Jane
I went back to school and the legend of Trouble and Happy, as they know us at PH, was cemented into the school's history. The news story of my car being sabotaged and Scott's gang showdown had been framed and placed in a glass display case alongside other tales of remarkable PH alumni. Our picture was taken, placed next to it and we were treated like heroes. And although Hailey won Homecoming Queen, I won Prom Queen while Scott was named Prom King. It all worked out because when it came time, Hailey and I sandwiched Scott between us with our crowns and sashes for an epic Parkland High Royalty spread in the yearbook. And when we had to pose with Peyton, because she was student body president, it wasn't even that awkward.
After a messy first half, we finished senior year strong. Sole didn't survive but Cole started dating the guy he'd cheated with. Scott was gracious enough not to mention the STD or the cheating so Cole was gracious enough not to be dramatic about it either. That was truly a disaster averted. And, like I said before, PH loved winning and we did that. We became the winningest class in school history. After having been shut out of the finals for the last three years, our football team got its revenge by winning state, just like the cheerleaders, MATHletes and the chess team. When Scott was finally allowed back on the field he played like a man on a mission. He broke the state record for goals scored by a single player in single match when he scored eleven goals during the semifinals. And when a junior, a major defensive asset, went down with injury, Scott led those seniors, with Drew's clutch play, to a national title. He set the tone and the baseball team also won nationals. And, because I couldn't let Scott have all the fun, I finally won our first national title in robotics. It was perfect since I was credited with building the first team and getting sponsorship.
Then two major announcements came on the same day. The first had come from Nan over breakfast. Scott and I were arguing about if I'd managed to edge him out for valedictorian when she questioned us about the status of our passports. Mine was fine but Scott didn't have one. She informed him that if he planned to travel with me to stay with uncle Peter for the summer he needed to get one. That's how she dropped the bomb on me that she was sending me to London for a summer holiday before I started university. I was beyond elated just thinking about all the mischief we were going to get into. But as soon as I walked into the school I realized what I'd have to leave behind.
Hailey.
I made Scott promise to keep it to himself until I could figure out how to deal with the Hailey aspect of me leaving the country for three months. I was really racking my brain about it. She'd turn eighteen over the summer and I'd definitely come back for that, but how much fun was I really going to have while missing her all summer? It'd be perfect for Scott because he needed to clear his head but I'd miss her and be a total downer. Then I had an idea. Before I could even tell Scott my idea we were being called to the office.
I was ready to plead my innocence when I realized that, joining Greenberg for our usual ass-chewing session, was the senior academic counselor. I knew there was no way he knew we'd sabotaged the evening playing of the school's alma mater after final announcements so that it would play Eye of the Tiger. It hadn't even happened yet. Instead, we were sat down and informed that Scott was the salutatorian of the senior class because I'd edged him out for valedictorian. My celebration was short lived when Greenberg proceeded to explain the guidelines of our responsibilities; including speeches. I really hated speeches. That's when Scott's celebration started.
Hailey wanted to help me with my speech but I refused. I told her that if I used my speech to propose to her I couldn't very well have her write it for me. She rolled her eyes. We both knew I wasn't going to propose. Yet. But I also knew that she wouldn't approve of my blunt approach. And neither would Nan. So, she wasn't allowed to hear it either. Of course, Scott and I were competing to see who'd write the better speech so, he was a no-go as well. I basically cornered TJ in the shed as he was putting the finishing touches on the security software he installed on the laptop I built because he and I shared the same sentiments about speeches. I'd drug Reece with me and I made them listen. Reece thought it was very much me and was surprised by how open I was while TJ said he "actually listened" but he couldn't wait to see me deliver it in front of Nan, Hailey and Noah.
Thinking about that was the only thing that made me nervous. I didn't care that Nan fussed over my hair. I didn't care that TJ teared up until I punched him in the stomach to make him stop with all that sentimental crying crap. I didn't care that Scott and I took nearly a thousand pictures before we left and then, between our selfie moments and weepy parents, we took a million more once we met up with everyone. I didn't care about anything until it was time for the speeches. I laughed as Scott talked about what it meant to fight through adversity and never giving up. It was a solid speech but I knew I won. He went for serious and a little sentimental. Not me. Well, not completely. And when I took the podium I scanned the crowd as they clapped. I saw my family sitting with Hailey's and Brit's families. I don't separate Sam and Lauren from my family, they were included. Hailey's mom gave me thumbs up, her dad gave me a nod and I felt like I was walking on sunshine.
