To The Forest - Part Seven
This episode is part of a larger story, Soft Touch. If you haven’t yet, you can go back and read it from the beginning right here.
The mad dash across campus to the main building of our old high school gives me flashbacks of waking up late and sprinting to get to class on time. I catch myself automatically worrying that maybe I forgot to do my homework.
But it’s not old times anymore. I’ve got proof of that, in the form of Aiden running with me on my left, Ralph and Noah on my right. Raj should be right behind us soon enough.
We all promised to keep things calm, cool, and chill for Ripley’s graduation, but something tells me that we’re about to descend on this school like a tornado of chaos.
“Pick it up, Keane!” Ralph gives my back a shove. “We’re gonna be so damn late-”
“I’m going! What do you want me to do, grow longer legs?”
“Sure, do that. I assumed you wanted to, anyways?”
I fling an arm out to swat at Ralph, but he swerves out of the way. I end up getting Noah instead. He lets out an oof of surprise as my hand smacks into his chest, then gives me a retaliatory shove and takes a swing at Ralph, who by this time has circled well out of the way.
So I’m the only one who goes flying. Aiden tries to catch me, but I bounce off of the hard muscle of his chest and go careening wildly up to the front doors of the school, right as they open and a teacher leans out.
Her eyes travel from Aiden - panting, holding a handful of my flannel - to Ralph and Noah, who were tussling behind him before stopping when they realized a teacher was looking, to me, all out of breath and off-balance on the school steps.
Apparently this sight is enough for her to draw some conclusions about all four of us, because -
“What are you three doing?” She catches my wrist and pulls me to her, fixing Aiden, Ralph, and Noah with a scolding frown. “Leave this nice boy alone! We don’t need any troublemakers on campus today!”
“Wh-?” Noah bursts into laughter, and Aiden spreads his hands indignantly. “Wow, forreal? And you’re not even one of our old teachers!”
“Oh, no!” I quickly jump in, trying not to laugh. “It’s not that! We’re all here together! We’re late for graduation, that’s all! We just dropped him off around back, he should be lining up with the others.”
I catch Aiden’s hand and pull him to me as I explain. The teacher’s expression softens, and she smiles at the two of us.
“Oh, I see. For the toddlers, I’m guessing? Which one is yours?”
“Oh, no - for our friend,” I rush to clarify. Regardless, an instant blush spreads across Aiden’s cheeks in my peripheral vision, and I’m painfully aware that the same thing is happening to me. “It’s the high school graduation, not the Pre-K one! Did it start already?”
“It’s running a little behind. You might be able to make it, but you’ll have to hurry. My goodness.”
This last part was added when Aiden straightened up to his full height after stepping through the door. The teacher tips her head all the way back to look up at him in disbelief, and I flash her a grateful smile.
“Thank you so much! We appreciate it!”
I set off in a rush, pulling Aiden with me. Noah and Ralph sprint after us down the hallway, racing for the door to the field.
“No running in the hallways!” shouts the teacher behind us.
“Are you fucking serious, Keane?” Noah laughs, as I immediately begin to slow down. “What’s she gonna do, give you detention? Fucking go, go!”
We make a scrambling dash down the hallways of our old high school until we burst out onto the field, then rush straight across that towards the gym.
Two teachers are seated at a registration table right outside of the doors, waiting to take tickets. They stare at us in total bafflement and mounting alarm as we come charging wildly towards them.
“Yo, no way - is that Ms. Frasco?” I hear Noah shout, from just behind my shoulder.
An immediate sound of delight rises up from all of us when we realize it is.
Regardless of the enormous differences between the high school experiences the four of us had, there’s one experience that everyone who was a student here shared. If you went to this high school, you had Ms. Frasco for a guidance counselor, and that means you’ll think fondly of her for the rest of forever.
She just really, really tried. Earnestly and wholeheartedly. With everyone. She noticed things you thought no one was paying attention to. She’d ask you about them, and even if you didn’t talk, she’d often go out of her way to try to fix the problem. I know she’s the guidance counselor who first sent Ripley to meet with Gabby at City Hall, and the one who signed off on the papers to let me teach Ellen and Emmett.
