Night in the Ruts

Unexpected Guests - Charlie

        But as it turns out, Robbie's parents found out about the party and we all met up at a local bar for some live music instead.  Still I wasn't upset nor did I think about Steven.

        It was midnight now, and Nicky, Danny, and Andy and I were sitting up in Nicky's room listening to music.  The three of them had had considerable amounts of beer.

        "Here, Charlie," Nicky said, handing me a bottle of beer.  What?  "Drink this."

        "But you said–"

        "Whatever," Nicky replies lazily with a shrug.  I decide that I'm no longer in school so it doesn't really matter.  I pop the cap off.

--

Saturday's graduation was filled with tears, though not from me.  Jess attended, my mom (and of course Arthur) attended, as well as Alice, my dad, and my mom's parents.  Gretchen Applegarth was the valedictorian of the Class of '72, if you wondered or cared–I didn't, personally.  The creators of the prank were still unknown–to all but my friends and me, wink wink.

        When all was said and done, the band played the recessional and we paraded off the stage.  The first person to hug me was my mom, Jess followed soon afterwards.  Arthur tried to hug me so I sucked it up and let him.  Only four more people to hug, yet (I hate hugging).  Dad, Alice, and grandma and grandpa all hugged me and I was finally free... Or so I thought.  I wasn't really paying attention to who I was hugging, so after my grandpa, I thanked whoever was congratulating me and hugged them.  But as I was hugging them, I realized that I shouldn't be hugging any more people.  I looked to see who it was.

        "Tom?" I looked behind him.  "Joey?  Brad?"  What the hell are they doing here?

        "It's been forever," Tom explained.  "Where've you been?"

        I look at him like he's crazy.  Do they... Not know?  "I've been here... What're you doing here?"

        "Congratulating you," Brad replied smartly.  "Can't we do that?"

        I shrug, pushing my questions to the back of my mind and thanking them for coming.  But I couldn't get my initial question to go away: Is Steven here?

        Of course he's not here!  Why would he come to my graduation?  Suddenly, the day isn't so bright.  The familiar clouds come back around my head and I again feel like I'm in a daze.  Just get through this, then you can go home...

        I didn't get to go home.  The three Aerosmith boys insisted on treating me and all of my friends to lunch.  Of course we had to pay for ourselves because Tom, Joey, and Brad have no money, though.  I was waiting on Nicky after the lunch so that I could take him home.  I wondered what was taking him so long until I saw him talking with Brad, Joey and Tom.  So I went over there to evesdrop.  Maybe I'd get a clue as to why they're here.

        "We're sorry, man," Joey was saying, "we had no idea."  I had the fleeting impression that they were talking about Steven and me.

        "He didn't tell you guys?" Nicky demanded.  Yeah, they're definitely talking about us.

        The three of them shook their heads and Nicky sighed in exasperation.  "We wondered why he didn't want to go..." Tom muttered.

        "Anyway," Brad said, "we gotta get back.  Later, Nicky."

        Nicky nodded a goodbye and spun around, running right into me.  And then we went home.

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