I text Hailey and she informed me she'd just arrived at the mall with Brit, Peyton and Peyton's sisters. She'd been texting me constantly, worried there were some residual feelings about her spending time with Peyton. I reassured her but I think she just really wanted to talk to me. She was fully prepared for graduation, she'd already gone shopping with her mom. But Peyton had decided last minute she needed a different outfit. I put my phone away and walked to the door. I barely had a moment to react when Jesse came barreling out the door and lifting me into a bear hug. He was laughing like a kid on a sugar rush and it was contagious. When he put me down he took my hand and led me in the house.
"Jane's here," he yelled before disappearing down the hall where I heard Benji and Evan shout 'hey Jane' in my direction.
I watched Hailey's mom round the corner shaking her head with a smile before she wrapped me in a hug as she greeted me.
"Hi Jane, Hailey's with the girls. Apparently, Peyton had a wardrobe crisis and needed help," she laughed as she led me to the family room.
"Oh, I know. Hailey's been texting non-stop. Peyton is being over the top, her older sister is bickering with her but the little sister is just picking up anything to try and end it. I'm here to talk to you and your husband," I said nervously.
"Hey Jane. Did I just hear you say you wanted to talk to us?" Hailey's dad was already in the family room.
"Yes sir."
"Well, what's going on," he said.
"Two things. First, I hope you haven't bought Hailey a new laptop for college. I know she doesn't let me buy her things over a certain amount so I built her a laptop. I had to build a customized motherboard for work anyway and it just spiraled and now I have a completed masterpiece. It's innovative and I have a few patents pending. But it's named the Comet, because Hailey swears she's named after Hailey's Comet, and it has a massive amount of storage capabilities, speed, top of the line protection and I streamlined it into a sleek design with touch screen capabilities. It's customized for her so on the inside where the laptop brand name would be it says her name. And on the top where Apple computers have the apple symbol that lights up hers has an 'H' that lights up," I said.
"Jane that sounds amazing," her mom said.
"The prototype, that has a comet instead of an 'H' and says 'Comet' instead of 'Hailey,' got a lot of buzz and it gave me some time to work out the kinks so hers is the first one that isn't problematic. But this leads me to the second thing," I said.
"You sound less happy about that," her dad said.
"I work for Kingston and their home base, basically where they're currently focusing their tech innovation, is in London. With everything that happened, and the Comet being on track to be the premiere product from Kingston, Nan thought it was perfect timing for me to spend my summer overseas. Well, Scott too. I'll go over and talk about my process and oversee them building more prototypes, working out any other things in preparation for mass production and all that. I'll be gone for the entire summer but only working at the beginning. My uncle Peter, Nan's brother, is really overseeing the business and vacation aspects of my trip," I finished.
"And I'm guessing you want Hailey to come with you," her dad supplied.
"Kind of. This is our last summer before college and it's a big deal. My Nan will be visiting and I'll have Scott so, other than my brother and his girlfriend and Sam, my family will be in London with me. I wouldn't want to take Hailey away from you guys. She should spend this time with you guys and her brothers and Brit and, I can't believe I'm saying it, Peyton."
"I don't understand," her mom said.
"Hailey's birthday is halfway through the summer. I'm asking that when I come back for her birthday you let me take her back for a month. We'll return two weeks before the end of the summer so she'd basically spend her whole summer here except for a small chunk. Six weeks here, then four weeks overseas, then she comes home and you get to have your last little bit of time before she leaves for school," I tried to reason.
"I don't know Jane. I know she'll be a legal adult but still, it's a big deal," her dad replied.
"I totally get that but can you at least think about it. I know she already has her passport. We'll be staying at my family's home and uncle Peter is overprotective so we'll always have people around to keep us safe. I think it'd be a great opportunity for her to just let her hair down and breath before the world reminds her what reality is," I tried to reason again.
"Let us think about it Jane. And congratulations on the laptop and valedictorian. I'm looking forward to your speech," her mom said as they walked me to the door.
"Ugh, don't remind me. I well and truly despise giving speeches," I groaned and they laughed. I shouted goodbye to the boys, which they returned, and left hoping her parents submitted.
I cleared my throat unnecessarily like people do in the movies and shot a wink at Hailey which she responded to by dramatically swooning in her seat. My girl was too cute. And, after thanking everyone for their applause and thanking Scott for his wise words, I went through the obligatory greeting to school officials, making sure to give Greenberg a special shout-out, the crowd and then finally the senior class. After that boring crap, I was able to get right down to business.
"I hate speeches. It's true. I hate giving them and I hate listening to them. I would prefer some bullet points and then move on buddy. Don't believe me, ask Greenberg. He's given me his fair share of speeches to which I have politely requested a condensed version," I shrugged and looked over at Greenberg who was smirking at me with a hint of annoyance so I added, "calm down dude. It's like the song, you're gonna miss me when I'm gone."
