown.
¢ÜThat I wish I hadn't done what I did?¢Ü It's a time of life that pits hope against fear.
¢ÜWill I joke around¢Ü And logic against prayer.
¢ÜAnd still dig those sounds¢Ü A game of luck...and opportunity.
¢ÜWhen I grow up to be a man¢Ü Not unlike, say, for instance...
Poker.
Alright - I call.
Pair of queens. So let's see 'em.
Two twos.
Nothin' but ace-high.
Two pair.
Nines and fours.
The bi-monthly, Friday-night, high-stakes poker game.
Jeff?
Junior year...
It was ritual.
Three kings.
Don't worry guys. It's goin' to a good cause.
Me.
Course, it was more than...
Just a rotating tournament, depending on whose parents where out for the evening...
and it was about more than just cold hard cash.
OK - nickel ante.
This game was defined by personality.
Ours.
OK, boys.
How about a little night baseball, huh?
Nines are wild...
Threes are wild. Any picture-card with facial hair...wild.
There was the over-enthusiastic...
Straight poker.
And the all-American.
Paul, your bet.
There was the cautious...
I dont' know - lemme think for a sec.
Paul? While we're still young?
And, the impatient.
And of course...
The supremely confident.
A...quarter.
A quarter?
That's kinda steep, isn't it?
Quarter.
And despite our different styles...
We maintained the easy give-and-take of friendship...
That I knew would endure well into the future.
Don't put the glass right on the table. My father'll kill me if he sees a stain.
I'm fairly certain these old chairs of yours are aggravating my prostate.
This hand's an all-time beaut.
You should frame it. Hang it on the wall.
OK, then...who needs cards?
Gimme four.
Anyone else?
Three.
Uh, give me two.
Uh, uh, no wait, um...better make that three.
Jeff?
None.
None? You sure?
I fold.
Well, then...
Guess I'm the lucky winner.
Still, we weren't old men yet. We were teenage boys.
Innocent. Uncomplicated.
So, is anyone hungry?
- Hungry. - Let's go.
I got chips...
The eight-o'clock snack break.
A chance to mix simple pleasantries with...
Complex carbohydrates and starch.
I can't believe it.
Do you guys have any idea what you are putting into your bodies?
What do you mean - this isn't healthy?
I'd hate to see your digestive tract in ten years.
Tell ya what - you don't ask, and I won't offer, alright?
Kev, don't you have any fruit in this house?
Yeah, it's on the bottom.
No, all I see here is an apple pie.
Right. Apple's a fruit.
Forget it.
I got an orange in my car.
Least I plan ahead.
Boy, he doesn't quit, does he?
What do you mean?
Well, it's just that he's kinda like, um...how shall I say it? Not fun.
A major downer.
What are you guys talking about?
Uh, Kev? About the ski-trip over Spring vacation...
Yeah, we're all still goin', right?
See the thing is...we don't think we're gonna have room for Pfeiffer.
Well, what do ya mean? I thought...all of us were goin'.
Well, it's not Paul so much. It's just that, uh...
Chuck's car... only-only fits four people.
You can check the manual.
And my uncle's cabin only has four beds.
So, what are you guys trying to say?
Even though it was pretty clear.
So, what did I miss?
Now, Paul Pfeiffer has been my best friend...
For seventeen years.
I'd always told him everything.
Nothing.
Really.
No, we were just, uh...
Talking.
Well, come on guys. Let's get back to the game.
After all, Paul was just being himself.
Want an orange?
No, thanks. Come on.
As opposed, to say...
Some of the rest of us.
Chuck, the bet is a quarter.
You threw in a nickel.
Uh...right.
Quarter.
By eight-thirty, Chuck Coleman's natural ebullience was fading fast.
So, Chuck - what's wrong with you?
Nothin'! I just...have some stuff on my mind.
What kind of stuff?
Uh, you know...
Eh...me and Alice.
What - are you guys fighting again?
No, it's nothing like that.
Well, if you're not fighting, what are you two doing?
There are moments in life...
That alter history...
And change the course of human events.
You didn't...
This was one of them.
Alright, Chuck!
Way to go, Coleman.
It was a stirring revelation which merited only one response.
You know, I hope you used some kind of protection.
Huh?
I said, I hope you used protection.
Course I did, Pfeiffer. I mean, what kind of stooge do you take me for?
Ask an idiotic question...
Look - are we gonna play cards or not?
No, I'm out.
Me, too.
Yeah, me too.
And speaking of idiotic.
Oh, you're not gonna smoke that thing, are you?
Do you have any idea what it's gonna do to your lungs?
Not to mention my sweater?
(I don't believe it - he's actually lighting it.)