Despite her exceptionally understanding nature, we were teenagers, so she pretty much got nowhere with any of us. But she never stopped trying. She’s also naturally very disorganized, and more often than not flustered about it. Everyone is deeply fond of her.
She stands up in alarm as all of us come streaking down the field, shouting her name. Noah outstrips the rest of us and flings his arms around her, and she lets out a bewildered laugh as the rest of us join the cluster.
“What-?” She draws back to stare up at the four of us, at a total loss. “Aiden, Noah - Ralph? Jamie?”
She’s understandably startled to see us all together. She does a double-take when she looks at Ralph’s smiling face, another when she sees Aiden’s and Noah’s, and then another when she sees that I’ve got Aiden’s hand in mine.
“I - what’s…?” She blinks up at us, looking a little dazed. “Am I alright? I’m seeing some - improbable things.”
“Hey, she remembers us!” Noah says brightly.
“Of course I do, Noah,” she says unsteadily, half-laughing. “You’re the reason we had to add a lock to that door on the roof. None of us will ever forget that day.”
Noah grins in delight, nudging my ribs with his elbow. “Famous!”
“And Aiden Callahan, our soccer star!”
Aiden smiles at Ms. Frasco. “Hey, Ms. F.”
She gestures to the elderly teacher seated at the table beside her. “Do you boys remember Mrs. Delmont? She retired a few years ago, but she’s back to help us with graduation. Look who it is, Alice!”
“Oh, yes! Our bad examples are back on campus,” Mrs. Delmont answers sternly, at a startling volume. And then, with a warm smile - “And Jamie Keane! Hello, sweetheart. How’s your mother?”
Even this part is startlingly loud. I have to suppress a confused laugh as I say hello, and that my mom is good.
Ms. Frasco explains, “Alice has gotten a little hard of hearing as of late-”
“They all grew up to be so handsome!” Mrs. Delmont tells Ms. Frasco approvingly, at what she must have thought was a much lower volume than it actually was. Then, when Ralph breaks into a grin - “Ralph Lanham! You better not be here to raise trouble, young man! Are you?”
Ralph leans down to meet her eyes. “I’m not saying shit without my lawyer.”
Mrs. Delmont sits back with a half-scandalized, gasping laugh. “Well!”
She takes a second to recover, turning to Noah. “And Noah Raunier, too? God help us!”
Noah spreads a hand on his chest, as if very wounded by this unjust statement. “Whoa, what?”
“Aren’t you the one who tried to go leaping from kayak to kayak on student beach day? Nearly sinking half of them and yourself in the process? Making all the students in the kayaks start yelling? Making things very stressful for the teacher who was the safety officer that day?”
Based on Mrs. Delmont’s tone, I can guess who the safety officer was that day.
“Nevermind about the kayaks!” Noah says urgently. “We need to get in there, our boy is-”
“What are you guys doing?” Raj calls, rushing up behind us with Nikita in his arms. “I’m carrying a baby and I still got here before you went in?”
“Oh, hey, Ms. Frasco!” Noah takes Nik from Raj’s arms, then proudly holds her out. “Check this out! I got a baby now! And this is my husband, Raj! Our wife is already in there, you remember her? Melanie?”
Ms. Frasco looks at Raj as he smiles and waves, to Noah, to Nikita, then slowly sits down at the table, looking a little dizzy.
“I - are you boys here for graduation?” she asks faintly.
“Yeah, our friend Ripley-”
She lets out a sputter of laughter. “I should have known you were here for him! Of course. Of course!”
“Are we too late to get in?”
“No, I’ll just get your tickets and find your name on my-” Ms. Frasco pauses, looking down at the scattered papers all over the table. “Oh, no - the list is somewhere, I know it is!”
We all exchange an affectionate grin as she scrambles hopelessly through the papers.
