August 7

A/N: And so it ends! Oh, my little story's all grown up now, and ready to fly! Okay, ignore that last sentence. Besides, you already know that this is the first in a series. Next up after this, "Cruel Summer", which will be a short (three chapter) story going over the events of the summer. And after that, "Finally Seniors", which is pretty self-explanatory, don't you think?

And thank you, thank you, thank you for all the great reviews. Ya'll made this story what it is!

Now, a very special conversation between me, Wicked Wonder, and the cast of "The Junior Year". Enjoy!

WW: Where have you guys been! Here I was, all stoked after chapter 7, and ready to finish the damn thing, and ya'll up and quit on me!

Tommy: Sorry. Some of us were kind of... busy. (Glares at various members of the group)

WW: Well?

Kim: Um, Phil taught Tim that tongue thing. (Shivers) I still have aftershocks.

WW: Way too much information. Anyone else?

(Joe, Dil, Phil, Angelica, Chuck, and Susan all raise their hands. Tommy and Lil glare at them.)

Dil: In my defense, Joe and I refined some of our rules.

(Wicked ah's understandingly. Dil smiles broadly.)

WW: Well, I guess the important thing is that ya'll are here now. Let's roll!

(The group follows her out.)

Tommy: (whispering) Ever notice that she uses that phrase a lot?

 And one final note: So, here I was, thought I was being smart for making the colleges listed in this story either made up or really well known. I just found out today (September 27) that SMU is a real college! Now, I was disparaging about it, and I will be in "Seniors". I'm sure that the real SMU is a good school, even though I don't know where it is or anything. But while the name's the same, there are no intended similarities. Thank you. Whew!

Now for...

June

Tommy:

After the prom, time seemed to both speed up and slow down. We were all ready for the school year to be over, especially Chuck.

"Man, you just don't know! Thirteen long years-"

"You were skipped, and I've attended as much school as you," I interrupted.

Chuck waved his hand dismissively. "Details, details. It feels like forever!"

"Whatever. You're almost finished! Hey," I said slowly as a thought came into my head, "Why are you here? This is Senior Cut Day, right?"

"Yeah. I'm about to leave right now. I just had to drop off Kim."

"Why didn't you just ask me to pick her up?" I asked, confused.

"Because a whole bunch of us are going to an amusement park, and we're meeting here."

"Okay, well, have a good time!" I watched as Chuck walked off, and went to go to homeroom. Everyone else was already there, waiting.

"How did you get sidetracked from our cars to here?" Phil asked curiously.

"I ran into Chuck. He's actually participating in Senior Cut Day, can you believe it? And next year, that'll be us!" I grinned at the thought.

"I say we do something totally crazy, like bungee jump or something," Kim said excitedly.

"That would work for those of us who aren't, I don't know, totally afraid of heights or anything," Lil said offhandedly, looking down at her hands.

"Oh, I totally forgot! Sorry, Phil." Kim glanced at Phil, who was also studying his hands.

He leapt up and said, "It's all right. I'll be right back. I forgot to tell Angie something."

"Tell me again how he manages to fly?" I asked Lil.

"I don't know, because we really don't talk about it. Keeps his mind off it or something. I just want to know how Angelica's going to take being wakened before 10."

"I think she's working this summer. So she might already be up and about," I mused. "New subject. What are you guys getting Chuck for his graduation. I was thinking my old standby, gift certificates, but I'm not sure."

"Guys are hard to shop for," Kim groused. "So, he's getting a new messenger bag. He refuses to carry something else, and the one he has right now is pretty beat up."

"I was thinking that I could get him this shirt. It's like a bowling shirt, retro, and on the back is Saturn. It's quirky." Lil dug through her backpack and pulled out a picture. "See, and I can have his name embroidered on it. Thoughtful and personal!"

Phil re-entered the classroom and sat back down. "What are you talking about now?"

"Gifts for Chuck," Kim explained.

"Gift certificate," Phil said immediately. I put out my hand, and we slapped five.

