Living

Chapter 38: Where It All Began

"Okay, no", Sarah chuckled, shaking her head. "A leí of edible flowers would not be good."

"Just think about it", Bart tried, holding the door open for everyone to walk in. "You can snack on it as you're walking down the aisle."

"One, nasturtiums are spicy and bitter. Secondly, it would be kind of itchy."

"And worth it! I wish I could've been eating flowers while walking down the aisle at my graduation."

"Well, I promise to get you some lavender to snack on", Sarah chuckled, walking in behind Race. Bart followed after her, a smile on his face.

Morgan's was decked down in decorations, a large banner hanging from the ceiling, 'Congrats, Grads!' hanging in large letters. The tables were covered in black and white cloth, each table holding a basket of french fries. The boys all moved to a table, sitting in groups. Sarah walked over to her little brother, who was busy talking to her friends.

"Hello, Mr. Fourteen", she greeted, giving him a hug. Les stopped talking, grinning at his big sister.

"Hey", he replied, chuckling softly. "Where have you been? I didn't see you at the ceremony."

"No, I was there", Sarah informed him. "Me and Bart just had to leave as soon as it was over  so I could get you your gift and help Ms. Medda set up."

"Oh, you met Ms. Medda?"

"Yes, she's amazing", Sarah expressed, looking at her kid brother's friends. "A literal superhero."

"Don't we know it", Books laughed, placing his hand out. "It's nice to see you again, Sarah."

"You, too", Sarah grinned, shaking hands with the younger. She glanced at the other three boys sitting with them, a friendly smile on her face. "And who are you three?"

"I'm Snipeshooter", he introduced, placing his hand out. He smiled at Sarah's confused face, shaking her hand. "It's a video game thing."

"I'm Newby", he says, shaking Sarah's hand. "I mean that literally."

Sarah laughed, looking at Boots. He was pretty focused on his phone, playing a game of some type. She waved at him. "Hi."

Boots mumbled something incoherent, still completely focused. He was trying to get his mind off of his dad, and it seemed to be helping with the help of mobile games.

"Hello, boys", an elegant voice called, walking out of the kitchen with York and Myron, who were carrying burgers. Everyone cheered her name, making her grin.

"Hey, Medda", Jack greeted, kissing her cheek. "Is Denton here?"

"You walked right past me", the older man called, walking up to his son and placing his hands on his shoulders. "I was sitting with that kid, uh, Graves."

"Oh, yeah, sorry", Jack apologized, smiling sheepishly. "I was talkin' to Spot and them."

"Hey, Denton", Davey greeted, grabbing Jack's hand. "Can I see Jack for a second? I need to tell him something."

Denton shrugged, placing his hands in his pockets as Davey dragged Jack to the back to the restaurant, an excited yet scared look on his face. Jack furrowed his brows, walking closer to the taller. "What's up? Something wrong?"

"Uh, no", Davey shook his head, clearing his throat. "Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking."

Jack nodded, silently asking Davey to continue. Davey nodded once, biting his lip out of nerves.

He hadn't even thought about it, not really. It was just something that occurred to him recently—today, actually—but he was all for it. His mom would be for it, and his dad would take care of everything. He wanted to do this for them and Les. For himself.