Title: Discovering Clairmont: Part I
Rating: PG-13 [language, oblique mention of drugs]
Characters: Summer, Adele, and Bob Dylan, Jimmy and James Page Jr., Cameron Crowe

Author's Note: This series is based on Cameron Crowe's Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Using both the book and movie as guides, I hope to provide a glimpse into what could have happened, especially in relation to Midnight Shift. Completely canon with the epic and WILL contain spoilers.

Summary: Armed with his publisher behind his project and a broken heart, Cameron heads to San Diego, hoping to find some direction again. As a dutiful best friend, Summer flies back to California to cheer him up.





August 1979
San Diego, California

With a broken heart and a full duffel bag, Cameron headed down to San Diego. He switched back and forth through angsty and sad lost love songs for the first hour. As he passed a car that looked just like the one Summer drove in England, it dawned on him that he was broody over a relationship that ended days before. He had not even called his best friend to talk with her about it ― though she may have attempted to call him while he was locked in his room, listening to music. Hell, she did not even know that his publisher had finally agreed to his book pitch. He was a horrible friend, just like he had been a horrible boyfriend.

“No, stop thinking like that,” Cameron muttered to himself. “Stop it.”

Ejecting the moody tape, he glanced at his choices and quickly decided on Led Zeppelin. He focused on the aural landscapes the band painted, letting that distract his thoughts. Unsurprisingly, his thoughts drifted away from the songs. He followed Robert’s lyrical cues for a few moments, but they all seemed to lead to one thought, one he was not entirely comfortable thinking.

Luckily, he reached his exit and distracted his thoughts with stoplights and stop signs. Pulling into his parents’ driveway, he popped out the tape and restored it before turning off the car and grabbing his duffel bag. His dark eyes glanced over the facade of the house. He had not explained to his parents why he was coming home to visit, just that he was coming. He only hoped they would agree to his idea.

He entered his parents’ house, shouting a greeting to locate them. Tossing his duffel bag into his bedroom, Cameron headed into the backyard. Finding his mother kneeling in the garden and his father reading a book on the patio, he paused and just at hownormal their life seemed to be. It was such a vastly different world than the one he jumped into every month he went on assignment. It made him wonder what a normal life was even like.

“Hello, son,” his father looked up from his book. “How was the drive?”

“Long. Really long,” he responded, waving to his mother. “Hi, Mom.”

“Cameron,” she sat back on her feet, “you’re here earlier than I expected.”

“I didn’t see any reason to stay home and wait and... you know,” he rubbed the back of his neck.

“There’s iced tea in the fridge if you want, dear. We’ll have dinner at seven.”

“Okay, thanks,” he paused before re-entering the house. “You guys mind if I call Summer? She’s in London right now.”

“Go ahead. Tell her hello for us,” his father answered.

Heading back into the house, he poured a glass of iced tea and headed into his room. Instinctively flipping the ‘Do Not Disturb’ door hanger stolen from some concert tour years before to the outer doorknob, Cameron closed the door and set down his glass. He picked up his bag and tossed it off his single bed, before collapsing down onto it. Though it had been over a year since he moved into his apartment in LA, there was something very comforting about being back in that bedroom. Apparently, that’s what a broken heart needed.

Stretching for the phone, he mechanically dialed Jimmy’s phone number. Answered by a member of the household, he was directed to call a different number to actually reach Jimmy and Summer. Scrambling to write it down, as he was not used to Summer being anywhere but the Plumpton Place manor, Cameron repeated back the number, thanked the woman and hung up. Wondering what it meant for Summer to be at the Boleskine House with Jimmy, he dialed the new number, drumming his pencil on the nightstand while waiting.

With the phone answered and then set down in holding, Cameron got up from the bed and headed over to the small portable record player. Selecting one of the first albums he listened to with Summer, he carefully set the needle upon the groove. He smiled as the first notes filled the bedroom, his fingers reaching to adjust the volume to a comfortable level while talking on the phone.

