Raymond Vecchio was fifteen when he fell in love. He was standing on the sidewalk in front of the school, in the middle of a crowd of other high school boys, and he was in love with Ray Kowalski's car.

Ray Kowalski spent his weekends with his dad working on cars down at Al's Garage; the Kowalskis junior and senior earned some money from fixing up other people's cars, and they used it to rebuild the most beautiful cars around. This car -- a 1971 Buick Riviera, only four years old -- growled like a sudden summer thunderstorm as Ray pulled it up to the edge of the awestruck crowd, and the crowd murmured back in adoration.

To Raymond's left a small pack of the younger boys craned their necks to see around the taller juniors and seniors who gathered around as Ray Kowalski popped the hood and pointed out features no one understood inside the engine. To his right, people shuffled out of the way as the popular girls approached the car in a tight formation. Irene Zuko and Stella Plummer led to procession, but Raymond could see his own sister Maria trailing obediently behind in the fringe. Ray Kowalski straightened up and slicked his hair back nervously as the girls smiled upon him, and Raymond bit his lip as he listened to Ray stammer through an offer to take the girls for a ride.

Ray Kowalski was not one of the popular kids. He never had a lot of money and he never pulled his punches even if the teachers were watching; he spent a lot of time in the principal's office and the rest of the time cutting class to smoke cigarettes. Raymond Vecchio was not about to risk what little reputation he had by going near him, but he'd worshipped the scrawny new kid from afar ever since Ray Kowalski, on the second day of ninth grade and Ray's second day in that school ever, had bloodied Frank Zuko's nose. No one hit Frank, ever, but there'd been red running down Frank's chin while Frank watched Johnny and Ed and Greg beat Ray Kowalski into a pulp.

Frank Zuko drove a brand new Jaguar E Type, but anyone could see that he'd been in two or three accidents with it already; besides, his father had bought it for him and everyone know where the Zukos' money came from -- it came out of their fathers' pockets. Unless their fathers worked for Mr. Zuko, the boys didn't like Frank Zuko or his car or his sister Irene. Two years ago Mr. Zuko had fired Raymond's father, and the long frightening months when his father was drinking and shaking and expecting to be capped every time he went out to bring in the paper made Raymond's mind up very quickly about the Zukos.

So when Ray Kowalski pulled up to the curb behind the wheel of that '71 Riv, Raymond Vecchio was already primed to fall in love.