"You guys are just wrong," Lil laughed. "Next year, we probably won't give gifts, will we?"

"Let's make a pact. We won't buy gifts for the four of us, or if we do, we won't feel bad if someone else doesn't." Kim spoke up.

"Deal," we all chorused.

Lil:

"So, to review, Macbeth was about the themes of greed..."

I sat back up with a start and looked around, hoping that no one saw my brief nap. I caught Joe's eye and he nodded sympathetically.

After class, he came up to me. "Why isn't school over yet?" he groaned.

"Beats me. Believe me, if I could skip the rest of the year without getting in major trouble, I would. See you after school, right?"

"Yeah. Am I still bringing the, um, you know?"

"Yep." I smiled and then went up to Kim. "Everything's all set on your end, right?"

She nodded, looking mischievous. "I told Chuck that we were having one final swim team practice for the year. Thank goodness he doesn't pay attention to sports. Tim's supposed to be watching me."

"And Tommy said that he had to work, and Phil's excuse is that he and Angelica are going out, which takes care of their excuses. Susan recruited Chuck to help her 'pack for the summer', so he'll be gone for the evening. She said she'll call when he's on the way home." I ticked off the names with my fingers. "Let's see. Joe said he had a meeting with the editor of the paper, and Dil mentioned a pickup basketball game."

"What about you?" Kim asked.

"I couldn't come up with anything good, so I just said that I had a ton of homework and was planning to stay in. Besides, what are the odds that Chuck would call me, wanting to hang out? I figured that as long as the usual suspects were out, then we would be okay."

"So, see you later." Kim moved off, and I went to go round up the rest of the gang.

Phil:

We all stared at each other. "You mean, between the eight of us, we can't come up with one single idea?" I said, breaking the silence.

"Guess we shouldn't have waited until a week before graduation to decide that we were giving Chuck a surprise party." Tim shrugged.

"I still say that we should just kick it old school and go to Chuck-E-Cheese," Kim said stubbornly.

"Just because you would like it, doesn't mean that Chuck would. He'd kill us all," Tommy said. "And I'm not ready to die."

"What about a trip to the movies? There's that new one out that I know he wanted to see." Joe suggested. "It was decent."

"I know, but that seems kinda low key," Angelica interjected. "Plus, we can do that anytime."

"What if we get our parents to agree to let us go to Leviton? If they trusted us to go to Florida by ourselves, then Leviton should be a piece of cake. And there's all kinds of stuff you can do there." Dil grew excited at the idea. "And we could stay overnight in a hotel!"

"You know, that's a good idea, and there's some hotel packages at work that we could use," Angelica mused.

"There's museums that Chuck would like, and cultural junk like that," I added.

"And if we decide to do nothing but veg, then it'll still be fun!" Kim jumped up and started dancing. "We're going to Leviton, because Silver Heights is lame!"

"Oh, Joe, show 'em the mock-up, before I forget," Lil said. "It turned out cool, you guys."

Joe pulled out a cardboard blow up of our school newspaper, the Banner, with a picture of Chuck on the front. The headline read, "Chuck Finster Graduates! Friends, family not surprised at all."

"He'll like it, especially after he reads the articles." I declared. We had all written personal messages to Chuck, including our parents, and put fake ads through the eight page paper.

"He'll be mad at the picture that Mom and Dad submitted," Kim said. "What made them think that he would really want his kindergarten picture on display?"

"Parents," we all said in unison.

"Okay, then, it's time to assign jobs. Let's make Susan be the one to get Chuck to where he needs to be after the ceremony." Angelica looked around the room. "Any objections?"

No one said anything, so she continued, "I can call on the hotels, and Phil, you can research all of the 'cultural junk'."

"Thanks, babe," I said sarcastically.

"Joe, you and Dil are in charge of the paper already, so Tommy, you and Lil can be the ones who clear parental permission for those of us who need it. Tim, you can work with Phil to plan an schedule if we need one, and Kim, guess what? You're in charge of packing for Chuck, so he won't get suspicious."

