“Youth has an expiration date and like all things that expire, if you hold onto it for to long it will begin to spoil.”
Our story opens abruptly in the upstairs bathroom of the Foster residence where we meet Evan (known as Foster to his friends) struggling to quickly jerk off before breakfast. Evan has been out of high school for over a year and is enjoying his second summer after graduating. He is being nagged by his mother, who like any good parent, sees the potential in her son and wants him to move forward and go to University. Evan writes for a local newspaper on a part time basis and is very talented. He sees the job as a source of money for booze and expenses, but nothing else. As the story progresses he is often seen writing his thoughts on a pad of paper and he is not short on ideas or opinions. Foster’s scribblings, doodles, and notes will be a constant motif throughout the story.
His closest friend Jack is tall and good-looking with dark skin. He has no problem attracting young women, and is very happy to do so, despite the fact that he has a steady girlfriend. Jack also seems to have all the other things people his age would love to have; a fast car, almost no parental supervision and even an expensive camcorder that he likes to take to parties to record his conquests. We are first introduced to Jack as his girlfriend Noelle, ringing his front door bell, awakens him from a drunken stupor. He’s sent into a panic as he realizes a girl he picked up from a party is still in his bed with him. Noelle is looking for the bra she has left in his bedroom. Much to the chagrin of Jack, he has to figure out how to hide the girl that has slept in his bed that night, but is so drunk, Jack can't awaken her. After a brief moment of panic Jack has an idea so terrible that he thinks it just might work. He buries the passed-out girl in the dirty laundry on the floor and distracts Noelle with sex right beside his last night's “flavour of the week”, finding his girlfriend's bra in the process. We see right away, the control that Jack has over Noelle. She really loves Jack and wants to give him everything. We are already starting to see that Jack only loves Jack. He is the kind of guy who is rarely honest and often up to no good, but he’s become so good at spinning safety nets of lies that he almost never has to deal with the consequences of his actions.
And to round out the group, we meet Dustin. He is the follower; the one that somehow got to be part of the group, but is not quite sure why or how. He is small and still carries that youthful chubbiness that has long since left Jack and Foster and he hangs on everything thing they say, every suggestion they make and every idea they have. It is obvious from the beginning that he has not experienced what Foster, and especially what Jack, have experienced, but he wants to and he will do just about anything they suggest. Foster is too nice a guy to take advantage of this situation. In fact he is barely aware of it. Jack, on the other hand, is well aware of the idol worship he receives from Dustin. We gradually begin to see Jack's attitude and his behavior become ominous. It is like a dark cloud growing bigger and darker, about to burst into sheets of heavy rain.
Later that day we find Foster, Jack and Dustin sipping coffee at their favorite hang out, a 1950s inspired diner that they frequent often. Jack argues that the only difference between man and beast is opposable thumbs. Jack is known for throwing out random bullshit theories he’s come up with just to reassure himself of his intelligence. Foster quickly changes the subject to their plans for the night. They decide on crashing a party at this high school kid “Scotty B’s” house because his parents will be away, there will be lots of beer and there will be lots of young high school girls. They will probably be the oldest guys there and it will be no problem to attract high school girls. Although it is never said, there’s a sense of power as they go to the party as the “big fish” in the little pond. It is at this party that Foster meets “April Holiday”. She is one of the “Holiday sisters”, well known in town for their extreme good looks, but Foster is unaware of these young ladies and is very taken with April, the youngest sister, who is just as taken with Foster. She scribbles her phone number on his arm before she leaves him to talk to a friend. Jack, in the meantime, has picked up two girls and is secretly recording their threesome. Dustin is so uncomfortable with the party that he gets as drunk as possible and ends up asleep in the back seat of Jack's Camaro. While all of this is happening, Noelle is alone at home. She continually phones Jack, but he is too busy to answer her calls. Jack, Foster and Dustin end up at a quiet spot beside the lake to sober up. As they chat, Foster starts to realize that this “continuous summer holiday” they are living, is becoming a bit stale. His unrest is becoming more and more apparent, but Jack is completely oblivious to it. Dustin sleeps on in a drunken stupor.
The next morning Jack tries to call Noelle back, but she is not in bed. Instead, she is vomiting in the toilet in her bathroom and we know right away that she is pregnant, but apparently she hasn't figured it out yet.
Foster, being very interested in April, tells Jack and Dustin all about her. Foster is unsure of whether he should go after her or not. After all, April is only fifteen and this seems a little young for Foster. Of course Jack just sees it as an opportunity to get into the pants of a good-looking high school cheerleader and encourages Foster to give her a call.
