Status: Complete
Wild Child: Love Cannot Save You Part 1
Where Will We Be?
“Hold the camera, dear, I want to get a good look at your brother.”
Caroline’s mother thrust the contraption into her hands before she could reply, and rose up out of her chair, craning her neck to scan the crowded gymnasium.
Phil was not visible in the sea of blue caps and gowns, and Caroline knew better than to bother looking for him. She would find him afterwards, she told herself as she crossed and uncrossed her legs, hoping that the ceremony wouldn’t take too long.
The dress that she had been forced to wear was a particularly nasty shade of green, and she was extremely uncomfortable in it. Her mother had insisted that it looked lovely with her hair, but Caroline thought it made her look like what she imagined it would look like if someone puked all over Christmas. She would just die if Jim saw her in this dress, but thankfully, he wouldn’t.
Jim was not attending his graduation. When Caroline had asked him why, he’d just smirked and said he’d be in Brazil that day. She’d dropped the matter after that. After all, it hardly surprised her.
This morning, however, when they were talking on the phone, the issue came up again.
“This whole ceremony is just something you have to go through,” he’d explained, “this little performance where you walk across the stage and have some old fart mispronounce your name.
And it doesn’t mean anything how you get your diploma anyhow,” he’d added, “really they can’t do anything to me if I don’t go.”
And they couldn’t. As Caroline sat in the overcrowded gymnasium, waiting for some old fart to call her brother’s name and hand him his diploma, she smiled to herself. Because she knew that there was someone from the class of 1961 who was not in attendance that day. Someone who, once again, had managed to make a statement.
___________________________________________________________________________________
“Congratulations, Phil!” Caroline exclaimed, throwing her arms around her brother, “I can’t believe you actually graduated!”
“Thanks, Car,” he grinned, “I can’t believe it either. And two years from now you’ll be the one up there.”
“Yep,” she nodded, trying not to think of how Jim’s refusal to attend his graduation had inspired her.
This was Phil’s day, and she was determined not to ruin it for him.
“Hey, Phil,” Jeff, who was making his way through the crowd, came and thumped him on the back, “can you believe it? We’re finally finished! You’re coming to my party tonight, right?”
“Oh, hey Caroline, nice dress,” he added with a smirk.
“Oh, come on, is it that bad?”
“Yes,” both Phil and Jeff replied, grinning.
“Yeah, well, I’m changing out of this hideous thing as soon as I get home so laugh while you can.”
And with that, Caroline decided to just forget about the stupid dress. She looked at Jeff, with his round glasses and neatly parted hair, and remembered how- although they had only spoken on a few occasions, mostly involving Phil- whenever they’d interacted he had been nothing but kind and friendly to her.
“Congratulations, Jeff,” she grinned as she shook his hand.
“Thanks, Caroline,” he smiled warmly back at her, “and I was just kidding around. Your dress isn’t that ugly.”
“I appreciate that,” she rolled her eyes and laughed, “Phil, we should probably go find mom and dad. I’m sure they can’t wait to congratulate you.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, “you’re right. I’ll see you later, Jeff.”
“Later,” he waved, “oh and Caroline, you’re more than welcome to stop by if you want.”
“Oh,” she said, “I really appreciate the invitation, Jeff, but I already have plans tonight.”
“Alright,” said Jeff, “well, I’ll see you.”
Caroline waved, only half paying attention. At that point, her mind was elsewhere. Jim might not have shown up at the graduation ceremony, but she knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t going to go out quietly.
___________________________________________________________________________________
“You look different,” Jim greeted her as he opened the door, “did you do something to your hair?”
“My mom curled it,” Caroline replied, suddenly self-conscious, “I brushed it out as much as I could…”
“I like it,” he said, simply.
“Thanks,” she blushed, “so…should I congratulate you?”
“On what?” he smirked.
“On your nomination for president.”
“Sarcasm doesn’t become you, Caroline,” said Jim, although the gleam in his eyes contradicted his words, “but to answer your question…no, don’t congratulate me. It’s not as though graduating high school is any remarkable achievement.”
“Ok then,” she said, leaning in to give him a quick kiss, “no congratulations.”
