About You Now

Family Bonds

"God, that sucked," commented Cross, waltzing out of the school building. The instant the sunlight hit her face, her usual wicked grin spread across her lips. She soon ran through the quad, making sure to stretch all the limbs and muscles that had seized up during the exam. Several others followed suit, although they were a lot more normal about it, just standing still for a few extra moments to properly stretch their protesting limbs and get life back into the stiff and numb areas.

"Just think of the things we've got to look forward to," voiced Maryse, recalling the trips planned and upcoming events. For a second, her gentle smile dimmed slightly; at the end of all those trips and planned events would be the end of their school days, the end of life as a student, unless they attended college. It would be the end of one chapter and the terrifying start to a new one.

"True, our favorite headmistress does plan to set us loose for 24 hours in Disney World," replied Carmella, chuckling at the possibilities waiting for them, the endless mischief, pranks, and fun to be had, food to try, rides to go on, memories to be made and plenty of pictures to be taken, maybe a few videos if they were adventurous enough. "Unsupervised, may I add."

"Got prom after that," announced Corey before laughter escaped his lips as they casually wandered around the school grounds. Still, some of the boys weren't overly thrilled about wearing a tux, and several girls weren't particularly fond of the idea of dressing formally for an evening. Yet, still, all of them were set to attend the event and have a blast with friends. An after-party would follow, along with a day at the local amusement park.

"And finally, graduation, our last event as students," Nikki spoke, recalling the news she'd been told at the end of the previous week. She'd yet to tell anyone she'd succeeded in her goal of being valedictorian; not even Brie or Drew knew. Instead, Nikki had focused on studying for the exams and trying to write the perfect speech while spending what time she could with family, both blood and found.

"We're going on all the big rollercoasters, right?" asked Summer, her voice excited as she thought about the thrill each of them would get and the fun they'd have. For a moment, her thoughts turned to Serenity. She'd left them alone since her confrontation with Brie, although it was clear she was up to something. Despite keeping a safe distance, Serenity still followed them, close enough to hear conversations but not the whispers. She'd taken to staring daggers at them in the exam hall, too, or making snide comments when they were in the same place. Nasty and judgmental remarks were made, too, when she was called out for her obvious behavior.

"I can't go on the rollercoasters," interjected Serenity when she gained the confidence to insert herself into the conversation. A wicked smirk appeared across her lips, even when most rolled their eyes and walked away. "There's plenty of little stalls, shops, smaller rides, and other places to go while in Disney World; I'm sure it's gonna be the same for the amusement park," she added as if her place on both trips had already been cemented.

"I'm sure there are, but there's no guarantee you'll even be going to Disney, Crumpet," sweetly replied AJ, "As for the after-prom trip, surely you wouldn't want to be caught dead, let alone alive with losers like us?" she added, effortlessly weaponizing words Serenity had once used as insults. Nonetheless, AJ smiled, gently bopped Serenity on the nose, and walked away.

"Forget the trips; there's no guarantee she won't be expelled by then," commented Rhea, almost with a wishful tone flooding her voice. She wasn't the only one who wished the drama would be over, that the consequences of Serenity's actions would catch up to her sooner rather than later. Almost all of the mix-and-match family did; some still felt sorry, but it didn't go any further than that.

"You turn in that English paper?" asked Roman, his attention on Seth and Dean, both of which had put extra time and care into the paper, so much so they'd been cutting it a little close to the deadline. Dean nodded, recalling that he had turned his in that morning; Michael Cole had a relieved expression on his features as if he were pleased to have one less student to chase for the assignment. "I called mine Coming to the Light."