Paul, come on...it's only a cigar.
Look I have some air-freshener in my car - I'll be right back.
I guess you could say Paul's consistency...
Was getting a little too consistent.
Uh...brother.
Great.
Straight.
That's not a straight.
Of course it is. Look. Two-three-four-five-six.
Two-three-four-five...nine.
You know what two-three-four-five-nine is? Nothing.
Boy, Randy...maybe you should be studying your math.
Yeah, really funny.
Which, of course, it was. To us, anyway.
Hey, will you guys just shut up?
For your information...
I failed my last three trigonometry tests.
When I flunk out, I bet it'll be really hilarious.
Oh, come on... you're not gonna flunk out.
Oh, yeah?
My guidance counsellor says if I don't pass, I'm not gonna graduate.
What do ya say to that?
And of course, there was only one thing to say.
Three kings.
Of course, some of us were taking the news harder than others.
Chuck, it'll be OK... I still have a chance to pass.
If I apply myself, maybe -
Who cares about you?
What's the matter, Chuck? You can't beat three kings?
I think Alice is pregnant.
Here, congratulations. Have a cigar.
I knew it.
Shut up, Paul!
I was just tryin to help.
Yeah, well, don't.
It's been said sobering news travels in bunches.
And after ninety minutes of poker...
There was no shortage of sobering news.
How could I be so stupid?
Chuck was on the brink of fatherhood...
Well, at least you're passing trig.
Randy was on the brink of repeating the eleventh grade...
And I was on the brink of hating my best friend.
Knock it off, Pfeiffer.
Not till you put that thing out.
But in addition to it all...
In addition to the gut-wrenching teenage melodrama playing out before us...
One other thing seemed slightly amiss.
Hey.
You cheated!
We were in the presence...
Of a crook.
OK...now, where were we?
After an hour-and-a-half of our monthly rotating Friday-night poker game...
This guy's cheating...
This guy's flunking school...
This guy might be a father...
This guy is annoying everyone...
And this guy? Well...
You cheated.
I did not.
My fingers were greasy from the potato chips.
I- I-I'm sure a card, ya know, just...
Shot right outta my hands.
Alright. Alright.
Then ask yourselves this - why would I possibly cheat at cards?
I can't take this anymore.
This is insane!
And somehow...
I couldn't avoid the thought maybe Chuck was right.
You OK?
Listen, I-I know what you're thinking. That my life would be over.
No...
No, I-I know how it sounds.
But it wouldn't be that bad, really.
I mean, Alice and I...
We could live in my parents' attic until we graduate high school...
and after that...
We could live in the garage...
Chuck, why don't you wait till you find out for sure?
I mean, it's not like you're a doctor, or anything.
You think so?
Yeah.
Yeah, I mean...
How much do you really know about biology, anyway?
Apparently just enough to be dangerous.
Excuse me - I gotta make a phone call.
Paul!
Yeah?
We were in here.
Ya know, Chuck and I...
Right... And now Chuck left... and I'm gonna make a phone call.
And I don't know...
Hello?
Maybe because of what the guys had said, or...
Maybe because of the way he was acting...
Or, but suddenly...
I was beginning to see Paul in a whole new light.
I mean, my dad expects me to go to some great college.
I don't know how to tell him I might not even graduate from high school.
I would suggest doing it over a nice dessert.
Thanks.
Hey, I'm watching you Billings... so hang on to your cards this time.
OK. I'm back.
Oh, were you gone?
And so, there we were - five friends playing poker.
Hey. Maybe if you dealt a little slower...
My cards wouldn't end up in the cheese puffs.
Five friends arguing and sniping.
Carping, and whining. Taking humbrage at even the pettiest offense.
Yeah, well maybe if you learned how to shuffle,
you could deal once in a while, huh?
You call that dealing?
Suffer.
Five friends who couldn't agree on a thing.
Hey.
We're out of food.
Except one thing.
Yeah, someone should run out and get more.
So, who wants to go?
Kev?
What...leave you guys with all the cards?
Alright, fine. I'll go.
No way, he'll just go out and get another deck.
Alright, I'll go. But I'll take the deck of cards with me.
Course, Kev, how do we know... you won't cheat?
Me?
So, naturally...
There was only one solution.
We did what any five petty-squabbling...
Distrustful best friends would do.
God, why does it take five guys to go get food?
Because we're hungry.
Because we're morons.
Hey, who you callin' a moron.
Hey, figure it out, Sherlock.
Hey - you guys maybe quit pickin' on each other?
I'm gonna go get stuff, OK?
No, you go...and you'll come back with twelve pounds of fruit.
Woops.
