It's officially September. You know why? When I drive down Broad Street, there's dozens of hoodlums standing outside the deli by the high school. I never quite understood the phenomena. Let's stand clustered really close together and smoke cigarettes in the rain ouside of a deli. Yeah, that's hardcore. A deli that's right next door to a florist. I don't know.

Tonight kicks off the NFL season. I don't care about the Redskins/Jets, however. Here's my predictions for the NFL season:

Bengals finish 6-10 with wins over denver, baltimore, arizona, houston, pitt, and st. louis. i'm hoping for better, but don't expect it. i have every right not to. it's been 12 years without playoffs.

NFC North: Packers, Vikings, Lions, Bears
NFC East: Eagles, Giants, Cowboys, Redskins
NFC South: Bucs, Falcons, Panthers, Saints
NFC West: Rams, Seahawks(my surprise team), 49ers, Cards
Wild Card=Falcons, Giants
NFC Champ Game:Eagles over Falcons

AFC North: Browns, Steelers, Ravens, Bengals
AFC East: Patriots, Bills, Dolphins, Jets
AFC South: Titans, Colts, Jags, Texans
AFC West: Chiefs, Raiders, Broncos, Chargers
Wild Card: Bills, Raiders
AFC Champ Game: Titans over Patriots
Super Bowl: Titans over Eagles
*disclaimer: Do not use these as your own picks, or you will burn in hell and be ridiculed enormously. The author has no clue about picking football standings. This is all in good fun.

OK, now that's over. Here's the next part of my story:

I woke up at about ten on Saturday morning. I probably would have slept through Saturday completely, but the doorbell woke me up. It was the police.

“Hello, Miss, I’m Officer Taylor, Andy’s uncle. I was informed that you were a friend of Josie and Andy.”

“Yes, wh--what’s happened?”

“Well, Miss,” he paused and I noticed his adam’s apple bob in his throat, as if he was swallowing back something. “They were found dead this morning.” His eyes watered. “I’m very sorry. If there’s anything I can do…Here’s my card. Please take care, and we promise we will end this case soon. I will make sure of that. I’m so sorry.”

I cried and closed the door lightly. I slid to the floor with my back to the door. I picked up the phone to call Corey. I couldn’t compose myself enough to be comprehendible, however. I finally was able to spit out in blurts, “Corey…need…you…here.” He was at the door when the I hung up the phone. He came over and tried to comfort me. I weeped in his arms for what seemed to be hours. He seemed very uneasy about the situation as well. He shook at times, and choked back tears often, as he and Andy were becoming closer as friends.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he said.

“Me too, hon.”

“I mean, I’m getting a bad vibe right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think I should go see if I can help Andy’s uncle. I want this creep put away now.”

“No, you can’t, please. I need you here. Don’t leave me.”

“All right, but I just wish this never happened. I wish I could go back in time or something to stop it. I don’t know what to do. I feel helpless.”

He was right. We quivered nervously for the rest of the afternoon. Every noise we heard caused a rush to see if the door was still locked, and with each click, chirp, or thud, I began to think more.