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 Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 9:36 pm
“I’ve got a present for you,” Kent said in a singsong voice.
Tara looked up from her book on language, pleased to be interrupted but also kind of puzzled. “Christmas has been over for ages,” she said slowly, wondering what he was hinting at. “And it’s not my birthday for another week.”
“I know that, silly. I remember when you were born.” Which wasn’t something Kent usually brought up unless he was feeling sentimental, since he said that it made him feel old. Especially these days, now that she was practically an adult in all ways except emotional maturity. “I thought about waiting until your birthday, but this is the sort of thing that you need to have now. So close your eyes and put out your hands.”
Yep, he was definitely feeling sentimental, but Tara hadn’t the slightest idea why. Maybe he was hopping on the birthday bandwagon early this year, though his words implied that this wasn’t a birthday-related gift. Shrugging, she did as requested, closing her eyes and holding her hands out in front of her, palms up. She could hear some rustling as he moved around, and felt something disappointingly light being put in her hands, and told her fingers not to close around it yet. Maybe there was something else, something more than what felt like some folded papers.
That hope was shot down when Kent said “Tara, you can open your eyes down.” She did, and it took her a moment to realize that her guess was mostly correct: she was holding an envelope. An envelope addressed to her, with the HITS school seal on it. Tara shrieked as if she had been presented with a dead mouse and dropped the envelope in her lap. Letters from school were never good. Was Kent teasing her, to make it out like this was a present? Or was it some sort of revenge for whatever was in it? Timidly, she nudged the letter with her book until it flipped over. The envelope was still sealed; Kent hadn’t opened it yet.
“Just open it. I promise you, it’s something good.” Kent kneeled down behind the sofa and put his hands on Tara’s shoulders encouragingly.
For a few moments Tara hesitated. She wanted to believe Kent, but in her experience, schools didn’t write letters unless they had something bad to say. Was she being left back again? The thought of being twenty-one and still in high school was mortifying. Then she felt Kent’s hands on her shoulders, and that gave her the push she needed to take the envelope in her hands again and tear it open. There was only one sheet of paper inside. That had to be bad; good news took up more room than that.
“Trust me.” The hands squeezed gently, relieving some of the tension that was building up in Tara’s neck. She nodded and slowly unfolded the paper. After coughing once to clear her throat, she began to read aloud.
“Dear Ms. Kavanaugh,” she recited, her voice wavering slightly. It was a form letter. That had to be bad. “We are pleased to inform you-” They were pleased? Why? Tara scanned the next few words and felt her eyes bug out. She looked at Kent, who just grinned and nodded back at the letter. Was this for real? Blinking, she started again. “We are pleased to inform you that your application for graduate status has been accepted. The Horizon Institute for Technology and Science does not offer mid-year graduation ceremonies, but you are welcome to participate in the graduation this spring. A copy of your diploma may be picked up from our administrative offices.”
Diploma. Graduation. She had graduated from high school. Finally. After all these years.
But why? “I didn’t file for graduate status.” Heck, Tara hadn’t even known it was possible to do that!
“I did.” Kent pulled Tara’s hair out of her face, tugging her braid quickly when she stared at him, mouth wide open. “I’ve been talking with your guidance counselor there. She told me that you would have enough credit by January to be finished, and helped me with the paperwork. I don’t think she knew I was doing it behind your back, but I wanted it to be a surprise, just in case.” Just in case it didn’t work, he meant, but didn’t want to discourage her. It had worked, and that was all that mattered.
Tara just kept goggling at him, so Kent nodded at the letter again. “Keep reading, there’s more.”
More? What more could there be? Tara almost dropped the paper in her hurry to resume reading. “As a graduate of the Horizon Institute’s High School Division, you are now eligible to take college classes. Your registration period is...” She dropped the letter for real this time, her brain totally overloaded. “College? For real?”
“For real.”
“I’m done with high school?”
“You’re done with high school.”
“I’m a college student?” Tara’s voice squeaked with disbelief.
“You’re a college student. At a prestigious science-related school with a state-of-the-art campus.” Kent wrapped his arms around Tara and squeezed tightly. “I am so proud of you.”
For a few moments Tara just sat there, letting Kent hug the breath out of her, letting everything sink in. She had so much emotion bound up in school, and how much she hated it, and how much she resented still being there. School had been a measure of her failures rather than her successes, as a senshi and as a student. Now that chapter of her life was over. College was a chance for a clean slate. She could study what she wanted, when she wanted to. She didn’t have to be the bad student anymore. She could be whatever she wanted to be, if she wanted it badly enough.
“I’m a college student?” she repeated, this time squealing with excitement. Somehow she wrestled her way out of Kent’s bear hug, tumbling to the floor. He helped her up, but once she was standing, she was too excited to stay still, so she started to jump up and down. “I’m a college student!”
Kent laughed. “Yes, you’re a college student!” And he started to jump too. It had been so long since he had seen Tara so excited. That was enough to reassure him that the surprise approach was the right way to do things after all.
They continued like that for a moment, until something thudded underneath them. A muffled voice yelled at them, telling them to stop knocking the building down. Kent looked embarrassed, but no less happy, as he took a seat on the couch. Giggling and giddy, Tara fell back on top of it, and him, kicking her legs up in the air.
“I haven’t told Mom and Dad yet. I thought you should be the one to do that.” Kent stroked Tara’s hair, while deflecting her feet when they got too close to his face. “And we can go out to celebrate, wherever you want to go. Tonight if you want, but I thought maybe we should wait until after you register for classes. Then you’ll have even more to celebrate.”
“More? Are you kidding?” Tara let herself lie flat, catching her breath. “This is already like a dream!” Which made her doubt everything that had happened. If this was a dream, it was the best dream she’d had in years, but it would hurt so much. Still, she had to know. “Kent, pinch me.” She held out her arm and shut her eyes.
Kent considered telling her it wasn’t a dream, but humoring her would be faster. Choosing an area on her upper arm that would hurt less, he put his fingers together and pinched tightly, then pulled his hand away before Tara could smack him.
Her eyes opened again, and she looked at her brother angrily. “That hurt!”
“Aren’t you glad it did?” he asked, winking. “Isn’t it worth a little pinch?”
It wasn’t a dream. It was real. This was her real life, and something in it didn’t totally suck. “Yes,” Tara said, finding the letter on the couch and hugging it to her chest. “Yes, it’s totally worth it.”
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 9:35 pm
Finish Your Pi[ORP] Tara celebrates one of her favorite holidays, Pi Day!
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 9:36 pm
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 9:38 pm
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 9:43 pm
Half Reveal and Half Conceal[Tara + Kent + Zia] Two normal girls having a normal sleepover. With a side of ancient dead languages and hypothesizing about the nature of the universe.
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 9:46 pm
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 9:49 pm
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 9:50 pm
The Fun House[ORP] And the fun house at this carnival is anything but fun.
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 9:52 pm
Ancient Tongues[Aquarius + Iris] After months of searching, Aquarius gets her first clue about the languages she's been studying.
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 9:54 pm
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 9:56 pm
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 9:58 pm
Something for Nothing[Aquarius + Nysa] The fair lady Aquarius meets one Sir Jerk-a-lot, enemy of researchers everywhere.
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 10:00 pm
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 10:02 pm
She's Not There[Tara + Yvette] Unable to cope with the possibility of spreading her bad luck, Tara pushes away one of the last friends she has left.
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 10:04 pm
Promises, Promises[Tara + Dana] Tara does damage control for catastrophes great and small. Her success varies.
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