The gym doors open, letting out a soft wave of chatter. Gabby steps outside in a coral-colored dress, her long hair flowing loosely around her shoulders and spilling down her back.
“Boys!” she laughs. “I know between the five of you there must be at least one functioning watch! Come on!”
Ms. Frasco spreads her hands in relief. “If the City Manager says it’s fine, it’s fine. And your baby is adorable, Noah! You bring her back out here when there’s more time, I want an introduction!”
Our jumbled voices all thank Ms. Frasco at once as we rush to join Gabby. She holds open the door to let us in, briefly stopping Noah so she can place a little hello kiss on the top of Nikita’s head.
I accept an air kiss from Gabby, then look around at the gym. The chairs are all set up facing the temporary stage, and people are mostly in their seats. In true high school style, it would appear that the faculty is struggling with the AV system, making a desperate effort to get the microphones to work properly.
Thank god, or we’d definitely be late. As it is, there’s still chatter going on, and a few teachers hurrying around to set up last-minute things.
“Did we miss anything?” I ask, hurrying after Gabby to our seats, watching as Will and Kasey wave to me from the rafters.
“No, not yet. There, go down that row.”
I spot Ripley’s mom and dad at the far end of the row, seated beside Alix’s parents. A little boy who I assume must be Alix’s brother is there, too, admiring the painted designs Ripley did on his dad’s wheelchair.
“Hey!” I say brightly, dropping down to sit beside Ripley’s mom.
“Hi, Jamie!” She looks immensely relieved to see us. “Thank god! I assume that means Ripley is here? Did everything go smoothly?”
“It went, um…” My mind flashes back to Ripley in the backseat of my car in his binder and his boxers, rushing to get into his dress pants, nearly kicking Aiden in the face in the process. A scene immediately followed by all of us screaming as Noah spun the car around a turn. “About as smooth as you’d imagine. Hey, are you leaving, Gabby?”
“I’ll be the one reading off the names of the students as they walk,” she explains, straightening out her already-perfect dress, then resettling her inky hair over her shoulders. “Taking over for someone in the administration.”
I watch Gabby walk away in the direction of the front row of seats, then turn to look at Ripley’s mom. It was only for a second, but I caught a satisfied smile on her face.
“What?” I ask curiously.
“Nothing,” Mrs. McKay answers, all casual. “Seems more fitting anyways, doesn’t it? A representative from City Hall reading off the names? Especially one as well-spoken as Gabby? The school completely agreed, they were thrilled when she offered. And Gabby was happy to offer, once I explained.”
She says all this seriously and calmly, in a detached way. But there’s a decided sparkle in her eye that tells me she was way more involved in this than she’s letting on.
“Someone must have asked the school about this, right?” I try, watching her expression. “Replacing the admin person who normally does this job? They wouldn’t just do that for no reason.”
Mrs. McKay innocently pushes her ash-blonde hair over her shoulder. “If the man refuses to use the correct names of the students, then he’s not suited for the job, is he? I just pointed that out. Besides, he can’t do it now, because Gabby put his administrator’s license under review after I told her about it.”
“Oh…” A burst of fury sweeps my chest as I suddenly understand what happened. “Oh. Well, good. He should have his credentials reviewed. Sounds like he shouldn’t have them at all.”
Mrs. McKay nods, then adds - “He wasn’t happy with me, of course. He told me that what my child really needs is a therapist. Said that I clearly need one, too.”
I draw back in dismay, but Ripley’s mom looks decidedly unruffled. “What did you say to him?”
Mrs. McKay is clearly trying not to laugh, now. “I told him that I’m a therapist, and that I got my doctoral degree from Stanford, where I also taught for five years. I encouraged him to read my articles in Psychology Today.”
A startled laugh escapes me. “What did he say to that?”
Ripley’s mom cracks a devious, smirky grin that I’ve seen many times before on Ripley. “Not much at all.”
I let out a sputter of laughter, full of relief. “I’m glad Ripley has such rad parents, Mrs. McKay.”