That earned me a chuckle from him and a few more administrators who'd dealt with my antics over the years.
"Anyway, back to this speech thing. I told you that so that you'd understand that I streamlined this thing as much as possible."
I paused again for dramatic effect and made a face to drive it home that I was on their side and was trying to move it along. I also took that moment to look over at my family because I wouldn't be able to later for fear of totally losing the plot after seeing whatever ridiculous look was plastered on their faces.
"So, you want me to stand up here, use a few quotes and some anecdotes to give you some words of wisdom? Yeah, no. That's not me. I mean I can finally admit that I have more than a little bit of working knowledge about how those motorcycles became hoisted in rafters. Bloody brilliant if you ask me. But that's not where our focus is. If you want to know about being able to adapt to changing conditions on the ground then, by the grace of God and some really crap chain of events, I'm your girl. But not actually, I'm totally off the market and I'm very happy about it," I smiled triumphantly as cheers broke out amongst my fellow graduates and a few underclassmen that had been privy to a few of the dramatic disagreements Hailey and I had over the years.
"So, what qualifies me to give a speech about learning to adapt and thrive and all that? Well my GPA earned me the slot, boom Scott White, and my experience made me a seasoned vet in the game of change. And we'll who's gonna stop me?"
Greenberg rolled his eyes and Scott snickered but no one actually looked like they wanted me to stop. They looked amused. So, I continued.
"Look, by the time I was 16 I'd lost my father, my mother and my step-father. I'd walked the line between life and death, literally coding in the hospital, I was made an orphan, a victim of domestic violence, a victim of a broken system, and then I was a victim of a hate crime. In all the madness, I'd been beaten, my body broken, and I even got shot that one time. Stuff happens. See Greenberg, I don't HAVE to curse, I just prefer to," I joked.
That one got a chuckle out of him as he shook his head and I did a mental fist pump. Half of my motivation while writing this speech, other than to impart some brilliant Jane Bishop wisdom, was to take this last chance to get a reaction out of that man and I'd succeeded.
"But even after all that I realized that I was never beaten. I just didn't win those battles. And there's a difference between being beaten and just not winning. But I'm super hard headed so I'm like Eminem in 8 Mile with my finger in the air yelling F the free world. Love that movie. But I'm also here to give you some tips."
"Like everything is a blessing and a lesson. I know people make it seem like it's either or but it isn't; it's both. No matter what you go through, be it good, bad or downright disastrous, it's a lesson and therefore it's a blessing. Not all blessings are requested."
"Another thing, we've made it to that annoying stage where we're old enough to know better and, at the same time, we're too young to know better. It's stupid, I know. But suck it up because it is what it is. We're going to look around and realize that the adults are just like us, fumbling around in the dark trying not to stub their toes or stab someone. And before you know it, we're going to be in the middle of something and we're going to want to ask an adult and it's going to get awkward because we're going to realize we are the adult. So, what do we do? Well, ask an adultier adult, duh. There's no shame in needing help. There's no shame in reaching out and admitting you can't do something on your own. As we were in the past, as we are now and as we always shall be, we're stronger together. Need proof? Just think about how, when working together, some brilliant masterminds turned Baxter High into Parkland-Lite High School. Again, bloody fantastic is what that was. Teamwork makes the dream work. Rah rah go team," I said as the gym erupted in cheers.
That prank was so epic it made national news. We'd filmed the completed version as a tour, added it to our morning announcements and sent it in to local news as a gag. Like I said, our class was epic. And my legacy will live on long after I'm gone.
"Another thing. Life can suck but it's fair. I know it doesn't seem like that when you're sitting out there comparing your life to someone else's. Don't do that, it's a trap. You never know what people have gone through or what they're going through. I bet you guys never knew I got shot. It sucked, I bled a lot, I died for a bit there, hospital stuff and surgery and man that sucker hurt. But I drive a cool car so hey, maybe I don't know what a bad day feels like. Right. See how messed up that logic was? Life is fair because it's unfair to everyone. If they tell you different they're either lying or it just hasn't happened yet. Be patient, it'll happen and it'll suck but you'll survive because you don't have anything better to do."
I took a breath so that I could get serious.
"Look, there are things you just can't teach but I can offer you an abiding principle. When life pummels you keep in mind that this too shall pass. There's an abiding theory in my life and it goes like this; no matter how high the highs or how low the lows, everything will regress back to the mean. And my fellow MATHletes calm down," I chucked.