"Joy," Kim muttered.

"Any questions? No? Get to work!" Angelica waved her hands in a 'get busy' gesture, and everyone scattered, even Lil, which was weird, because it was her room. I stayed behind to follow Angelica.

"I hope you only use your powers for good," I said before kissing her softly.

"Most of the time," she laughed.

Dil:

"School's out for summer! School's out forever!" Dil jumped down a flight of stairs before adding a quick, "Almost."

"In a good mood, are we?" Joe came up behind him and hugged him briefly.

"Very much so. Two more days, and this year is history! Next year, my boyfriend will be a big bad senior!"

"Looking ahead, I like that. Listen, I gotta tell you something." Joe tugged Dil's hand to his car.

"Nothing bad, right? Because I don't want my high killed just yet."

Joe hesitated, which was enough to make Dil sober. "Okay, the thrill is gone, so you can spill it."

"I got my letter back from camp. I'm reporting the week after school ends."

"How long?" Dil asked quietly.

"Almost the whole summer. I'll get some breaks between sessions, but they'll only be for a day or so at a time."

Dil nodded, thinking. "Well, at least, I can't be jealous of six-year-olds."

'Will you be okay with this?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, I'll deal. We'll see each other, and I can go to Kim for advice. If she could deal, so can I. Plus, I'll get a job, and talk to my parents about the car they've been promising ever since I got my license."

"I'll miss you," Joe said. "Okay, I sound more and more like a girl every time I open my mouth."

"Join the club. Now, to take our minds off of this, let's drown our sorrows in pizza."

"Sounds like a plan to me." They jumped in Joe's car and drove off.

Chuck:

Chuck stared at the blank piece of paper for it seemed like an eternity. The total cleanness seemed to be mocking him, so he sighed and got up from his desk. He found his sketch book and had just flipped to a fresh sheet when his door opened.

"Hey, ya busy?" Kim asked, flopping on the bed.

"No," Chuck sighed. "I'm supposed to be working on this stupid senior will thing, though."

"Sounds easy to me. You tell your friends what you would give them, right?"

"They're not just supposed to be objects, though. Like, memories. And what about the fact that I'm supposed to give my senior friends stuff? I don't have any senior friends!"

"So break tradition," Kim said practically. "What, is there some kind of senior will police that will bust you? Do this your own way."

"I can do that," Chuck mused, a smile playing on his face.

The Senior Will of Charles Finster III

To Tommy, I give times in the sandbox.

To Phil, I give all the times you stood up for me in elementary.

To Lil, the tutoring sessions in junior high.

To Kim, my first picture. (It was a turtle!)

To Dil, Susan's sweater.

To Angelica, my various fears that you caused. (I forgive you!)

To Tim, the talks you gave me.

To Susan, now and forever.

Kim:

"So, are you nervous?" I asked Chuck, as I watched him straighten his cap.

"A little. I have to march first. And I've never liked being the center of attention." He yanked down his gown and grimaced a little. "It could be worst. I could have actually been valedictorian or salutorian."

"You were only beaten by three tenths of a point," I reminded him.

"I know. But I'm glad. It's not like I didn't get into the school I wanted because of that." Chuck adjusted his cap one last time and smiled. "Okay, let's get this show on the road."

I smiled too and followed him out of his room. Mom and Dad were waiting downstairs, waiting to take Chuck's picture. I swallowed a grin at Chuck's expression at being asked to hold still for an entire roll.

"I'm still driving your car, right?" I asked Chuck as we walked outside.

He glanced at me. "I think you're more excited about that then me graduating!"

I shrugged. "It's not my graduation." Then I grinned hugely. "Just kidding. Toss me the keys already!"

He did and I caught them neatly. I slid behind the wheel as Chuck got in Dad's car. "See you there!" I shouted and zoomed off before he could shout any instructions to me.