Jack finally goes to see Noelle, who has something to tell him. We assume it will be about the pregnancy, but we are surprised to find that Noelle has been accepted into a University that is a five-hour drive away and has decided to go. Even more surprising is Jack's reaction - he is devastated! He does not want Noelle to be so far away and he leaves her crying in her bedroom and heads home to get drunk. Although he cheats and lies to Noelle all the time, he does love her and he is strangely dependent on their relationship. He seems to have a character flaw that manifests in having to have different girls fawn over him all the time. He can't be faithful to Noelle despite his love for her. As he drowns his sorrows in whiskey, he gets an excited call from Foster who has set up an evening with April and a friend. He wants Jack to come with him to make up a foursome. This is where we meet “Kori”, another very young high school girl with huge green eyes and long blonde hair. Jack is instantly attracted to her and by the end of the evening Jack gets what he wants. Jack makes them all have a glass of absinthe, but the young girls can't handle the liquor. April goes outside to vomit and Foster follows her. She is very embarrassed and Foster offers to get her some water. Inside he bumps into April's older sister “August” and can't believe she is even more beautiful than April. They talk for only a short time, but Foster is hooked.
Over the next few weeks we see Foster getting to know August as they meet casually several times. August is a great influence on Foster and she convinces him that his mother's interference in his decision on whether to go to University or not, is a good thing. She teases him about safely hunting house cats instead of the big game. Foster becomes less annoyed with his mother's meddling and is beginning to see her point. Jack continues his relationship with Kori and ignores Noelle, but not for long. This finally comes to a head when Noelle tells Jack she is pregnant. But Jack’s reaction isn’t what we expect. Completely out of character Jack actually takes some responsibility and offers to marry Noelle and take care of her and the baby. He is very supportive, but he knows that he somehow has to get rid of Kori, who is now head-over-heels in love with him. Jack, never without a plan, decides he will push Kori into the arms of his good friend Dustin, who is still a virgin. It takes a lot of convincing with drugs, booze and a little emotional blackmail to get Kori to agree to “snuggle up” to Dustin at the huge beach party that will end the summer with a bang. Dustin questions Jack's plan, but Jack insists that Kori has eyes for Dustin and convinces him to wait in the back seat of the Camaro parked at the beach and Kori will come to him. Jack has the whole thing planned and is quite pleased with himself. As he speeds down the road in his Camaro he sees a black cat move into his path. Instead of slowing down, he speeds up and hits the cat. As he drives away, Jack does not see the bloody footprints of the cat disappear into the woods at the side of the road.
After a lot of mind wrestling, Foster has decided that he needs to tell April that he is attracted to August. Despite Jack's protests that you cannot move from one sister to another, Foster wants to be upfront with April. April, on the other hand has decided through lots of discussion with Kori, that Foster's distant behaviour is because she has not had sex with him yet and she will give him her virginity that night in the woods beyond the beach. We feel that cloud getting darker, and bigger with rumbles of thunder in the distance, warning us of the coming storm. Noelle has taken some time to talk to her friend Christine about her pregnancy. Christine is doubtful about the “happily ever after” picture Noelle has given her, but is supportive of her friend. She suggests they go to the big party down at the beach, to get her mind off of the pregnancy and losing her opportunity to go to University.
As the party progresses all our characters are drinking except Noelle. She is pretending to have a beer, but passes it to her friend Christine. Jack is pumping the booze and drugs into Kori so she will go to Dustin and he has given Dustin some of those drugs to keep her in the stupor, so his plan will work. Dustin takes his share of both to make him brave for what is to come. When Jack finally convinces Kori to meet Dustin in the back of the Camaro, just to see what might happen, he sits on the beach with a smug grin on his face. Little does he know his world is about to cave in. Noelle has seen him on the beach kissing Kori goodbye before he passes her off to Dustin. Foster has told April the truth and he is trying to find her at the party. Jack just looks at Foster until he leaves to head for April's house. As Jack looks over the water, he sees a huge, black panther walking on the water towards him. Is it the drugs or is it really happening? Either way it scares the shit out of him.
In the meantime, Dustin has had sex with an unconscious Kori who finally awakens and runs from the car sobbing. Dustin is horrified as he remembers an abusive relationship with his mom's boyfriend. He knows what it is like to be used and violated. Dustin downs a huge handful of Jack's pills to silence his thoughts. Kori lies at the edge of the woods covered in dirt and vomit and Jack gets into the car only to notice it smells like sex. He glances at Dustin in the back seat and smiles. He calls Noelle and leaves a message for her, saying they should get together to make plans for the baby.
Noelle is frantic. She can't get into Christine's locked car so she heads for the portable toilet after downing half a bottle of vodka. Not knowing what else to do, Noelle, pounds on her stomach and begs God to “get it out of her” on the floor of the filthy, fowl-smelling porta-potty. Finally becoming quiet, she sits there only to hear the phone ring. It's Jack. She picks up the phone and throws it into the thick sewage and then takes off the diamond engagement ring that Jack gave her and it follows. In the eerie silence the phone and the ring are slowly swallowed up in the stinking pile of piss, shit and paper.
Foster tries to explain to August at her front door that he didn't mean to hurt April, but it is too late. She tells him that he “fucked up” and closes the door in his face. He is heartbroken.