"For those of you that have math abilities that don't extend much further than being able to properly count your money, let me explain. The mean is simply a term used to refer to a calculated median in a range of numbers. It's not the same as a median. Median basically means taking away numbers until you literally get to the one in the middle. A mean is when you take all the numbers, add them together, and then divide by how many numbers there are. This will give you your average of the numbers; a baseline. In my life theory, that mean is the baseline for how your life goes. So, no matter how good times are or, on the flipside of that, how truly heartbreakingly painful things get, your life will go back to that baseline; the hum drum daily existence. You will return to the mean. Your job is to not only to survive it, but to also learn from it. Don't waste an opportunity for growth."
"Now, for my closing trick, I'll tell you all a secret. I came to this school wanting to not be here and I'm leaving not wanting to be anywhere else. Well, not including this epic summer trip I have planned, I definitely want to be there. Like you, I've learned every nook and cranny of this place and all the little nuisances are second nature to me. Life away from here, away from people who may or may not have hypothetically helped me break the law just for the sake of a prank, is scary at least and daunting at most. It means I have to try and meet people and learn all new nooks and crannies and stuff. Guys, I'm really lazy and that sounds like a lot of work. I mean, I know we can do it. We're Parkland Blue Devils! So, even though it's scary I know that we can and will rise to the occasion. We won state titles in football, cheerleading, chess and MATHletes. And we owned nationals in soccer, baseball, and robotics! Of course we can do it. We're Blue Devils and the rest of the world better recognize! Now get up and say it with me!"
I waited until my senior class was on their feet. As soon as I started in on my "closing trick" they were on the edge of their seats. Calling myself lazy had elicited laughs, a few cheers and they about lost it when I hyped up our championship titles at the state and national level. It wasn't that hard to get them on their feet and I knew it wouldn't be hard to get them to chant our fight chant one last time.
No matter the distance...time or place...I know that I will always be able to say...CUT ME WIDE OPEN AND YOU'LL SEE THAT IT'S TRUE...I'M A BLUE DEVIL...THROUGH AND THROUGH!"
I paused while everyone cheered before I took the mic and stepped away from podium. As silence fell on the gym I prepared for my closing line.
"I am Jane Bishop and I approve this message," I smiled as I dropped the mic and raised my arms in the air as another round of cheering erupted even louder than the last.
I turned to the administration and Scott gave me my props by bowing down while the rest were giving me a standing ovation. Greenberg looked proud and I saw the school counsellor dabbing away tears. I knew he'd never initiate the hug so I ran into his arms and squeezed him tight. Then Scott joined us and I whispered to him it was okay because we knew we were his fucking favorites. I made sure I cursed just for him. He loved to drop F-bombs when he thought no one was around. And he laughed because he knew exactly why I chose that curse word. It was our inside joke.
I don't know what the actual speaker talked about. I've mentioned that I don't like speeches, right? The rest of the ceremony was a bit of a boring blur. I couldn't even text because I was on stage. Thankfully I was rested because, as soon as it ended, I was mobbed but everyone parted like the Red Sea when Hailey came barreling at me. Even in heels the girl could sprint. I put my leg back and braced myself because as soon as she was in striking distance she jumped right into my arms. We were both wearing heels. Was she trying to kill me? I don't know. But as soon as she was in my arms her lips were on mine and I went blank. When she pulled away and pressed her forehead to mine it took me a moment to pull myself together.
"Hey," she giggled.
"Hey," I smiled.
"So now it's truly set in stone that I have to marry you Jane Elisabeth Bishop," she chuckled as she was still in my arms with her legs wrapped around me. The gown was open and covering anything that could've been showing.
"Is that so? Hailey Nicole Abrams Bishop does have a nice ring to it," I laughed.
"Yep. You gave an amazing speech, hyped everyone up, got them out of their seats and you closed it with a mic drop. You've got to marry the girl that does an epic mic drop in her graduation speech. She clearly has skills," Hailey said while wiggling her eyebrows at me.
I laughed and so did she as she leaned in for another kiss. Pretty soon I heard gagging noises and I had to put her down. Scott had a very emotional Brittany wrapped around him but Peyton made quick work of replacing him and Brittany snuggled closely in her embrace. Interesting. We were in the middle of a group hug when I saw Cole watching us with a little longing. I looked at Scott and he rolled his eyes so, I grabbed Cole and let him join our little moment.
"Dudes, do you know what this means?" Scott asked.
"We're legal adults with high school diplomas. Well most of us," Peyton said as she teased Hailey.
"Whatever, I'll be eighteen soon enough. But what now?"
"Party at mine. Including you Cole. After that, coping with a hangover probably," I said.
Hailey looked at me and there was a definite look of devilment in her eyes. She leaned over and kissed my jaw before whispering in my ear.
"Don't get too drunk, I have plans for you Miss Valedictorian."