She looks surprised and delighted at that. “Oh - thank you!”
I turn to say hi to Melanie as she works her way down the row, eventually dropping to sit down between Raj and Noah.
“Hello, my sweet one!” she coos adoringly, as Noah passes Nikita to her. And then, to Noah and Raj - “Hello, dumb boys. I told you not to wait until the last minute to leave!”
“We’re sorry! Hey, at least we didn’t miss anything.” Noah folds an arm around Melanie’s shoulders, smoothing a tattooed hand over her hair. “Here, come sit on my lap. We’re back at the old stomping grounds, I need everyone to see what a hot wife I got.”
“Wow, bruh!” Raj says indignantly.
“And husband, dude, obviously! I just can’t reach you around Mel!”
“I’m feeling roughly the same way,” Aiden laughs softly, wrapping one muscled arm around my shoulders in a very obvious, visible way.
I blush hard, and Melanie giggles, busy opening a Tupperware container from her purse. She takes the lid off to reveal a heap of fresh, sliced watermelon, cut into fun little shapes. Hearts, flowers, fishes. Mel shifts Nikita on her lap to feed her, but Raj and Noah are already leaning over the container in obvious delight.
“Dude, sweet!” Noah takes one out and shows it to Ralph before he pops it in his mouth. “Look at that, they’re in lil’ shapes!”
“I used cookie cutters,” Melanie laughs. “So it would be entertaining for our baby. But I guess… clearly you guys are just as into it, so yeah, have some.”
Sensing eyes on me, I turn and find someone leaning around his mom, his little face peeking out from behind her. He’s staring at me with wide eyes.
“Oh, hello,” I say gently, leaning forward to see him better. “You’re Alix’s little brother, aren’t you?”
He blushes violently, then instantly disappears back behind his mom. She glances down at him in surprise.
“What’s going on with you?” she asks quietly, puzzled.
“Aw, Keane,” Aiden whispers softly, his laughing voice so quiet that only I can hear it. “Someone got himself an instant crush on you. Know the feeling, kid.”
He thumps his chest sympathetically, and I let out a startled laugh.
“Stop it!” I whisper, matching Aiden’s volume. “He’s probably just shy, that’s all.”
“Say what you want. I know what I’m hearing.” Aiden taps his temple, his blue eyes full of laughter. “It was loud enough that I picked it up.”
He pauses thoughtfully, then adds - “Do I have to fight this kid, now? Is that the law?”
“Wh-? Shut up!” I groan-laugh, sinking helplessly down in my seat. “Oh, my god. No. No more chaos. I can’t have you brawling with an eight-year-old. As if the situation isn’t out of control enough. I have a feeling that things are going to get absolutely stupid when Ripley walks across that st-”
My voice is lost in a rush of swelling chatter as the doors at the far end of the gym open to admit the students in their graduation robes. They file in to take their seats, looking for their people out in the crowd. We all instantly lean forward to search the sea of faces for Ripley.
Thankfully his green curls make it easy, even with his graduation cap on. He grins when we all excitedly wave at him.
The students head to their seats, and the speeches begin.
A naturally occurring tradition at Ketterbridge High is for the students to use the speech portions of graduation as an opportunity to covertly take pictures together, sneakily drink from shooters hidden in the sleeves of their graduation robes, and text each other. It doesn’t take long for everyone to get distracted.
I can see that little has changed, because there’s a general jolt of surprise from the student body when Gabby finally steps up to the podium, and her clear, powerful voice takes over.
“Buenas tardes, students of Ketterbridge High.” Her hands rest comfortably on the podium, her eyes warm and bright and smiling. “I’m only supposed to read your names, but first let me extend my heartfelt congratulations to you, and to your loved ones. This is a truly special moment. If your parents are a little sentimental and teary with you after this, go easy on them. They’re remembering the first day they dropped you off at school. They’re thinking about how much smaller you were, and how much you’ve grown. How much your world has grown.”