As he sat and subsequently laid back down, her sweet voice filled his mind, “Hello?”

“Hello, sunshine.”

“Cameron! Where the hell have you been? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all week.”

“...I was home.”

“I know that. Your roomie told me that you had locked yourself in your room, just playing music. Didn’t you get my messages?”

Thinking back to the apartment he left without much regard, Cameron vaguely remembered notes taped to his bedroom door, “Um... possibly. I didn’t really check before leaving.”

“Where are you now?”

“My parents’.”

She paused, “Cam, what happened?”

He sighed, “She broke up with me.”

Summer was silent for a few moments, “Well that’s certainly her loss. You’re amazing, Cam. Any girl would be lucky to have you in her life. I know I am.”

He smiled, flushing slightly, “I appreciate that.”

“You need a hug, don’t you?”

“Yeahhhh,” Cameron sighed. “I do.”

“Well, if you want...”

“Summer, you don’t need to fly over here, just to give me a hug.”

“I can, if you need me.”

“Summer...”

“I’m coming. When we get off the phone, I’ll book the flight.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I know. But I want to. Besides we’re at the limit we set of not seeing each other. I could really use a break from gloomy England too.”

“You’re in Scotland now,” Cameron pointed out.

“Just as bad. Trust me.”

“You know I do.”

“How are your parents?”

“They’re good,” he accepted the change of topic. “They’re out in the backyard right now... doing whatever they do out there.”

Summer chuckled, “Well good. Be sure to tell them hello for me.”

“I will,” he paused. “I got the contract.”

She hesitated for a moment, “What contract?”

“For the book.”

“Really? That’s great!”

“Now I just have to find a high school that will let me in... and convince my parents to let me move back in for a year.”



Sitting in the office of Clairmont High School, Cameron glanced around. Everything about the interior of the school seemed... green. With school colors of blue and orange, it seemed weird that everything was painted green. His eyes focused on every little thing in the office, trying to commit all the details to memory. He was certain it would be helpful later on, regardless of whether or not the principal agreed to allow him to enroll.

“Mr. Crowe, the principal will see you now,” a rotund woman declared, staring at him over her desk.

Getting to his feet, the lanky twenty-two year old headed into the principal’s office. He slowly glanced around before his gaze settled on the nameplate on the desk. Meeting the older man’s eyes, Cameron smiled and offered his hand before sitting in front of Principal Gray. Taking a deep breath and hoping it was unnoticed, he explained his idea to he principal, not pausing until he reached the end of his pitch. Principal Gray hesitated in thought for a moment before asking Cameron for his credentials. Happily, he listed a number of his articles, concluding with his most recent interview of Kris Kristofferson.

That piqued the principal’s interest, “You know Kris Kristofferson?”

“Sure. I spent a few weeks on tour with him.”

“Hell,” he smirked, leaning back in his chair, “what’s he like?”

“A great guy,” Cameron responded before sharing a couple of stories.

“Well now... I think I can trust you,” the principal stated. “Maybe this can be worked out.”

He called in a few trusted teachers, explaining the intrigue. A homeroom was assigned. Twenty-two year-old Cameron was officially going undercover at Clairmont High School. Thanking the principal, Cameron shook his hand again, grinning.

Thinking he could not wait to share the news with Summer, Cameron got to his feet. It suddenly occurred to him that Summer might be attending with him. She had yet to say anything, but he had offered her the opportunity when the idea first came to mind. He quickly debated whether she should just enroll and be unknown to everyone or if he should broker the same deal for her. As she had no more need for a high school diploma than he did, he opted for the latter.

“Oh... I have friend, a girl, who might be joining me in my research. I think that might be the only way to get a full appreciation of modern day teenage life. She hasn’t yet confirmed, but if she does, can she be included in the no-grades-secret-operative?” Cameron asked.

