Girls in the Summertime

With my high school diploma in hand, I ran to my family, nearly pulling a Clumsy Chris on my way to the bleachers. Ronnie, my second eldest brother, snorted at the sight of my clumsiness, but is the first to pull me in an embrace. He kissed the top of my head and displayed a goofy smile on his face. His hand landed on top of my light blonde hair, ruffling it to his satisfactory.

“Congrats, little sissy, you are officially a grown woman!” he exclaimed, stealing the attention of the graduates who walked by.

I flushed under the gaze of my fellow peers, feeling my self-consciousness kick in. It is a shame that my former classmates have to see Ronald Grayson back in school, getting a kick out of embarrassing his younger sister. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be doing his reputation justice. Ronnie is known for his prankster ways in this school, and at the same time, excelling in all his class.

Matting my hair back in place, I tossed my graduation cap at Ronnie before moving on to my parents. My mother and father had been waiting patiently behind Ronnie.

“Mom! Dad!” I yelled excitedly, pulling my father into a hug.

My old man wrapped his arms around me and I feel him pat me gently on the back. It is a positive gesture, his way of telling me that he is proud of me and my accomplishments. I managed to pull a 4.5 GPA and rank at the top of my graduating class. It is nearly impossible to reach over 4.0, but I worked vigorously in all of my advanced courses to get to where I am now. My father is proud, indeed.

I hugged my mother next, but not before she kissed me on both sides of my cheek, more excitedly than my father, it seems. I can see tears of joy streaming down her face and it brought on my own tears. She whispered positive words into my ear before letting me free.

“As a graduation gift, we have a surprise for you” my dad announced, clasping his hands together proudly.

On instinct, I turned to Ronnie in order to get a second party opinion on this surprise. Usually, his opinion can help me determine mine, if circumstances are unknown. I am more alike Ronnie than most people in the world. His opinion usually matters to me most, after my two best friends, of course.

Ronnie is pulling a shit-eating grin on his face, amusement and excitement coating his vibrant blue eyes. A shrill of relief washed over me. If Ronnie approves, then the surprise will overwhelm me.

My mom and dad moved aside, revealing a figure that brought my eyes to dilate.

“Patrick!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, lounging at the figure that previously stood behind my parents.

My eldest brother backed up in surprise but accepted my jumping figure into his arms anyway. He chuckled lightly and tapped me on the head in our embrace. I wrapped both my legs around his waist, nearly tipping us over. He laughed softly before forcing me down on my feet.

“You’re back from London!” I exclaimed.

“Here I am” he scratched the back of his head modestly.

“But you planned to spend a month with Mia and her family!”

Mia is Patrick’s English girlfriend of two years. She is very well provided by her parents and she is a very polite, well-mannered woman. If my parents approved of Patrick’s new girlfriend, then she has passed the ultimate test of her lifetime. It takes more than education and occupation of choice to impress my parents. You have to be well-rounded at everything.

“I changed my mind! I wouldn’t miss your graduation for the world, Blake” Patrick smiled largely and let me tell you, it takes really extravagant circumstances for my straitlaced brother to pull a grin as big as this.

Then a thought suddenly hit me. I turned from Patrick to my parents and Ronnie, the latter winking at me. Dad is actually smiling now, glancing at his eldest son in admiration and respect. It is no secret that Patrick is the favorite child of the three. However, Ronnie and I don’t seem to mind.

“Wait, Patrick is my graduation present?” I asked, exasperated and a bit offended.

Patrick received an apartment in London, Ronnie received a blue Porsche, and I get my older brother back in the States? Is this some kind of joke?

“Hey! Aren’t you at least glad that I’m back?” I hear Patrick behind me.

“Yeah, but you are my present? It should take more than my graduation to bring you back. Isn’t it mandatory that you return?” I turned to him, placing both hands on my hips.

I hear Ronnie cackle in laughter from behind. I’m going to kill him later.

“Well, impatient Blake, why don’t you give me a chance to show you your gift?” Patrick chuckled, reaching into his pocket.