The high school lot was already full by the time I got there, but I spotted Tim's car and parked near his. I walked over to the stadium, which was where the graduation was being held. Lil was waiting by the entrance. "Kim, move it!" she shouted.

"I am!" I protested, but picked up my steps anyway. "So," I said when I got close to her, "are all of you guys sitting next to each other?"

"All except for Phil. He's running late. We saved seats for you and your parents."

"They'll be along right after they drop off Chuck," I told her. "Should we wait for them here?"

"Let's." We stood outside and watched as excited parents and friends entered the auditorium. "Hey," I shouted as Phil ran past us. He spotted us and came over to us.

"Why are you guys out here?" He craned his head around. "The crowd's thinning out."

"Waiting on Mom and Dad," I explained briefly. "Everyone else is at the seats, so if you wanna go on up, you can. Left side."

He nodded and ran up the stairs.

"So, does Chuck suspect anything, you think?" Lil asked, smirking.

"Not a clue. He kept telling Mom and Dad how glad he was that he wasn't having a party, and when Dad called him on it, he said that if he was getting a surprise one, someone in the group would have blabbed it by now." I grinned broadly. "We really got him this time!"

My parents finally came up (they had to wait for Chuck to check in, they said) and we went to the seats. I don't know how Chuck managed to get tickets for over 25 people, but everyone we knew was sitting with us. I talked to my friends throughout the ceremony. It was boring, but seeing Chuck move proudly across the stage was worth the fifty million speeches we had to sit through before.

"You know, I want to go for valedictorian," Lil said unexpectedly.

"Really? Why?" I asked.

"It'd be cool. Plus, it's not like my grades are that far away."

"I know that. You make straight A's, even though you hide that. I just meant, what made you decide right now?"

She shrugged. "I guess I'm starting to realize that next year is our last chance to get it right, and I want to go out with a bang." She looked over at one of the other seniors that we knew and I thought about what she said, and decided to file it away for later.

After the ceremony, all of us went back to the Finster-Watanabe house for a small open house. We hid upstairs while the adults sat around downstairs.

"So," Chuck said, trying to be casual, "what's happening after this?"

"What do you mean?" Tommy said innocently. He and Lil were snuggled up next to each other. "I'm thinking we might go eat, but that's up to you."

"Nah, let's just stay here," Phil yawned hugely. "Been a long day."

"You guys suck!" Chuck said, frustrated. "I know you have something planned."

"You said you didn't want anything! We took you at your word!" I defended. Tim was sitting next to me, shaking with silent laughter at Chuck's expression.

"I was just trying to be nice in case you didn't plan anything!"

"Well then, there you go," Dil commented. "I'm hungry. I'm going downstairs to steal some more cake."

"You've eaten more pieces than anyone else combined!" Chuck pointed out.

"What can I say? I'm a growing boy." Dil grinned and ran down the steps.

"Actually, that cake was good," Lil mused aloud. "I could go for another piece."

"Whatever! I want some of that cheese ball that your mom made." They went down the steps next.

I watched Chuck's confused expression as the rest of us, except for Susan, claimed to be starving and went downstairs. He started to follow them, but Susan whispered something in his ear that made him laugh and then kick me out the room. I trooped down the stairs and went over to where my friends were waiting.

"Well?" Angelica asked.

"Susan's keeping him upstairs until we give the signal. Everyone ready?" I asked. I took in the nods before continuing, "Is all the food put up?"

"Yeah, your parents just finished. They're meeting us there." Joe answered.

"Okay. Lil, you're on!"

Lil ran up the stairs. I heard her walk loudly past Chuck's door before slamming my bedroom door shut. She ran back down the stairs, slightly out of breath. "Okay, five minutes. Roll out!"

We jumped in our cars and hurriedly started the engines. Somehow, I ended up in a car with Joe and Angelica. "How'd we do?" I asked, turning around in the front seat to look out the window.

