A New Journey (High School Musical 3: Senior Year)

Chapter 9: Family Reunion

As days passed and moving day for the Anderson family drew closer, the reality of actually leaving everyone behind was becoming clearer to Grace and her family. Even though she had reconciled with the move, Grace was still not prepared to part ways with East High. During the last after school rehearsal before the opening night for their show, the young girl could barely bring herself to smile, only during scenes she was in. In the Anderson household; Katherine was packing up the last moving box that had the hallway pictures. The only thing left to move was pretty much the furniture but since they still had guests, Katherine and Daniel had decided to leave that for last. As she placed another picture in the box, there was a knock on the door, startling her.  Katherine stood from her position on the floor and made her way to the door. She then opened the door and let out a happy gasp when she saw it was her two eldest twin sons. The blonde woman rushed forward and said, bringing her sons into a tight hug, "You made it! We were beginning to get worried when we didn't receive any word from you." Sam laughed and replied to his mother, sharing a glance with his brother, "It was a bit of a stretch but we managed to convince our headmaster to let us come." Katherine pulled away from the hug and said to her to sons, "How did you manage that?" Luke grinned at his mother and said, sharing a cheeky smile with his brother, "We had a little help from Granny and Dad. We wouldn't miss our little brother and sister's show and graduation for the world." Katherine shook her head with a smile and replied, "Well, I'm glad you're here, otherwise. Your father and I were beginning to get worried about Gracie, she's been a little distant lately. She hasn't smiled much either. I think the reality of our moving is getting to her. Maybe you two can cheer her up."

As their mother had said that, Sam and Luke shared a worried glance between each other. While they knew that the move was hard on their younger siblings, they didn't realize how much it had affected one of them. The two young men had talked to their younger brother the day before on a FaceTime call and he told them about Grace's sudden mood change. Sam nodded at his mother and said to her, "Don't worry, Mum. Luke and I will talk to her. Is she here?" Katherine shook her head and replied, "No, both she and Andrew at their last musical rehearsal before the show tomorrow night. They'll be home in a few minutes or so. Your uncle and cousins are all here if you want to go visit them. Your grandparents are out on a royal engagement and will be back shortly. They're doing some opening for a hospital or something." Sam and Luke both nodded at their mother and made their way to the living room, bringing their duffle bags in with them. They were then greeted by their uncle and younger cousins who welcomed them with open arms. Awhile later, Andrew and Grace arrived in Grace's car. Grace placed her car in park and said to Andrew, "So, prom's after the show. Are you going with Kelsi?" Andrew nodded with a smile and replied, "Yep. I guess you and Troy are going together?" Grace nodded and said, "Yeah, Mom, Granny, and I just went dress shopping yesterday and we found a mint green dress for me to wear."

The two siblings made their way inside the house, after Grace locked her car. As they entered, the two siblings noticed how eerily quiet the house had gotten and treaded carefully. Andrew walked in front of Grace as they entered the living room and froze in his tracks when he saw their older twin brothers sitting next to each other on the couch with their uncle Charles. Andrew was the first to break out of his shocked state and rushed to greet his brothers, bringing them into a tight embrace. Grace stood by the door, hesitating to greet them, as she let Andrew have his moment with them. Andrew grinned at his brothers and said to them, as they pulled away, "When did you guys get here? We didn't think you were going to make it!" Sam and Luke laughed and Sam replied, ruffling his little tbrother's hair, "Oh, come on. Like we would miss our little brother and sister's graduation and musical show." Luke nodded in agreement and said, "We wouldn't miss it for the world, little brother. *He then turned to his little sister, seeing her still standing by the door* Hey, Gracie-bug, why don't you come over and give your big brothers a hug?" Grace just smiled politely and replied, "Glad to see you guys but I gotta go and get ready for bed. Tomorrow's show night and I want to make sure I get some sleep beforehand."

With that, Grace then headed up the stairs to her bedroom, leaving her brothers and extended family in shock. To say that Sam and Luke were shocked by Grace's sudden distance, it was far from just being shocked. Charles sighed and said to his nephews, standing from his seat to go check on his niece, "I'll go talk to her." Katherine and Daniel were finishing up packed so Charles decided to step in, knowing that his niece would be more prompt to talk to him rather than her parents. Charles made his way up the stairs and down the hallway, stopping at Grace's room. He knocked on the door and said, "Gracie? It's Uncle Charlie. May I come in?" Inside the room, Grace looked up from her phone, startled. She sighed and replied to her uncle, "Sure." Charles opened the door and said to his niece, giving her a soft smile, "There's my favorite niece." Grace gave her uncle a small smile and replied, "Don't let Zara, Beatrice, Eugenie, or Louise hear you say that. They might get jealous." Charles playfully rolled his eyes at his niece and said to her, going to sit next to her on her bed, "So...... what happened back there? *His tone turned from playful to concerned and serious* Your brothers are worried about you......and in a sense, so am I and your parents. To be frank; we all are worried about you. Is something going on at school that's bothering you?" Grace shook her head and replied, "No, everything's fine, Uncle Charlie. It's just that............*She let out a sigh* I'm not sure if I'm ready to move. I mean, all of my friends are here in Albuquerque and my boyfriend's here too. I'm not ready to go to England. Dad's already told me my obligations but what about I want? Shouldn't I be able to make a decision on what I want to do?" Charles sighed and said, "Sweetheart, as much as I want to be able to be the one to say you should be able to do that, I don't have the jurisdiction to do so. We're royalty, we don't have much of a choice in what we want or what we're doing. Whatever we do is a reflection on the monarchy and in a sense, a reflection of the monarch and the Crown. Your grandmother promised her life, whether it was long or short, to the people and the Crown and she has done so with grace and dignity. You are a part of the next generation of her legacy. In time, you'll blossom into a great royal, I know you will. But, for now, let's just take it day by day, shall we?" Grace took in her uncle's words and nodded, causing her uncle to smile softly. Charles stood from his spot on the bed and said, placing a kiss on his niece's head, "Get some rest, alright? You have a big day tomorrow with your prom night and show and graduation the two next days." Grace watched as her uncle left the room and laid on her back on the bed. She vowed there and then that she would do her best to make her grandmother proud as she navigated through the world as a royal.