Graduation and beyond

[mitochondriaaya]

Graduation was just before her birthday, so Aya was fifteen when she slithered into the graduation gown and tried her hat on. Walking with a tassel (as practice proved) was distracting. She wasn't katzu, true, but she still had the urge to bat at it. Instead she had to look calm. Sedate. Grown up.

Yeeeeah.

At least she wasn't Valedictorian, that would have added a whole new level of stress to her last year of school! And still she'd almost been swayed by the teacher who suggested she stay another year. Almost. Life didn't wait though and the boys were already so far ahead of her that it was a laughable idea to 'catch up' but hey, at least they could all be in college for some of the same years! Sure, not the same college but...yeah. She went out with her friends the night before graduation, a low key party out on a floating dock with a lot of silliness and loud music, but hey, they were all seniors, it was expected!

She made it home in the morning in time to toss back a mug of coffee and try to think about breakfast. "Have to be at the field at...four? Four thirty. Right. Yeah." More coffee. The message light on the answering machine was flashing so she hit the button and listened as her dad rambled cheerfully about it being the day, and he had his ticket to the graduation, and he wasn't going to lose it and what else did he need to remember? "Your head," she chuckled, listening. He'd been leaving messages all week as the day rolled closer. It was nice for Jerrig to be excited.

Granted, traffic was going to be hell with the town turning out to see graduation at the nearest sports field and tourists flooding in to see the surfing competition in the town nearby, but as long as everyone left early they'd be fine right? Right. It wasn't like she had to drive.

Maaaaaaaybe staying out all night hadn't been the best plan though. The coffee waqs sitting heavy in her stomach and she felt her hands tensing around the mug as REAL LIFE loomed up in her mind.

Ouch.

Yeah.

"What was I thinking?!" It was totally okay to ask these things of the empty kitchen, yep.

Comments

[sliceitwithwind]

Each plate was greeted with polite thank-yous, because even though they were ravenous teenagers they were polite.

[mitochondriaaya]

Yes, polite, and if they weren't Elcy would show up magically to swat them! Lunch was still more of a zoological exhibit than a meal! Aya ordered fruit with yogurt and honey for dessert and finally slowed down when the last of her salad had been chased around the plate. "Alright, last minute advice for graduating?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Don't lock your knees, you'll faint." Dilan said.

"Try not to giggle."

[mitochondriaaya]

That, naturally, made Aya giggle. And keep giggling. It took her a moment to stop! "Now I'm going to think about nothing but giggling and making sure I flex my legs..."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Which means you won't be stressing out." Braig pointed out.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Ah, sneaky boys." She chuckled and shared her last spoonful of fruit with Dilan. "Alright, I think I'm ready. Mostly."

[sliceitwithwind]

Dilan chirruped at the fruit, then dug for his wallet. "My turn to pay!" he told Braig cheerfully.

Braig laughed, and nodded, "I'll get the car started."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Alright, that's that." Aya scooted out of the booth and hooked her arm in Braig's to accompany him to the car. She was goosebumpy and a little wound up judging by the shiver in her arm, but grinning.

[sliceitwithwind]

Braig gave her a hug before unlocking the car, "You're going to be fine."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Yeah, I know. I can still be nervous and excited and all. C'mon, you can call me a dork afterward and I'll throw my hat at you guys or something." She slipped into her seat and bounced happily, getting even more wound up as the time for her walk drew closer.

[sliceitwithwind]

"Sounds like a plan." Braig allowed. Dilan slid back into his seat and buckeled up happily.

[mitochondriaaya]

"...tickets! Did I grab the seat tickets for you guys?!" HAD SHE FORGOTTEN?! "I know there's room for everyone but tickets get you decent seats, I got them for everyone..."

[sliceitwithwind]

"I got 'em." Dilan promised, "You left them on the counter, I grabbed them on the way out."

[mitochondriaaya]

"What would I do without you?" She grinned and tugged on a handful of his dreads. "Onward to the stadium!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Be a very lonely monkey." Dilan said, laughing.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Well, yeah, I'd be lonely, and devastated, probably a candidate for the loony bin..." Aya listed easily. "And I'd find some crazy guys to follow around in there and the world would be terrified."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Instead," said Braig, "you found some crazy guys to follow around out here."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Yeah, you guys saved me a lot of trouble." She smirked and poked them. "And getting a stay at the asylum off my record would have been a pain too!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"That's our purpose in life." Dilan said, reaching back to poke her belly. "Don't poke the driver."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Yeeek!" Ticklish! "Yeah, yeah I know...you guys live to make my life interesting....I'm sorry! Don't poke me again!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"It's one of our hobbies." Braig agreed, laughing.

Dilan stopped poking, but mostly so that she didn't mess up her hair.

[mitochondriaaya]

He could mess up her hair after graduation? "What are your other hobbies?" Aya laughed. "You can't be making up plots for me all the time!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Spoiling my cat, cooking, studying foreign languages..."

[mitochondriaaya]

"...making things explode, terrifying the local boys, terrifying the psych students..." Aya teased.

[sliceitwithwind]

"Pretty much." Braig agreed cheerfully.