"Good. No sign of 'em. You did give Chuck back his keys, right?" Angelica was in the backseat, watching for Chuck's car.

"Yeah." Satisfied that the plan had gone off without a hitch, I turned around and smiled.

Tommy:

"We're on schedule. Proceed," I said into my cell phone.

Lil snorted with laughter. "This isn't a covert operation, Tommy. Saying 'we're good' would suffice."

"Spoil all my fun," I mock groused.

Dil, who was sitting next to me, spoke up. "Um, you're about to pass the entrance."

"Oh!" I did a quick turn and parked my car next to my parents'. Phil, who was in my backseat, leapt out of the car and ran into the restaurant. When we followed at a slower pace, he doubled back and urged us on.

"We've got time!" I protested, but obeyed anyway. Once all of us were inside, we called Susan to make sure they were on the way.

"Hey, Susan, it's me. If we're all set, say 'yes, the appointment's Tuesday', but if it's not, say 'Can we reschedule?' If you need more time, say, 'I forgot the day'."

Kim snatched the phone from me. "Forget that, Susan. Just say yes or no." Kim listened and then smiled. "Thanks bunches, see you in a few." She hung up the phone and handed it back to me. "Listen, they're on the way. This is gonna rock!"

And it did. Chuck grumbled as he walked through the door, saying something about ungrateful friends. When he finally realized what was going on, he grinned so hard that it made up for all of the aggravation that we'd gone though to pull this off. When he found out about the trip, he actually jumped up and down.

There's not a lot to say about the trip, other than it was cool. All of our planning fell by the wayside as we vegged, swam, and generally had a good time. Once we were back in town, it was time for our annual town picnic.

At the picnic, all of us sat together, as usual. We had loaded up our plates and claimed our picnic table. "Okay," Angelica said after we were all eating, "Who's leaving town this summer?"

Chuck, Susan and Joe raised their hands. "I just got permission from my parents just last night," Chuck explained.

Susan looked at him, surprised. "I thought you had asked them months ago?"

"I did. They, I dunno, debated or something. Anyway, it's all taken care of."

"Where are you off to, Joe?" Lil asked.

"I'm working at a camp as a counselor. The pay's okay, but you get cool perks, not to mention it looks good on a resume."

"How're you coping with that, Dil?" I glanced at his face, which had an expression of patient resignation.

He slumped over in his seat. "Honestly? Denial." Dil sighed and then straightened up. "I'm starting to sound more and more like a teenage girl, aren't I?"

"Yep," we all chorused and laughed.

"So the rest of us will be in town?" Kim asked, smiling up at Tim.

"Yeah. It'll be a pretty low-key summer. Vegging and working. Whoo-hoo!" Lil said sarcastically, but then smiled. "Still, it'll be cool."

"It will?" Kim asked innocently.

"Yeah, because I'm here! And I bring the party!" Phil stood up and pointed to himself. "It's all about me, baby!"

Angelica cleared her throat. "I'd like to clarify that statement. It's all about your baby, right Phil?"

"Yes, of course. That's what I meant. Me and my baby." Phil threw his arm around Angelica and squeezed her.

Everyone started laughing and planning their summer in detail. I sat back and watched them, thinking of how lucky I was to have such a cool group of friends. Even though this hadn't been the easiest year we could've had, we got through it together.

"Whatcha thinking about, Tommy?" Lil asked me softly.

"This year. Us." I spread my arms to encompass the whole group.

"It was different, wasn't it?" Kim turned her attention to us.

"I learned that bossy blonde girls are the greatest," Phil said.

Angelica shot back, "I learned that brunette boys are total pushovers, and that's what I love about 'em!"

"I learned that even when nothing's like you expect, things can still work out," Tim said seriously.

We considered those words, and then agreed. "To the unexpected!" I said, holding up my can of soda.

My friends laughed and toasted.

END

A/N: It's finished! Thanks again for the reviews, and to my own friends, who are even crazier than these ones. "Cruel Summer" is starting soon. Love ya, bye!