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.

With her party only three days away, Mari had spent nearly every spare minute baking and cooking the food items that could be prepared ahead of time. She'd taken up almost all the room in the refrigerator and freezer, something her parents weren't too pleased about. Wednesday after school, she'd headed downtown to the local craft store to start purchasing items for her decorations. Some of the decorations would go around the house, and some of them would actually go on the food and drinks.

As Mari browsed the aisles and aisles of adorable merchandise, she realized she probably should have come prepared with a list of what she needed. She'd found dozens of ideas she wanted to try, but hadn't settled on anything definite. Right now, she wanted to buy everything she saw. She started tossing a few things into her basket, deciding she'd just make do with what she ended up purchasing that day.

Rounding a corner and turning into another aisle, Mari saw Claudia just ahead of her. "Hey, Claudia," she greeted her with a smile. "Buying supplies for an art project?"

Kristy surveyed the den with satisfaction. Snacks were set up, movies were out, and mattresses were strategically placed. Evereything a group of girls needed for an old fashioned sleep over. She only hoped Stacey and Dawn wouldn't break open the mud masks, or worse, the alcohol. She knew her friends peobably thought she was lame, but she didn't care. Kristy Thomas did things the Kristy Thomas way. She heard the bell ring and grinned.

The first guest was here.

To: Mary Anne, Claudia, Stacey, Dawn, Abby, Shannon From: Kristy Subject: BSC Reunion Okay, so maybe not a reunion as such, but humor me, okay? I want us to have a good old fashioned sleep over this weekend, to celebrate being Seniors! This year is just going so fast, and I know we're all busy, but I thought this could be fun. My place on Saturday, okay? Kristy

"Claud," Kristy said, as soon as her friend answered the phone, and without even a hello, "are you free?" Kristy had a favour to ask, so she knew she had to be polite.

Claudia had spent most of her lunch period in the art room. She brought a Snickers bar (okay, make that 3 Snickers bars) to nibble on while she worked on a painting she was finishing up for class. If she was going to be accepted into any art school worth it's weight, she had to put her nose to the grindstone.

She had just cleaned up and was walking out of the art room to chat with some friends before lunch ended when she ran right into Sunny.

"Hey, Sunny!" she said happily. "You going to the caf?"

Stacey had texted Claudia almost as soon as she left Austin. She needed her right now, she didn't want to be alone. Truthfully, she wanted to be with Austin, and having him tell her it was a joke, or a dream.

But that wouldn't happen. She made it back to her place in record time, and even though her parents weren't home, and King probably wasn't either, she waited on her Porch for Claudia, trying not to sob uncontrollably like she wanted to, but unable to stop the tears. Finally, she saw Claudia approaching, and flew into her friends arms.

Afternoon

Queen Victoria Market 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Victoria_Market

Claudia had picked up a part-time gig at the local art museum and, while she was only working the information desk for the time being, she was painting as often as possible for that blessed moment when she had an exhibit there. The time was coming. She could feel it. Even though Claudia wasn't a morning person at all, she went to Miller Park as early as possible to paint the gazebo before too many people obstructed the view. She was sitting on a park bench, her easel set up in front of her, when she noticed Trevor Sandbourne standing near the gazebo.

"Trevor!" she called out, waving her paintbrush wildly in the air.

Sunny was in shopping mode. She'd gone all the way out to Washington Mall and was determined to get everything that she needed for the trip to Australia. It was, after all, in less than a month. She didn't want to be caught unprepared.

She looked up from the rack of skirts she was looking through and saw the familiar faces of Claudia Kishi and Stacey McGill. She beamed.

"Stace! Claud!" Sunny called. "Hi!"

Let the Junior Prom of 2012 begin!