My eyes widened in anxiety as my brother pulled out three plane tickets from his pant pocket.

“Plane tickets?” I tilted my hand, accepting the possession.

“Yes, Blake, your mother and I purchased plane tickets for Belgium, Paris, and Berlin” dad placed a hand on my shoulder.

“They are all for me?”

“And we have another surprise” Ronnie wrapped an arm around me and my father’s hand is instantly removed.

I turned to Ronnie to see him reaching for his pocket as well.

“We both got plane tickets to the destinations!” Ronnie flashed his ticket out at me and forced me to turn to Patrick.

He held the tickets out for me to identify.

“So mom and dad brought you guys the tickets in order to persuade you to watch over me, am I right?”

“Of course not! We paid for our own tickets, although dad paid for the trip”

“We get to go to Europe? When?” I exclaimed, pulling Ronnie into another hug.

“First week of July” Ronnie answered.

“But I have to work at the Dalkia Industries for the summer”

Through connections from my parents, I managed to land a job in the biggest industry in all of Florida. I don’t even have to intern before working in the Human Resources office of the large technology company. It is a very exciting job to accept for the summer and I will not throw the opportunity away for a vacation in Europe.

“Well, just take one week off, you have July the fourth off anyways” Ronnie said.

“Oh, look at this” Patrick interrupted, before I opened my mouth to reply.

I noticed that my parents took off to converse with Allison’s parents at this time. The adults talked excitedly, energetically making gestures with their hands.

“Blake Grayson for most likely to become successful” I returned my attention to my pair of brothers, realizing that they are snooping over my yearbook.

Rolling my eyes, I snatched the yearbook from their grip, against Ronnie’s protest.

“Hey! I was reading that!”

“Too bad” I stuck my tongue out at him.

Patrick pulled me into a hug.

“I’m so proud of you, little Blake. You have come so far from your childish days. I remember the time you made wise compromises when trading Pokemon cards”

My electric blue eyes widened at his mention, and I am immediately embarrassed that Patrick, of all people, decided now as the perfect time to humiliate me.

“Oh my god, Blake, you used to trade Pokemon cards?” I turned to Chris Garrett and several of the laughing guys who decided to walk by me.

“Get lost, Chris” I snapped in my embarrassment.

Laughing, Chris gave me a salute and walked off.

“It felt like yesterday when Blake was bathing with her rubber ducky, what was her name? Oh yeah, Jackie!” Ronnie added on.

Growling, I glared at my second eldest brother. He winked at me and laughed.

“Just so you all know” I yelled for anyone nearby, “I had never and will never bathe with a rubber ducky!”

Some familiar faces glanced over at me, puzzled. I ignored them.

“And by the way, I did not name my rubber ducky, Jackie!” I said, exasperated.

After my outburst, everyone went back to what they were doing and all was forgotten. Patrick and Ronnie resumed to their conversation about my childhood, to my absolute embarrassment. At this time, however, Allison decided to show up and rescue me from my misery.

“Allison!” I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around her neck.

Her long blonde hair tickled the back of my neck in our embrace.

“We made it, Blake!”

“Yes we did!” we released each other.

She glanced behind me to my idiot brothers.

“Patrick’s back?”

“It seems like it” I shrugged.

Allison glanced around the gymnasium, confused.

“Have you seen Lucy?”

“Err. No”

I stood on my tip toes, skimming past people for our favorite redhead. She is nowhere to be found.

“Do you think she went to Olive Garden with Jessie and her mom?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t doubt that” Allison chuckled.

We both know, better than anyone else, of Lucy’s fascination with Olive Garden. If she had it her way, we would be eating every meal at the place.

“Hey, my parents reserved our spot for dinner in that French restaurant down the block from school, but sleepover at my house tonight? After dinner?”

Allison bit her lips, contemplating, and then nodded.

“I’ll tell Austin to drop me off after dinner then” Allison said, smiling.

“Perfect!”

“And I’ll text Lucy, uh… right now” she added.

I chuckled.

“Atta, girl!”