Stoneybrook Ayr

That's it, they've GRADUATED!

The students sat in their seats, playing with their navy and white caps and gowns. Some turned to wave to friends and family, some whispered with classmates sitting near them, and some slouched in their chairs, ready for the ceremony to start.

It had taken four years, some felt like the time had passed in no time at all, others felt it had dragged out forever. All the winter lodge trips, boy toy auctions, homecomings, proms, dances, parties. The trips to Disney World, California, Australia. The hook ups, the break ups, the scandals. This class had been through a lot together, and this was it. The end. Graduation.

Cokie wanted to stab herself in the eye.  With a rusty fork.  Repeatedly. 

Being ten days overdue was akin to torture.  She was never comfortable, she still couldn't stand the baby's father, and she was sick of being as big as a cow.  But maybe the day had finally come.  After suffering through excruciating contractions a better part of the day, she telephoned her mother who was rushing home to take her to the doctor.  Taking a deep breath as another contraction subsided, she made one more phone call.

"Can you meet me at the hospital?" she whispered urgently into the phone.

It was Sunday night and Cokie just needed to get out of her house.  Far out of her house.  Her parents still didn't know she was engaged and she wasn't sure they would take the news well.  So she figured she would hide it.  She was getting used to hiding things, even though it almost never worked out to her advantage. 

She put her earbuds in and grabbed her warmest jacket before heading outside. 

"I'm leaving," she told her mom and and left without waiting for a response.

As she ambled down the street, she considered going to Grace's house, but made a detour at the last minute.  Grace had been acting weird about everything and Cokie wasn't in the mood to deal with it, so she went in another direction and found herself in front of Stacey's house.  Something compelled her to walk up the driveway and ring the bell.

It's not that she and Stacey were enemies anymore.  In fact, they were almost friendly.  But Stacey was never the first person she went to when she needed to talk.

But she did offer an ear....

TO: miss_c_mason
FROM: maridrabek
SUBJECT: ( (no subject) )

Cokie's mother had been on her case since she The Big News, as she insisted on calling it half the time.  It was frustrating to no end.  Finally, Cokie had had enough.  Throwing on her jacket, she grabbed the keys to her father's car and stood nose to nose with Mrs. Mason.

"I am sick to death of you telling me I'm not going to amount to anything!" Cokie said, shrilly.  Before her mother could answer, she was out the door and starting the car.

Without another thought, she drove to Logan's.  He was the only person who knew what she was going through.  Well, he kind of knew.  Sort of.

Pulling to a stop in front of his house, she sent him a text.

Hi.  Can I come in? 

Absolutely nothing in the lunch line looked appealing to Cokie. Same old slop, different day. She mindlessly grabbed a few items, not even caring what they were, and threw them on her tray. As she set her tray on the table Grace had saved for them, she heaved a sigh. "There's something I don't get..." she said, looking at her friend with a raised eyebrow.

"It's now or never," Cokie mumbled to herself as her mother's car idled in Logan's driveway.  Cokie was grounded for the rest of her life, but she had 'borrowed' Mrs. Mason's car anyway.  She would have it back before she even knew it was gone.

Taking her phone out of her pocket, Cokie texted Logan hoping he was home.

I'm outside.  Need to talk.

The flight from LA to Melbourne was long, but most of the travellers slept through the night. A full day was planned, which is an important step towards beating jetlag.

*

Logan had put Mary Anne and their run in out of his mind tonight for his date with Cokie. Cokie just seemed like the kind of girl who could sense when you were thinking about another girl. They walked into the Theatre, and Logan glanced up to see what was playing. He had no clue what they should see, everything about being with Cokie made him question everything he thought he knew about dating.

"What do you want to see?" he asked her.

At the last minute, Clarence and Maureen had decided to go away for the weekend. While they'd debated asking Grandpa Clarence over to stay with King and Stacey, Stacey had pleaded for them to be left on their own, and promised she would keep things under control. She'd automatically asked Austin to come over, thinking she had to make it up to him for yesterday. She wasn't sure if she was ready to go all the way yet, but she wanted to be. Unbeknownst to Stacey, King had plans of his own. She heard the doorbell ring, and expecting to find Austin on the stoop, she rushed down to open the door. She felt a little more prepared this time, wearing her cutest bra and matching underwear. She opened the door, and instead of Austin, about six of the guys on the football team stood there. Brushing past her, they made their way inside.

"KING!" She screamed out, furious. This was not what she had in mind.

Logan was frustrated. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about, and cursing Cokie since his run in with her the other week. The only good thing about it was he wasn't as focused on his parents fighting. He didn't know why he kept allowing himself to be baited by her, sometimes even seeking it out. Something must be wrong with him. But Cokie was unlike Dori and Mary Anne in about every single way possible, and for some reason, he was seriously attracted to it. Not just her, because anyone with two eyes could see she was hot. But attracted to her attitude, the way she talked, acted, everything.

Even if it frustrated the hell out of him. 

He had to do something, anything though, to get this fascination to end. He couldn't really see them dating, although a part of him wondered what that would be like. So it was with determination he headed over to Cokie's house that night, determination directed toward what, he didn't know, but determination.

This time, he got out of the car, walked up to the front door, and rang the bell.

After talking to Sunny, Logan had headed home, right into a massive fight. His parents had been fighting because his Dad forgot to buy tomatoes, and so Logan volunteered, mainly to get out of the house. He took his Dad's car, and planned on taking his time. He didn't want to be there. Although the A&P was within wlking distance, he found himself taking a detour, one he wouldn't even allow himself to think about, until he was outside, with the engine off. 

This was crazy, seriously crazy. He went to turn the engine on again, and drive off, but she came outside at that second and saw him. He was caught.

Let the Junior Prom of 2012 begin!

Junior Prom was dumb. Everyone knew that. It was basically just a big Status Parade and Cokie wasn't even going to go. But she didn't want to look like a total loser, so she decided to suck it up. Originally, her and Grace had planned to go together, but then Cokie found out Logan the Lame was going with Claudia the Creep. Sure, they were supposedly just going as friends, but Cokie wouldn't stand for it. She needed a real date and she needed one fast.

She waited for King at his locker early in the morning.

He never showed up.

She waited for him again after first period, then second period. After third period, she spotted him strolling down the hall, yawning and his hair standing on end.