“Thanks,” he said, closing the door behind them, “so how was it?”
“Incredibly boring,” Caroline answered, taking a seat on his bed, “you’re lucky you didn’t have to sit through it.”
Jim smiled his little half smile and sat down next to her.
“Well,” he said, “I’m glad you’re here now. It just wouldn’t be a party without you here.”
“I’m flattered,” Caroline smirked then quickly added, “no one’s home right?”
“Just me,” said Jim.
And in an instant the two were on top of each other. Caroline marveled at how little self-control she had around Jim. She just couldn’t seem to be able to keep her hands off him. Normally she might have been a little ashamed, but right then she was too caught up in the moment to care about anything else.
“Hey, Morrison, you left the door unlocked,” someone announced, and Caroline, startled, jumped away from Jim like he was on fire.
“We got the beer,” a boy who Caroline recognized as Nick said, carrying two six packs. He was followed by two other boys, also holding six packs, who-if memory served her right, were named John and Bob.
“Hi, Caroline,” Bob smiled, “nice to see you.”
“Nice to see you too,” Caroline replied, hurriedly smoothing down her hair and clothes. She could feel that her face was flushed, and looked away attempting to hide it.
“Hot in here, isn’t it?” she offered lamely.
“Here,” Jim popped the cap off a beer and handed it to her.
“Thanks,” she took a large gulp, grateful for something to help her feel less uncomfortable.
The others began to drink as well, and for hours the group drank and talked. Jim, at some points, went off about odd topics and philosophies, but that was just what he did. It wasn’t unexpected.
Overall the night was going pretty well. But then…
“Hey so Morrison, why weren’t you at the ceremony today?” asked John.
“Oh I just didn’t feel like going,” Jim answered dismissively.
“Oh, come on there’s got to be more to it than that,” Nick pushed, “why’d you skip out on graduation?”
“I didn’t want to go,” said Jim.
Caroline could feel him getting angry. She knew that this was something he didn’t want to talk about, but found that she was hesitant to speak up.
“Yeah, but why? I mean-“
“Because I hate this whole fucking town!” Jim exploded, “I hated school! It was a complete fucking waste of time and I didn’t learn shit! I hate everyone with their stupid ideal society and their shallow, materialistic way of life! No one in this godforsaken place knows anything about what’s really important, and it sickens me! It’s always fucking sickened me! So why would I go through all the trouble of dressing up and having to sit listening to some old fuck talk about how I should live my life, huh? Why would I go through their stupid fucking tradition, when I don’t care about it? I’m glad high school’s over! I couldn’t be more thrilled! And I’ll tell you something, when I finally get out of this town I’m not ever coming back. I’m going to be somebody…and everyone here-none of them will amount to shit!”
Everyone sat in stunned silence for what felt like hours. And then Jim, unbelievably, grinned boyishly and said,
“So whose up for another beer?”
“I have to go,” Caroline announced, standing up and heading towards the door, “I’ll uh, see everyone around I guess.”
She let the door slam behind her and tried to hold back tears as she headed down the sidewalk. In all the months that she and Jim had been together, she hadn’t once thought about what would happen after he graduated. She never imagined that he’d leave, she didn’t think he wanted to. Of course she knew how he felt about Alexandria, she just thought that he loved her.
“Caroline,” he called out, catching up to her in a few steps, “hey, why’d you run out like that?”
“Is that really how you feel, Jim?” she asked, looking up at him with tear filled eyes, “you really can’t wait to get out of here and leave everything behind?”
“You know I-“ he began, but paused as he seemed to realize what she meant, “oh! Hey, no I wasn’t talking about you.”
“So ‘this whole town’ doesn’t include me,” she argued, “I wasn’t a part of your high school experience?”
“Caroline, you’re the one thing about this place that keeps me going!”
“But it’s not enough for you to stay,” she sniffed.
“Hey, come here,” said Jim, pulling her into a hug, “I love you. You know that right?”
With those three words, all of Caroline’s anger vanished into thin air. It didn’t matter how he felt about anyone or anything else, Jim loved her, and that was all she needed.
“I know,” she said, hugging him back, “I love you too.”
