Pamela Dodson, Special to SWoCo

Drew Lewis (left) and Colin Harris are into "Guitar Hero," playing riffs while on the phone with each other. Their favorite song is "Freebird."

Drew Lewis remembers the first day Colin Harris came to Child Care Network. They were both 5 when Drew went over to say "hi" to Colin. Their friendship began with building robots using a Legos set.

The guys are 12 now and are into "Guitar Hero," playing riffs while on the phone with each other. Colin admits Drew is at third/hard skill level, while he is at second/medium skill. Their favorite song is "Freebird," with "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Sweet Child o' Mine" on their most frequent play list.

This techno/music fad is part of how they stay connected even though they attend different schools. Both are in the sixth grade; Drew at Hidden Valley Middle School and Colin at Cave Spring Middle.

Drew gets $5 a week allowance, "plus whatever else I need to do what I want."

Colin gets $6 a week, adding "next year I get $7 a week when I'm in seventh grade."

Both use their money to buy tokens to play "RuneScape," an online interactive virtual reality game that teaches survival skills. The game uses warrior avatars that engage in "sword fighting and slaying monsters," Colin said.

"We learn how to hunt, fish, and find food using herb lore to get to different skill levels," Drew added.

Ask Drew what he likes to do and he'll tell you, "Think, read and get on the computer." He gets A's in science and math and reluctantly practices his flute lessons. His favorite TV show is "anything on Animal Planet," good preparation for his dream of becoming a zoologist or marine biologist when he grows up.

Colin is on a soccer team and plays alto sax in the school band. He wants to be an archaeologist; his favorite subject is "history, anything to do with Egypt and pyramids."

The guys say the first thing they think about when they wake up is "food, then gaming online ... anything to do with mythological worlds."

Typically, they are "sleepyheads," hard to get up in time for school. The boys' parents think their friendship is like that of brothers. Each is an only child and they are competitive, arguing at times and then always making up.

Drew said Colin is "funny and we just like to goof off."

"We're always on the phone or instant messaging each other," Colin added.