The Times They Go By So Quickly

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## Synopsis

Alicia and her friends spend their summer vacation going to the movies, learning to drive, and meeting new friends.

## Plot

The season starts on Alicia Barker's 16th birthday, July 12, 1988. She's practicing "California Über Alles" by the Dead Kennedys when she gets a phone call from her best friend, Jennifer Woods. Jenny asks Alicia if she still wants to see the newest Tom Cruise movie, and Alicia enthusiastically agrees. As Alicia's getting ready, she's interrupted by her younger sister, Tiana, asking if Alicia will still play with her and her iguana, Fluffy.

Meanwhile, Jason Slattery and Kyle Timmons are using the library staircase as a skateboard grinding rail. As Kyle attempts to show off, Christopher Saunders exits the library just in time for Kyle to land on top of him. A little later, Alicia and Jenny meet up with the boys, and everyone learns that Chris is only 14 years old, and skipping ahead to grade 11 along with the rest of the crew.

Later that evening, Alicia orders pizza as a birthday present to herself, but when her mom June finds out Alicia's ruined her dinner plans, she demands her daughter go look for a job.

A few days later, Alicia and Jenny are eating lunch at O'Reilly's and talking about Alicia's job predicament. As they are eating, Kyle takes his break from waiting tables and joins them. Jenny suggests Alicia should work with her at Sparky's Underground Record Store, and Alicia agrees.

Jenny and Alicia head over to the record store, and there Alicia meets Sparky. Sparky interviews Alicia on the spot, asking her about various band and musicians and their musical genres. Even though Alicia is biased towards punk rock and alternative music, she is well-versed in music she doesn't listen to as well, and she gets the job.

Later in August, Chris is already studying ahead. He receives a knock on his door, and his mom Rebecca enters. She tells Chris his cousin Meg DeWitt has arrived to stay with them. Chris goes downstairs to greet Meg and they go out to wander around downtown.

Meanwhile, Alicia is attempting to get her driver's license. She fails terribly as Chris and Meg walk by. Further down the street, Meg and Chris run into Jason. He greets Meg by kissing her on the back of her hand. Chris takes this as Jason flirting with her, and tries to break them up. Meg immediately can tell Jason's intentions are honorable.

Jason gets back home with groceries for his mom, Alexis. She introduces him to her new boyfriend, Ted, a field engineer. Jason feigns interest in Ted's life, and Alexis is elated.

Later in the month, Jenny visits Kyle when he's still in his sleep clothes, and we learn that Jenny has at least an inkling of an interest in Kyle.

About a week before school starts, June punishes Alicia for not passing her driver's test by dragging her along to go school shopping. Alicia argues to bring Jenny along too, and June agrees. As they're shopping, Alicia argues that she'd rather wear boy's clothing. When they get back to the Barker residence, Alicia mentions that she could use some money to visit the county fair. After receiving money from her mom, Alicia runs off with Jenny to go gather their friends.

At the county fair, Alicia, Jenny, Jason, Kyle, and Chris proceed to enjoy their time there. Kyle notices Meg talking to a girl, and proceeds to go chat Meg up. Meg responds by kicking Kyle into orbit. Chris introduces his cousin to all his new friends. The group goes off to ride some more rides, and Meg sighs to herself.

## Appearances

### **Characters**

* Alicia Barker (debut)
* Jenny Woods (debut)
* Tiana Barker (debut)
* Fluffy (debut)
* June Barker (debut)
* Jason Slattery (debut)
* Kyle Timmons (debut)
* Chris Saunders (debut)
* Miss Reed (debut)
* Sparky (debut)
* Rebecca Saunders (debut)
* Meg DeWitt (debut)
* Alexis Slattery (debut)
* Ted (debut)

### **Objects**

* Alicia's Fender Stratocaster (first appearance)
* Jason's skateboard (first appearance)
* Kyle's skateboard (first appearance)
* Jason's drumkit (first appearance)

### **Locations**

* Belharght, California (first appearance)
	+ Barker residence (first appearance)
		- Alicia's room (first appearance)
	+ Woods residence (first appearance)
		- Jenny's room (first appearance)
	+ Slattery residence (first appearance)
	+ Timmons residence (first appearance)
		- Kyle's room (first appearance)
	+ Saunders residence (first appearance)
		- Chris's room (first appearance)
	+ Movie theater (first appearance)
	+ Library (first appearance)
	+ O'Reilly's Pizza (first appearance)
	+ Belharght Elementary School (first appearance)
	+ Sparky's Underground Record Store (first appearance)
	+ Belharght Mall (first appearance)
	+ County Fair (first appearance)

## Notes

### References

* *The Times They Go By So Quickly* is the first line of "The End," a song Heather wrote about high school when she was sixteen.
* In "An Artist in the Making," Alicia is practicing the song, "California Über Alles," by the Dead Kennedys.
* "I'm Sticking to Risky Business" is referring to Alicia's favorite Tom Cruise movie.
* "A Close Encounter of the Nerdy Kind" is a play on the title of Steven Spielberg's 1977 film, *A Close Encounter of the Third Kind*.
* In "Summer Studies," Jenny mentions that Alicia thinks "Johnny Rotten is cute." Rotten, ex-head of the Sex Pistols, is not really known for being "cute."
* In "The Truth About Chris," Jason wonders if Chris knows how the lead singer of the Dead Kennedys was. It was Jello Biafra.
* In "Real Life Sucks," Alicia mentions that she is a fan of punk rock bands the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, Bad Religion, and Television, and not a fan of pop singers Cyndi Lauper and the New Kids on the Block, and hip hop artists 2 Live Crew.
* "Flashbacks Part 1 1/2": The Sex Pistols weren't really a kid's band.
* The title "You Spin Me Right Round" is referring to the 1985 Dead or Alive song.
* "Road Rage (Or How Not to Drive a Car)": Alicia turns the radio on to "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner.
* "Triplets": Jenny's younger siblings are loosely based on Lock, Shock, and Barrel, characters from *The Nightmare Before Christmas*.
* "The Fair": Meg kicking Kyle into the sun is a reference to early 2000s anime, particularly *Pokemon*, when Team Rocket get episodically fired into space.

### Milestones

* Alicia's birthday takes place on July 12, from pages one through ten.
* The four best friends (Alicia, Jenny, Jason, and Kyle) meet Chris in "Summer Studies."
* Alicia obtains her first job as a cashier at Sparky's Underground Record Store.
* Meg moves to Belharght in "Mission: Meg," in early August.
* Meg meets Jason in "An Important Meeting."
* Meg meets Alicia, Jenny, and Kyle in "Introductions."

### Other

* This is the first chapter with a recap, with the characters more or less "breaking the fourth wall." They speak with each other and to an omnipresent onlooker. Also, this is the first time you see the characters in color.
* "Flashbacks Part 1" and "Flashbacks Part 1 1/2" were supposed to be one long page, but they were cut to two regular sized pages after the chapter was completed, thus why they are both called page thirteen.
* At 28 pages, this is the longest chapter of Juvenile Diversion to date.