But in the back of her mind there was still that worry. What was she going to do when Jim did leave?
Caroline’s mother thrust the contraption into her hands before she could reply, and rose up out of her chair, craning her neck to scan the crowded gymnasium.
Phil was not visible in the sea of blue caps and gowns, and Caroline knew better than to bother looking for him. She would find him afterwards, she told herself as she crossed and uncrossed her legs, hoping that the ceremony wouldn’t take too long.
The dress that she had been forced to wear was a particularly nasty shade of green, and she was extremely uncomfortable in it. Her mother had insisted that it looked lovely with her hair, but Caroline thought it made her look like what she imagined it would look like if someone puked all over Christmas. She would just die if Jim saw her in this dress, but thankfully, he wouldn’t.
Jim was not attending his graduation. When Caroline had asked him why, he’d just smirked and said he’d be in Brazil that day. She’d dropped the matter after that. After all, it hardly surprised her.
This morning, however, when they were talking on the phone, the issue came up again.
“This whole ceremony is just something you have to go through,” he’d explained, “this little performance where you walk across the stage and have some old fart mispronounce your name.
And it doesn’t mean anything how you get your diploma anyhow,” he’d added, “really they can’t do anything to me if I don’t go.”
And they couldn’t. As Caroline sat in the overcrowded gymnasium, waiting for some old fart to call her brother’s name and hand him his diploma, she smiled to herself. Because she knew that there was someone from the class of 1961 who was not in attendance that day. Someone who, once again, had managed to make a statement.
___________________________________________________________________________________
“Congratulations, Phil!” Caroline exclaimed, throwing her arms around her brother, “I can’t believe you actually graduated!”
“Thanks, Car,” he grinned, “I can’t believe it either. And two years from now you’ll be the one up there.”
“Yep,” she nodded, trying not to think of how Jim’s refusal to attend his graduation had inspired her.
This was Phil’s day, and she was determined not to ruin it for him.
“Hey, Phil,” Jeff, who was making his way through the crowd, came and thumped him on the back, “can you believe it? We’re finally finished! You’re coming to my party tonight, right?”
“Oh, hey Caroline, nice dress,” he added with a smirk.
“Oh, come on, is it that bad?”
“Yes,” both Phil and Jeff replied, grinning.
“Yeah, well, I’m changing out of this hideous thing as soon as I get home so laugh while you can.”
And with that, Caroline decided to just forget about the stupid dress. She looked at Jeff, with his round glasses and neatly parted hair, and remembered how- although they had only spoken on a few occasions, mostly involving Phil- whenever they’d interacted he had been nothing but kind and friendly to her.
“Congratulations, Jeff,” she grinned as she shook his hand.
“Thanks, Caroline,” he smiled warmly back at her, “and I was just kidding around. Your dress isn’t that ugly.”
“I appreciate that,” she rolled her eyes and laughed, “Phil, we should probably go find mom and dad. I’m sure they can’t wait to congratulate you.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, “you’re right. I’ll see you later, Jeff.”
“Later,” he waved, “oh and Caroline, you’re more than welcome to stop by if you want.”
“Oh,” she said, “I really appreciate the invitation, Jeff, but I already have plans tonight.”
“Alright,” said Jeff, “well, I’ll see you.”
Caroline waved, only half paying attention. At that point, her mind was elsewhere. Jim might not have shown up at the graduation ceremony, but she knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t going to go out quietly.
___________________________________________________________________________________
“You look different,” Jim greeted her as he opened the door, “did you do something to your hair?”
“My mom curled it,” Caroline replied, suddenly self-conscious, “I brushed it out as much as I could…”
“I like it,” he said, simply.
“Thanks,” she blushed, “so…should I congratulate you?”
“On what?” he smirked.
“On your nomination for president.”
“Sarcasm doesn’t become you, Caroline,” said Jim, although the gleam in his eyes contradicted his words, “but to answer your question…no, don’t congratulate me. It’s not as though graduating high school is any remarkable achievement.”
“Ok then,” she said, leaning in to give him a quick kiss, “no congratulations.”
“Thanks,” he said, closing the door behind them, “so how was it?”