Stupid.
What did you say, Paul?
Nothing.
No - because I heard you say something.
I didn't say anything.
Well, here's what I say...
Maybe you're a moron, but let me tell you something.
Stewart and Irene Coleman didn't raise any morons.
No, you deserve all the credit for that, right?
I'm outta here...
Me, too.
No, not those. They're bad for you.
God, Paul...what is your problem?
What problem?
I'm not sure if I was angry at Paul, or if I was angry at myself...
For suddenly hating my best friend, but...
You know, it used to be fun to hang around with you.
And I don't know what it is now, but being with you is like...
Being...
What?
I don't know...
I just think...
But what I didn't want to say was... that Paul had changed.
You know, Kev...you've changed.
What?
Hey!
What's that supposed to mean?
I mean, you hang around with those guys...
and all you care about is being cool in front of them.
I do not. And besides, they're your friends, too.
No. They were you friends first. We were friends...so I just came along.
What, so I can't have any other friends other than you?
That's ridiculous.
You know, I call you when the guys get together.
I invite you to the poker games. I -
Yeah, and that ski trip over Spring break...
I bet you were gonna invite me to that, too, right?
That's what I thought.
Hey, I can't even sit in the car with you morons.
Shut up, Chuck.
You know, I wouldn't have be here if it wasn't for your cheating.
Hey, Mr. Mathwhiz, don't you have some studying to do, or something?
Look, shut up about my math already. At least I don't cheat.
Maybe you should - you haven't won a hand in three months.
Why don't you both take a hike. You sound like you're married.
I don't believe you guys. You know you make me sick?
Oh, yeah? Well... what are ya gonna do about it?
What am I gonna do about it? What are you gonna do about it?
And of course...
There was only one answer.
Gentlemen?
The ante is one dollar.
The last hand of the night.
Cards?
Two.
The play was intense.
The conversation...
At a minimum.
Two.
What had begun three hours ago...
As a simple...
Game among friends...
Three.
Had, by ten-thirty, developed into an all-out grudge-match.
One.
I'll take two.
Suddenly, we were no longer boys playing a man's game.
We were men.
Men at war.
Defending our turf.
Standing our ground.
Alright.
I bet twenty cents.
Thirty.
Thirty-five.
And I'll raise you...
Fifty.
Fifty-one.
It was time to show no mercy. Take no prisoners.
The bets were down.
Pair 'o jacks.
A straight. Almost.
Two pair - jacks and nines.
Three sevens.
It's up to you, Jeff.
And then...
I fold.
I got nothin'.
You mean, I win?
You win.
I won. I can't believe it - I won.
At the very brink of disillusionment...
And despair...Randy Mitchell...
The perpetual loser...
Finally won a hand.
I'll get it.
Hello?...Yeah. Yeah, hang on.
Chuck, it's Alice.
Alice?
That's great. Uh...that-that's great.
Yeah. Me, too.
I'll call you when I get home. OK, bye.
She's not pregnant!
And there you had it.
Fortune in men's lives.
Face it. In poker...and friendship...
Anything could happen.
Seeya later, guys.
Thanks, Kev. Guess I'll go hit the books.
Seeya.
Boy...I will never have sex again.
- Hey, wait up! - Hey, Jeff. Sorry about that last hand.
Well...he deserved to win one.
Seeya Monday, man.
Bye.
Hey, Coleman...you owe me seven bucks.
- I do not. - I want an IOU.
The funny thing is...
That night, cleaning up... I kept thinking about that last hand.
The one that had turned things around...for Randy.
For all of us.
The one Jeff had lost.
Wait a minute.
Jeff won.
I felt pretty foolish...
Having questioned the guy's integrity. His honesty.
That fact that this deck had...
Five kings.
The door was open.
I forgot my jacket.
Oh.
I guess that silence said it all.
That things had changed between Paul and me.
That the unspoken ease of our friendship...
Was slipping away.
So, I guess I'll see you in school.
Yeah.
Paul?
Uh...
I just wanted to say that, uh...
But there was no way to say it.
Those seventeen years...
He knew what I meant.
Thanks.
After all...
Standing there on the edge of adulthood...
we knew that the problems of men were not easily solved.
That life was a risk.
That growing up...was a gamble.
That the time for bluffing, had passed.
Come on, Paul...
Let's see what ya got.
Uh, is this a three, or an eight?
Eight.
After forty years, I should think you could afford a new deck of cards.
Still, ya never knew.
Jeff...
What's that under your sleeve?
My cufflink.
Yeah? Well that cufflink better not be able to beat three queens.
Never mind.
With a little luck...
Things just might turn out OK.
So. Anyone hungry?
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