“I don’t know... having one infiltrate the student body does not seem too bad. But two...”

“I think it’s the only way I can get a feminine perspective on it,” he stated. “I would hate for my research and book to be completely misogynistic.”

“True... come back and talk to me if she decides to join you.”

“Thank you again, Principal Gray,” he shook his hand again.

Heading out of the principal’s office, Cameron felt like he was soaring. Everything seemed to be going as planned. All he needed to do was purchase the needed items to start school the following week. But that would wait ― until after he picked up Summer and her son at the airport.



Setting down Summer’s luggage in his sister’s former room, Cameron returned to the living room. For a brief moment, he watched as James crawled across the carpet towards his mother, Summer sitting comfortably on the couch, chatting with Alice. The older woman held open her arms for the infant, praising him once he reached her. She pulled the infant into her lap and quickly showered him with kisses.

Plopping down next to Summer, Cameron casually draped his arm on the back of the couch behind her, “I swear he doubles in size every time I see him.”

“You saw him like three weeks ago in New York,” Summer pointed out.

“Still...”

She nudged him slightly, “We should take him to the beach while I’m here.”

“Sure... if you want. But we’ll have to do it soon.”

“Okay... I’ll bite. Why?”

He flashed her a quick grin, “I start school next week.”

Summer blinked, “Really?”

Cameron nodded, “Yep. I convinced the principal yesterday. I’m enrolled in classes and everything.”

“Well I guess this means I’ll have to come here to see you from now on,” she teased.

“Actually...”

“What?” she glanced over at her son as he giggled while Alice rattled one of his soft toys.

“If you wanted to attend with me...”

Her eyes went back to his, “And how would that even work? I have an infant son and a British fiance.”

“Well... I don’t know,” he replied. “I just... I’d like to do this with you, since you’re my best friend. And I think if I really want to get the full picture of what it’s like to be in high school, I’ll need a girl’s perspective.”

“That makes sense. I just... I obviously can’t give up my son for a year. Nor Jimmy. I... don’t see how it will work, Cam.”

He nodded, though he was frowning, “I understand. I was just... yeah. It’s okay. I understand.”

Summer wiggled closer to him and kissed his cheek, “I’m not saying no. I’m just saying it’s a bit more complicated than moving back home with my parents.”

“No, I get it. Really. Don’t worry about it,” he muttered.

She kissed his cheek again, “So are we going to go shopping for a backpack and pencils?”

He chuckled, “Yeah, I guess.”

“Excellent.”

“I’ll take care of Jamie while the two of you shop, if you’d like,” Alice spoke up, drawing both pairs of eyes to her.

“Thanks, Mom,” Cameron instantly replied.

Due to Summer’s jet lag, they elected to shop the following day and stay at home instead. Before long, a movie was inserted into the player and the two young adults curled on the couch alone. As Summer dozed off, leaning on Cameron’s shoulder, before the movie really began to evolve, Alice dutifully tucked James into the portable crib in Cindy’s room. Rather than return to the living room, Alice left the two alone, a slight smile on her face. While she could admit hesitation upon meeting her son’s best friend, she now believed Summer and Cameron would always be a part of each other’s lives. She did not attempt to understand it, but a mother’s instinct was rarely wrong.



Pulling the elastic past James’s chin, Summer shook her head as the infant instantly reached up to push his hat off once more. She sighed and gave up, setting aside the small bucket hat. Chuckling, Cameron handed her a bottle of sunscreen without being asked. He laughed as the baby made faces while being slathered with sunscreen.

“If you would just wear your hat, Jamie,” Cameron stated, drawing the boy’s eyes up to him. “I never realized that you have your mommy’s eyes. What a lucky boy you are.”

Summer glanced at her best friend, smiling and blushing slightly, “He looks pretty much like the pics I’ve seen of Jimmy when he was little.”

“He totally has your eyes,” he repeated, shaking one of James’s rattle toys.

