Tales That Must Be Re-told

The year seemed to pass surprisingly quickly. Before I knew it, I was graduating in a few days. I was looking at pictures of hairstyles that I was considering for grad when I got a call from my brother.

"Hey Alex, what's up?" I asked, pushing my laptop beside me.

"Not much," he replied. He sounded a little sad.

"What's wrong?"

"I have bad news, Addy," said Alex. "I just found out we won't be able to make it to your graduation."

My face fell. "Oh," was all I could say.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "Matt's trying to find a way out of doing this show, but no such luck."

"That's okay," I said, trying to mask the sadness in my voice. "It isn't your fault."

"I promise we'll make it up to you somehow," my brother said.

"Don't worry about it," I told him. "So when will you guys be able to make it over here?"

He sighed. "Well, by the time we get from California to Baltimore, I'd say not until a couple days after the ceremony. I'm so sorry, Addy."

"Don't be," I said and sighed as well. "You can't control it. I'm gonna go though, okay? I need to figure out how I want my hair and such."

"Okay," said Alex. "See you soon?"

"Yeah." I hung up my phone and went downstairs, finding my parents in the living room. I plopped myself on the couch.

"What's wrong, Adelaide?" asked my dad.

"I just got a call from your son."

"Isn't that usually a good thing?" he asked, frowning.

"He told me they can't make it to my graduation."

"Oh, sweetie," said my mom and put her arm around me. "I'm sorry, I know how much you miss him." I nodded. "Did he say why?"

"Some stupid shit about a show in California," I said grumpily.

"Well, does he know when they'll be able to get over here?" asked my dad.

"Yeah, Alex said probably a couple days after the ceremony."

My parents looked at me sadly and I stood up. "Well, I should go decide how I want my hair done. I'll see you later."

I trudged back upstairs to my brother's bedroom, where I had been when he phoned. During the time he was gone, I often stayed in there instead of my room. I sighed, laying down on his bed and grabbed my laptop. I wasn't angry at my brother, of course, but I was just disappointed that they wouldn't be able to make it. Over the past year I had barely seen them at all, and I'd had just about enough of it.

The morning of my graduation was a hectic one. I woke up, had a shower, threw on some clothes, and my mom and I went to the hair dresser's so I could get my hair and make-up done. Once that was finished, we went back to our house where I scrambled around gathering my things and getting dressed. Finally, my parents and I left and went to the school.

As I walked out onto the stage to get my diploma, fake smiling, I looked over to where my parents were sitting and saw five smiling boys sitting there with them, waving at me. My false smile instantly turned into a real one and it was all I could do to prevent myself from shreiking and jumping off the stage to run to them. I took my proper seat and sat there impatiently, waiting for the ceremony to be finished. During the speeches, my focus was on the boys, Jack in particular, who was making goofy faces and grinning. Eventually I had to look away because I was getting too close to laughing. Jeremy, who was only a few seats down from me, noticed why I was so happy and looked at me, smiling.

Finally, the speeches were finished and the ceremony was over; I ploughed through people and ran towards my parents and the guys.

"AHHH!" I shouted and nearly tackled Alex. "You asshole, I thought you were in California!"

"I lied a little bit," he said and smiled. "I thought a surprise was better. Addy, did you really think we would miss your graduation? Seriously."

I grinned from ear to ear and proceeded to hug Zack, Rian, Matt, and Jack. I was so busy greeting the boys that I hadn't even noticed that Jeremy had followed and was standing behind me.

"Guys, this is Jeremy," I said. "Jeremy, this is Alex, Zack, Rian, Jack, and Matt," I said, pointing to each of them as I said their names.

After they all shook hands and whatnot, Alex said, "Well, I guess you're safe for now - from what I've heard, you've been treating her okay." He smiled.

"Alex," I groaned.

"Of course I have," said Jeremy and smiled in return, putting his arms around my waist.

After we stood there chatting for a few more minutes, Jack announced that he was extremely hungry and needed food before his stomach started digesting itself.

"Denny's?" asked Rian. Everyone agreed.

I turned around to face Jeremy. "You're coming, right?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I'd better not - you haven't seen these guys in forever. I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do."

"Are you sure?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "You know we don't mind you coming."

He smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure. Give me a call whenever, okay?"

I nodded and he bent down and kissed me. Matt whistled and I rolled my eyes.

"Nice meeting you guys," said Jeremy. "I'll see you later."

The rest of the guys said some form of goodbye, and Jeremy left.

"See, Alex?" I asked as we all walked towards the van. "I told you he's fine."

"Yes, but he's still a guy and still has a penis," said Alex. He started to open his mouth and closed it again. "Actually, I'd rather not ask that question."

I smacked him, getting an idea of what he was about to ask me before he decided against it.

I ended up sitting next to Jack in the van. "So, how long are you guys off for?" I asked.

"About a month, I think?" he said. "Then you're coming to Warped with us!" Jack said happily.

I wanted to ask if Tiffany would be there, but didn't want to seem rude. Jack must have caught the expression on my face, however, because he added, "And don't worry, she doesn't tour with us that often."

I gave him an apologetic smile.

"Don't worry about it, I know you don't initiate the bullshit that goes on between you guys." He paused. "I've tried to talk to her about it, but I'd accomplish just as much by saying the same thing to our coffee pot."

I laughed. "I know, Jack. Don't worry about it."

One thing for sure, however, was that I was not about to let someone like her ruin my summer.