Saved By The Bell:High School Reunion

The Old Gang

**Zack POV**
As Kelly and I headed into the auditorium, all the memories of bayside were slowly coming back to me. Taking drivers ed, the school musical, the marine core club. Every memory always had everyone there. Suddenly, it seemed as if that those memories were from a different life. The life I lived in high school was a complete 180 from where my life is today. I'm a completely different person from the beach blonde, preppy troublemaker that once roamed the halls like there was nothing that can go wrong.
We entered the auditorium, which hasn't seemed to change since I last was in here during graduation. Above the stage was a banner with the words "Class of '93" written in big, bold letters. I looked around the room filled with people reconnecting and reminiscing about their past and bragging about what they are now. It felt weird being back here when I haven't stepped foot inside this school in years.
"Yo, is that you preppy?" I heard a familiar voice from behind me. I turned around to see a man with a porter rican tan wearing a grey suit. "Slater?" I heard Kelly exclaim as she gave our old friend a big hug. It used to be that I would feel anger and annoyance if Kelly hugged slater, but now I feel nothing like that. It didn't even bother me. The thought of even being remotely annoyed with slater and Kelly hugging didn't even register with me. As Kelly pulled away, we both seemed to notice a woman with dark hair with a toddler, looking no older than a year old, on her right arm and holding the hand of another, who looked about 2 or 3, wearing a pink princess dress and tiara, with her left. "Hey slater. Who's your friends here?" I asked out of curiosity. "Kelly, Zack, this is my wife Izzy, our daughter, Gia, and our son Dominic" Slater replied, introducing us to his guests. On the outside, I showed no emotion, but on the inside, I was shocked and crushed at the same time. At the same time my wife and I are struggling to have one baby, my old best friend shows up with two. They seemed like the happy family I dreamed of having with Kelly. "Wow, slater, you came a long way" Kelly said. "Damn right I did" he replied, while placing a kiss on his wife's lips. It made me sick that he made it look so easy to just have this happy family, when for me it wasn't that simple. He was living my dream that I had planned out just for me and Kelly. "Hey, y'know the rest of the gang and I are meeting up at the maxx for lunch. You wanna swing by and catch up a little bit?" Slater asked us. "Sure, sounds fun" I replied, still unsure of myself. "Awesome. We'll see you there at about noon?" "Sounds good"
"Alright, now c'mon babe"
Then he left to see the rest of the room with his wife and kids right there with him. If slater already has a wife and kids, I wonder how everyone else is now.
***
We made it to the maxx at exactly noon and it seemed as though it was the only thing here that has changed. Although the jukebox was still there and the booths were still standing, the uniforms changed to red polo shirts, black pants, and red baseball caps for both the waiters and waitresses. "Hey, preppy, right here" I heard Slater's voice from across the room near the jukebox. Kelly and I walked over to slater, who was holding his son while izzy was holding their daughter. "Slater I still can't believe you had children" Kelly said, somehow out of the blue. "Me neither. Guess all it took was meeting their right girl" he replied, referring to his wife. "Aww that's sweet niño" Izzy said to slater. "Not as sweet as you niña" he sugarcoated to izzy. Kelly let out a fake cough to try to get the couple's attention. Thank god she did because there is so much mushy couple PDA junk I can handle before I start barfing. "Don't you think we should get a table? Is everyone else here yet?" Kelly asked. "Yeah of course. Let us show you guys to the table. The rest of us are waiting" slater said, in typical A.C Slater fashion, as he and izzy strutted off with their two toddlers in toe. I grabbed hold of my own wife's hand and we followed them to a booth in the near end of the diner.
Once we got in sight of the table, I saw everyone was already sat down, but there were a few seats, reserved for us, available, along with a high chair which I presume is for Dominic. Kelly and I sat down and I got a good look at everyone as Kelly, in her happy fashion, greeted all our old high school friends. I stayed silent and let my wife do the taking.
****
"Oh my god, it is so amazing seeing everyone again" Kelly said to the group. It has been a little over an hour since we first arrived and Kelly seems to be enjoying herself. I doubted anyone recognized me. Without my blonde hair and hairless baby face, I look like a completely different person. When I talk, I even sound different. "As much as I love divulging into the past, let's talk about where we are now. I wanna know what everyone has been up to. Slater, let's start with you. What happened to you after college graduation?" Kelly said. "Well, after college, I tried out a few wrestling programs, but they didn't end up working out so much. So I decided to try dancing and I ended up staying in New York for two years as a choreographer for Broadway" slater said. A lot of us wowed in amazement at how bayside's champion wrestler and son of an army major ended up living in the big apple for two years as a choreographer on Broadway. "During my two years in New York, I also got a temporary role in 'A Chorus Line' as Zack. That's where I met my izzy" he continued, showing off him holding izzy's hand for emphasis. "He was very persistent and he won me over. We moved to LA together and moved in after a year of dating, two years later we welcomed Gia, then a year ago, we welcomed Dominic" izzy continued for him. Everyone awwed at his two adorable children, except me. I kept my head down as I ate my burger, fries, and orange juice.
"Ok, how about you Jessie. Where have you been?" Slater asked Jessie, who, with her curly blonde hair and navy blue attire, looked every bit the serious business woman. "Well, after graduating college, I took up some internships at a few local law firms in New York. Then I moved to Washington, D.C. to take up a junior executive position at the United States senate. Now, I run a leadership group for women and girls" Jessie said, detailing her life after graduation. "What about children? Did you ever get married and start a family?" Kelly asked, though I internally prayed she wouldn't. "I never got married. I was engaged for a time, but it didn't work out. But, thanks to the help of a sperm donor, I gave birth last year to my son, skylar." Jessie replied with a big smile on her face. Jessie then pulled out her phone and started showing the group pictures of her son. I took a quick peek before diverting my attention back to my meal. Every mention of one of my old friends becoming a parent so easy was tearing me up a little more inside.
Before anyone else could speak, Jessie's phone began to ring. "I'm sorry guys, I have to go. Sky is having a mini meltdown and I need to go home and see what's wrong" Jessie said as she got her bag, preparing to leave. Slater told her it was fine and told everyone that they would see each other tomorrow at the buffet Mr. Belding was holding tomorrow for breakfast.
As everybody left, I kept internally screaming at myself that, while everyone else had children as easy as getting a McDonald burger and enjoying the moments of parenthood, Kelly and I were having no luck so far. Everyone was living my dream role: dad.