“Well at least he’s something of me...”

“He’s a lot you,” he replied softly.

She broke eye contact, looking out to the ocean, “We should go get wet. James has never been in the ocean before.”

Nodding, Cameron stood and plucked the baby from their beach blanket. Settling the boy on his hip, he offered his hand to Summer. With a smile, she let him pull her up to her feet. Her hand merely pivoted in his, letting him lead her out to the water. They waded a bit into the waves, until it reached mid-calf on Summer. Releasing her hand, Cameron turned to face her. Her eyes left his and focused on her son.

Slowly, Cameron squatted, lowering the baby’s toes into the water. James instantly squealed and flayed his arms about. Summer instantly lowered herself, putting her face at the same level of her son. He continued to wiggle in Cameron’s arms, but did not seem afraid. Instead, he kicked his legs in the foaming waves and clapped. Summer grinned and giggled as he kicked up the surf towards her. Her eyes flicked to Cameron, her smile increasing as she found he too smiled.

They remained in the water until the baby no longer seemed interested. Returning to their beach blanket, Summer retrieved a bottle filled with juice for James, handing a soda to Cameron. Wrapping James in a towel, she pulled the baby into her lap as she offered the juice.

“I haven’t noticed you... uh...” Cameron muttered, looking away to hide his blush.

“Nope. No more nursing. At nearly ten months old, he’s finally given up the boob,” she commented, smiling as James cuddled with her. “Luckily for me, they weren’t sore for long and haven’t shrunk too much.”

He cautiously glanced at her bikini-bound breasts, “You’re beautiful, Summer.”

Her eyes snapped to his, a flush coloring her cheeks, “Thanks.”

Cameron remained silent for a long, awkward moment, “So... uh... have you given any thought to coming to school with me?”

“You’re still thinking about my boobs right now,” she pointed out.

He quickly popped open the soda can and took a long drink, “No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are,” she teased.

“No, I’m not.”

“Bullshit.”

He focused on finishing his can of soda. Glancing around the beach to keep from stealing another glimpse of Summer’s body, his eyes focused on groups of teens. He wondered if any of them attended the school he was about to. Would this brief visit to the beach ruin his cover? Should they have elected to not go to a local beach? Had he failed before he even began?

Lips suddenly brushed his cheek, drawing his eyes quickly away from the nearby teenagers.

“Whatever you’re worrying about, stop,” Summer declared softly.

His eyes locked with hers, “How do you...?”

“I’m your best friend; that’s how.”

“But...”

“What’s bugging you?” she asked before turning to reach into their bag for another toy for her son.

“I... what if I fail? What if this whole going to school thing was a mistake?”

“You won’t fail, Cameron. You’ve never failed at anything you put your mind to. You aren’t the youngest writer for Rolling Stone for no reason,” she pointed out, shaking the toy in front of James.

“But... this is different.”

“How?”

“I’m pretending to be someone else.”

“You totally didn’t do that when you first started writing? You didn’t pretend to be older so they would accept you?”

He paused for a moment, “Yeah, I guess.”

“This will be just like that. And the kids will love you as much as I do and accept you as their own. You’ll see.”

“I wish you were coming with me.”

Summer frowned, “Okay. How about this: when I go up to LA on Monday, I’ll talk it over with my mom. We’ll see if we can figure out some way for this to work.”

His eyes brightened, “Really?”

She nodded, “It might not happen right away, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“I... I really appreciate that, Summer.”

“Enough to go get hot dogs?” her eyes glanced beyond him at the little shack near the edge of the beach.

He grinned, “And even ice cream.”



While Cameron headed to his first day of high school, Summer and James flew to Los Angeles. He fussed slightly in her lap, his baby hands eventually settling to pressing against the window on her left. With as well-traveled as the baby was, she found his behavior odd. If she did not know better, she would think her baby did not want... to leave San Diego behind.