For once, there’s complete, attentive silence from the crowd.
“Or maybe some of you have come through this experience purely on the force of your own efforts,” Gabby continues, her eyes slowly traveling over the faces turned up to her. “I recognize the incredible strength that takes. I hope that you were able to find something like a family here. I hope that all of you felt some sense of family here, even if that makes today bittersweet. They say the hardest days of school are the first and the last. It’s hard to say goodbye, even when it’s done in the name of the next new adventure. But wherever you go, you’ll always have a home here, in Ketterbridge. To those of you who choose to go, we’ll always be here, always backing you. Always in your corner.”
Gabby smiles, tilting her head slightly to the side. “Maybe some of you will choose to stay and help us make Ketterbridge better. I welcome that. No matter how much I love this place, I believe we can always do better. City Hall always welcomes feedback. For example - is this speech too sentimental? I’m seeing some wet eyes in the audience.”
“No, it’s good!” one of the students shouts tearily.
Gabby laughs, drawing a ripple of laughter from the crowd, too.
“Alright, enough of the serious stuff.” She smiles brightly, picking up a stack of cards from the podium. “This is a celebration of what you’ve accomplished, and it’s time to celebrate each and every one of you! Without further ado - please line up!”
The graduating class gets to their feet in an excited surge of movement and chatter. Gabby begins calling out their names, going in alphabetical order. They cross the stage one by one to accept their diploma and their handshake from the principal, accompanied by some applause and the occasional shout from the crowd. We all give Alix a rowdy cheer, which makes her giggle and trip a little.
Soon enough it’s almost Ripley’s turn to walk. There are only three students ahead of him.
Noah sits up excitedly, bouncing Nik on his lap. “Oh, shit, here we go!”
“What are you doing?” I ask Melanie, watching her fasten up her purse and zip up Nik’s baby bag.
“Preparing,” she giggles. “We’re definitely going to be thrown out. Asked to leave, at the very least. I know we all agreed to be chill about this, but I also know us, so I know-”
“He’s up!” Aiden interrupts, cuffing my shoulder.
I whip around to face the stage. Ripley is waiting on the step, an excited, nervous smile playing around his mouth.
Gabby shoots him a proud look before she reads out the next notecard. “Ripley McK-”
That’s as far as she gets before the explosion of noise overtakes everything. Ripley’s mom lets out a gasp of laughter as Aiden, Noah, Raj, Ralph, Melanie, and I all leap to our feet in tandem.
“GET THAT DEGREE, RIPPLES!” Aiden bellows, grinning from ear to ear. “THAT’S OUR BOY!”
“POUTAIN OUI, THAT’S RIGHT, MAN, LET’S FUCKING GO!” Noah roars, throwing air punches at nothing.
Raj throws his head back and lets out a loud, long call, like - CHEEEEEEE HOOOOOO!
Unheard by all but me, Will and Kasey add their voices from the rafters. I can’t make out what they shouted. I can’t hear what Melanie or Ralph shouted, or even what I shouted, because we all started shouting at exactly the same time. The result is that a roar of enthusiastic noise goes up from just our little group.
Nikita adds to the noise by letting out a loud shriek of laughter as Raj holds her high up in the air. She bounces happily in his hands, and a piece of watermelon soars out of her little fingers to hit the nearby window with a wet smack.
Ripley is halfway across the stage, where he stopped to press his hands over his mouth, shaking with laughter. He realizes what he’s doing and turns to rush the rest of the way, but that doesn’t stop us.
“Dios mío!” Gabby lets out a scandalized laugh directly into the microphone, then quickly gets a hold of herself and fixes us with a stern look. “Oh god, I should have known - stop that, all of you! Stop jumping! No, Noah - Noah! Put that chair down this instant!”
There’s some confusion following this. As Melanie predicted, we’re escorted out shortly after.
But we’re making noise the whole way, and Ripley is trembling in a fit of silent laughter at the far end of the graduation stage, so I don’t think anyone has any regrets.
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