fandomtownies | Graduation Brunch: The Park, Sunday, mid-morning to mid-afternoon

A banner, the letters wrapped with fresh spring flowers, hung from the trees, spelling out CONGRATULATIONS, CLASS OF 2009! No missing letters or anything.

Spread out across the park were plenty of tables and chairs, some under the shade of picnic shelters, some out on the grass in the sunshine. For those who felt like getting back to nature, there were even red and white checked blankets spread out in a few areas for old-fashioned picnic-y goodness. Lack of ants not guaranteed.

The long table that ran along next to the picnic shelters was laden with a vast ~~moddable~~ array of traditional brillig-y food, including fruit, veggie snacks, breakfast pastries, sandwiches for the especially hungry or those who arrived more toward the unch end of brunch, and a wide variety of J,GoB-catered desserts. Drinks included coffee, tea, juices and soft drinks, and while there were plates provided, there were also wee picnic-basket-shaped trays for carrying things back to your seat, wherever that might be.

A space had been cleared for dancing, if people cared to do more than just listen to the light music being played through the speakers, and there was also an area set aside for outdoor games of croquet, horseshoes, or frisbee.

Everybody's welcome. Come celebrate with the Class of '09!

[OOC: ~~Wait for the OCD. Don't make Eliza Doolittle have to cut a bitch.~~ OPEN! And no one had to get cut! It's a good day!]

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"Well, maybe if you'd bothered to check your attitude you'd have found that Nancy and Jane had convinced me to talk to dad on your behalf," Dave replied, stealing John's coffee cup and sniffing the contents.

"-uh, Jaina. You talked to him? What'd you say?" John wasn't getting his hopes up. Hope was dead when it came to his family.

"No, first I want a conversation." It was what he'd told that Jaina girl, after all.

There were limited topics John believed they could safely broach. "About what? Girls? Sports? Food?"

"How about you. Why stay here when you've graduated?" Dave really didn't think he was going to like these answers, but still, he could listen while he drank John's coffee.

"I guess I feel like there's still stuff I can get out of being here," John shrugged, sort of confused by Dave bothering to ask.

"What kind of stuff?" Dave asked. "How to watch movies?"

Great, he talked to crazy detention guy. "It's better that than hanging out all summer on a golf course or falling asleep in meetings where I don't fit in," he said honestly. "And, of course, there's Jaina. Maybe."

"Maybe? That girl was ready to argue all night with me over keeping you here," Dave informed him. "What'd you do now?"

And there it was, John had screwed up yet again. "What did you expect? I messed it up. She wanted me to talk to you and I didn't want to hear what you're probably gonna tell me as soon as this farce of a conversation is over."

Despite everything he'd been through, sometimes John was such a teenager.

"Being?" Dave prodded, knowing full well what it was.

"Come on, Dave. We both know Dad wants me to come home and we both know why. How can I argue with that?" While John's voice was pleading, his face was resigned to his fate.

Dave reached to refill the cup, ignoring the cream and sugar. "You don't have to. It's taken care of."

"What do you mean, 'taken care of'?" John asked, worried that his brother had done something that would make everything worse.

"After hearing what Nancy and Jaina and that professor of yours had to say about you, I was able to tell dad that you were doing well here and that taking you away even for the few months between now and when you start Stanford would only encourage you to spiral back down to the kid you were before." That was a mouthful, Dave sipped on the fresh coffee. "And I might've told him that girlfriend of yours is on our side. Sorry about that."

"Wait, what?" John didn't understand what had just happened here.

"Dad has decided that it's in the best interests of the family if you stay in Fandom for another couple of months," Dave said, clearly amused by his little brother's shock.

"...You did that for me?" Was he dreaming here? John thought perhaps he had passed out on the table.

"You really should get some sleep," Dave pushed the coffee towards John. "Of course I did, you're my little brother. As much as I want you to be successful, I also want you to be happy."

"And what happens when I start school?" There had to be a catch.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." John would have to do a lot of work before anyone in the family would be fine with that military thing. There was always hope Stanford would bury that kid dream.

John was speechless for a moment, taking time to drink some coffee and stare a lot at Dave. "I don't know what to say."

"Say you'll thank me by coming out to the lake house for the Fourth."

Dave paused, "And bring that girl if she's still putting up with you."

"Yes, sir," John said, smiling warily, like he was waiting to wake up from this hallucination.

Graduation Brunch: The Park, Sunday, mid-morning to mid-afternoon

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