Distracting him with juice and a graham cracker, Summer tried to figure out how she could join “Dave” at high school. Even if she did not have James, it would be difficult to navigate. She had never been to school before, so she certainly had no idea what to expect. At least she was not illiterate anymore; Cameron had seen to that. She did want to experience what school was like, even more now that she had a son. She wanted to be an example to James, wanted to be able to tell him one day that school was an enriching experience, especially as she was certain he would be attending school once he was of age.

But attending high school for a year with Cameron was not all about navigating life with her son. Her career was just beginning to take off, though not as much as she expected, as much as Jimmy had promised. Her relationship with Jimmy was the biggest obstacle. But really, what relationship? She had been home for a few weeks, doting on him while he and various members of the band tried to come to terms with the album release and the band’s future. Yet it seemed no matter what she did, he was apathetic at best. She knew it was the drugs’ influence. It was always the drugs’ influence. Some days... there were a few glimmers of hope in his eyes when he looked at her. But they were mere glimmers.

Maybe he needed a wake-up call in the form of her not coming home for the length of the school year.

When the plane landed in Los Angeles, Summer had decided what she was going to do. All she needed now was to get her parents to go along with it. Cameron’s parents did, so it should be just as easy to convince hers. At least she hoped so. Adele met her at the gate, quickly embracing her grandson and bubbling about how handsome he was. James merely clapped in response and waved at the gate attendant as they walked away.

The attention remained on James and other family affairs until dinner. With the baby distracted by food, some of which ended up being tossed at Bob, Summer brought up Cameron’s new project. Both of her parents listened with interest, neither interjecting anything. She could tell by her father’s expression that he likely thought it a silly experiment, but her mother seemed more receptive to it.

“So basically I want to go to high school with him,” she announced at the end of it. “He’s already arranged it with the school. I can start anytime.”

“What about your son?” Bob instantly asked. “Jimmy is in no condition to take care of him.”

Ignoring her father’s slight, Summer replied, “I’ll hire a nanny to take care of him during the day while I’m at school. It will be no different than if I went to work.”

“No,” he declared. “We’ll have no such thing. A stranger will not be raising our grandson.”

“And what do you propose, Bob? She can’t stay here and make a 3 hour drive to school every day so that we can take care of the baby,” Adele pointed out.

“We’ll relocate to San Diego for the school term,” he stated matter-of-factually, reaching for his glass of wine.

“Daddy...”

“Bob, that would not be ideal at all,” Adele spoke up.

“Why not?” he asked gruffly.

She smiled at her husband, “Despite you feeling like you’re unimportant in modern life, people are going to know who you are.”

“Summer is not an unknown either. She did just tour,” he pointed out.

“But not I only played in San Francisco. I didn’t even play here in Los Angeles and certainly not in San Diego. There’s hardly a chance any of them will know who I am,” Summer interjected.

“You are right, though, Bob,” Adele nodded. 

“Of course I am.”

“I’ll rent a house in San Diego for Summer and James. And I’ll stay down there with them while our daughter takes this journey,” she declared.

“Great. I’ll call some people tomorrow and find us a house,” he declared, turning back to his dinner.

“Me a house,” Adele corrected. “Just me, Bob.”

His eyes shot back up to her, “What?”

“You can’t go to San Diego with Summer. Your presence with eclipse Summer’s experience. I’ll go with her to take care of her son and to provide a cover. I’ll come home, to you, as often as possible,” she stated. “I presume you’ll be going home to Jimmy on longer breaks, Summer?”

“Um... well, I haven’t quite figured out Jimmy yet,” she responded, spooning more mashed potatoes onto James’s highchair tray.

Bob grumbled incoherently. Adele glared at him quickly to keep him from repeating whatever it was he said. Instead, she turned her attention back Summer and the two women began to plot out Summer’s venture into high school. Cameron had his wish: his best friend would be attending high school with him.