“Incredibly boring,” Caroline answered, taking a seat on his bed, “you’re lucky you didn’t have to sit through it.”
Jim smiled his little half smile and sat down next to her.
“Well,” he said, “I’m glad you’re here now. It just wouldn’t be a party without you here.”
“I’m flattered,” Caroline smirked then quickly added, “no one’s home right?”
“Just me,” said Jim.
And in an instant the two were on top of each other. Caroline marveled at how little self-control she had around Jim. She just couldn’t seem to be able to keep her hands off him. Normally she might have been a little ashamed, but right then she was too caught up in the moment to care about anything else.
“Hey, Morrison, you left the door unlocked,” someone announced, and Caroline, startled, jumped away from Jim like he was on fire.
“We got the beer,” a boy who Caroline recognized as Nick said, carrying two six packs. He was followed by two other boys, also holding six packs, who-if memory served her right, were named John and Bob.
“Hi, Caroline,” Bob smiled, “nice to see you.”
“Nice to see you too,” Caroline replied, hurriedly smoothing down her hair and clothes. She could feel that her face was flushed, and looked away attempting to hide it.
“Hot in here, isn’t it?” she offered lamely.
“Here,” Jim popped the cap off a beer and handed it to her.
“Thanks,” she took a large gulp, grateful for something to help her feel less uncomfortable.
The others began to drink as well, and for hours the group drank and talked. Jim, at some points, went off about odd topics and philosophies, but that was just what he did. It wasn’t unexpected.
Overall the night was going pretty well. But then…
“Hey so Morrison, why weren’t you at the ceremony today?” asked John.
“Oh I just didn’t feel like going,” Jim answered dismissively.
“Oh, come on there’s got to be more to it than that,” Nick pushed, “why’d you skip out on graduation?”
“I didn’t want to go,” said Jim.
Caroline could feel him getting angry. She knew that this was something he didn’t want to talk about, but found that she was hesitant to speak up.
“Yeah, but why? I mean-“
“Because I hate this whole fucking town!” Jim exploded, “I hated school! It was a complete fucking waste of time and I didn’t learn shit! I hate everyone with their stupid ideal society and their shallow, materialistic way of life! No one in this godforsaken place knows anything about what’s really important, and it sickens me! It’s always fucking sickened me! So why would I go through all the trouble of dressing up and having to sit listening to some old fuck talk about how I should live my life, huh? Why would I go through their stupid fucking tradition, when I don’t care about it? I’m glad high school’s over! I couldn’t be more thrilled! And I’ll tell you something, when I finally get out of this town I’m not ever coming back. I’m going to be somebody…and everyone here-none of them will amount to shit!”
Everyone sat in stunned silence for what felt like hours. And then Jim, unbelievably, grinned boyishly and said,
“So whose up for another beer?”
“I have to go,” Caroline announced, standing up and heading towards the door, “I’ll uh, see everyone around I guess.”
She let the door slam behind her and tried to hold back tears as she headed down the sidewalk. In all the months that she and Jim had been together, she hadn’t once thought about what would happen after he graduated. She never imagined that he’d leave, she didn’t think he wanted to. Of course she knew how he felt about Alexandria, she just thought that he loved her.
“Caroline,” he called out, catching up to her in a few steps, “hey, why’d you run out like that?”
“Is that really how you feel, Jim?” she asked, looking up at him with tear filled eyes, “you really can’t wait to get out of here and leave everything behind?”
“You know I-“ he began, but paused as he seemed to realize what she meant, “oh! Hey, no I wasn’t talking about you.”
“So ‘this whole town’ doesn’t include me,” she argued, “I wasn’t a part of your high school experience?”
“Caroline, you’re the one thing about this place that keeps me going!”
“But it’s not enough for you to stay,” she sniffed.
“Hey, come here,” said Jim, pulling her into a hug, “I love you. You know that right?”
With those three words, all of Caroline’s anger vanished into thin air. It didn’t matter how he felt about anyone or anything else, Jim loved her, and that was all she needed.
“I know,” she said, hugging him back, “I love you too.”
But in the back of her mind there was still that worry. What was she going to do when Jim did leave?