The next morning Jack and Foster sit in the coffee shop waiting for Dustin. Kori awakens in the dirt and vomit to the sound of traffic and realizes what has happened. She tries to call Jack, but he doesn't answer and she finally decides to walk home. Ironically, Noelle drives past her on her way to a woman's clinic to have an abortion.
Jack ignores the calls that keep coming in from Kori until finally Foster explodes and tells him off. He rants about how Jack hurts people, but is oblivious to it. Jack is shocked and protests, but Foster storms out. He heads home and fills out a registration form to go to University in September.
Jack hops in his car and heads for Noelle's house. He meets her in the driveway. Oblivious of what has happened, he can't understand why Noelle is angry. She finally blurts out the whole story and tells him there is no baby. He is left stunned and alone in the driveway. He jumps back in his car and calls Kori. She shoots him down and will accept none of his excuses. While punching his windshield in rage, Jack finally notices a very dead Dustin in his back seat. He rushes him to the hospital, but there is nothing that can be done.
As friends and family gather at the funeral, Jack remains at home in a drug and booze induced stupor filled with guilt and remorse, but the horror of the whole situation is just beginning. Jack is hallucinating and he sees Dustin beside him. Dustin is very real to him and he tells him that he has to “cut off his thumbs” because of what he has done. He is not a man, but a beast. He shows him the fetus of his baby and pushes and pushes until Jack finally does it. Jack gathers supplies, an iron, a milk crate, some gauze, and a buzz saw. Jack sits with the saw between his legs and the trigger taped into the “on” position. He only pauses for a moment before running his left thumb over the blade slicing it off in one quick motion. He drops the saw into the milk crate and cauterizes the wound with the iron. It’s more painful then he anticipated and we find him some time later in the upstairs bathroom struggling again with Dustin’s ghost who encourages him to go back down stairs and finish the job. Our hearts drop as Jack prepares to cut off his other thumb, but Foster has entered the house. Furious at Jack for not coming to Dustin's funeral, Foster has arrived at Jack's house to have it out with him. He is blown away by what he finds. Jack is still in the bathroom fighting the imaginary Dustin. He swings at the apparition with the neck of a broken whiskey bottle. He tries to stab the ghost of Dustin, only to stab Foster instead as he opens the bathroom door. As Foster hits the floor, his stomach gushing blood, Jack snaps to his senses and helps him. He drags Foster to the car and starts to drive to the hospital. They are both covered in blood. Jack is driving with one hand and Foster is gurgling in the back seat. Jack has lost so much blood that he begins to lose consciousness and swerves off the road. We see the large panther follow the car into a clearing that turns out to be the road. The cat sits in the middle of the road and stares into the night. Finally Jack hears Foster say “call 911”. He reaches for Foster's phone and with a huge struggle makes the call, but as he looks up at the road he sees dozens of cats and in the middle is the big black panther. He looks right into his eyes and just as he hears a woman's voice on the other end of the phone, he swerves to avoid the cat and the Camaro flies off the road into a ditch pitching Jack through the windshield.
Twenty minutes later, Jack struggles to sit up. Covered in blood with broken bones jutting through his skin, he calls to Foster, but gets no answer. He sees Foster's phone still clutched in his good hand. He dials Nicole's number with his thumb and Noelle picks up, thinking it is Foster. In a heart wrenching conversation, Jack convinces Noelle not to hang up. He keeps her tied to the phone, talking about when they first met. Despite Noelle trying to get off the phone so she can get help, Jack keeps her on the line. He just wants to remember he says, but as he gets weaker he begins to mumble. Noelle is sobbing, but Jack says no more. His life flashes before him in rewind. He is gone…
Later in the hospital Foster grieves for Jack. He notices a small package on the bed, wrapped in plain brown paper. It's an empty notebook with a card from August saying “Do what you do best Evan Foster”. And so he does - he writes and writes and writes… When he is released from the hospital he goes to see August and they end up in the park on the swings. Everything is going to be all right.
Time passes and Foster is back home after his first year away at school. He feels out of place and everything seems smaller. He finally finds the courage to visit the coffee shop - his old hang out. He looks over at the table they used to sit at and sees Jack and Dustin. In his book he had killed them off. It was his way of ending his time with them and moving forward, but there they were, still stuck in the same place and very much alive. We realize now that everything we’ve read has been part of Foster’s story, Foster's constant writing and his continuous use of pen and notebook. This is his way of pulling away from childhood friends that were not taking his path. He wrote them out of his life.
At first it is awkward, but Jack breaks the ice with a grin and a “hi” and all is well. They don't discuss their present lives, talking in generalities. Jack looks over thoughtfully at another table with three teenaged boys laughing and talking as they drink coffee.
We end with a quote from J. M. Barrie, the last line from Peter Pan…
“And so it will go on, as long as children are gay, innocent, and heartless”
