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Summary
In a small town, two boys become friends. Erik is a loner, who becomes friends with Dexter, who lives next door
and has AIDS. Erik becomes closer to Dexter's mom Linda than his own who is neglectful and violently forbids their friendship. So
they keep their friendship a secret. The boys seem to think they can find a cure for AIDS. They start trying all
sorts of things, like, eating different combinations of candy, different plants and tree bark, they even make teas with different
plants. When the boys hear of a doctor in New Orleans who has a cure for AIDS, they leave home to go on a journey down
the Mississippi River to find him. When they realize that they will not make there on their own, they hire
a bigger boat to take them on their way. Making all sorts of stops along the way, Dexter runs out of medicine before
they get there. His condition worsens, so Erick calls Dexter's mom for help. Dexter ends up in the hospital.
The boys start playing tricks on the hospital staff, pretending that Dexter dies and he jumps up and scares them. Til
on day he does it and he really does die. At the funeral, Erik places one of his shoes in the coffin and
takes one of Dexters' to let sail down the river (as eariler in the trip when Dexter was having nightmares, Erik
told Dexter to hold one of his sneakers as a reminder that he's always by his side).
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