"Rachel, you should
go. You need to go."
I looked down at the
invitation to my 15 year high school reunion I held in my hands, then back
to my husband. "I don't see why. I haven't talked to anybody there for
15 years. They probably don't even remember me."
"Of course they will.
No one in their right mind could forget you," he said while wrapping me
in a hug and kissing my cheek.
I pushed away, laughing.
"You are such a sweetalker."
"I know," he said with
his most charming grin. "And I'm telling the truth, hon, no one could forget
you. Now, you call the number and tell them you're going. Get yourself
a hotel room and have a relaxing weekend to yourself."
"And I'm supposed to
leave you and the kids home for an entire weekend while I'm halfway across
the country? Ha, that's a laugh."
"The kids and I will
be fine. Go. Call." He shoved me twoards the phone. Reluctantly, I picked
it up and began dialing the number on the invitation. Mike, figuring that
his presence wouldn't help any, left the dining room, heading for the living
room where our kids, 9 year old Elyssa and 6 year old Tom, were watching
TV.
In less than an hour,
I'd comfirmed my place on the list for the reunion, had a hotel room and
a round trip flight ticket. I'd done everything I need to, so why did I
feel like I was forgetting something?
I had that feeling for
two months, and was still feeling it as I hugged and kissed my family goodbye.
I'd met Mike in college, so he'd gone to high school in an entirely different
state than me.
Midway through the
three hour flight, it hit me. I hadn't told any of my family remaining
in town I was coming! Knowing Mom, Sara and Jordan, they'd be impossible
to find on such short noticed. I'd been too worried about seen old friends
again, specifically the Animorphs, to remember to call.
I felt like such an
idiot as I got off the plane. I snaked my way through the group of people
crowding the exit to meet friends and family, trying to get to the baggage
claim when I heard a vauguely familiar voice calling my name.
I turned around, scanning
the crowd for the owner of the voice when I saw the trio of women making
their way towards me.
"Mom! Sara! Jordan!"
I pushed my way towards
them, meeting them in the middle of the crowd.
"How'd you know?" I
asked after hugging each of them.
"Mike called yesterday,
figuring you'd forgotten," Mom said. "He said you'd been extremely tense
since you found out about the reunion, although niether of us could figure
out why."
"Just nerves, I guess,"
I answered. It was the truth. Sort of.
"Where are you staying?
Cassie and Dan's?" Sara asked as we walked towards baggage claim.
"Cassie and who?" I
asked. I hadn't heard Cassie had gotten married, let alone to a Dan."
"You didn't hear?"
Sara asked incredulously.
"Obviously not, Sara,"
Jordan said impatiently. "Cassie got married about five years back to Dan
Mithell. I figured you'd heard but were busy with school stuff and couldn't
make it."
"No, I hadn't heard."
I was a little upset finding out about my best friend's marriage through
my sister, although I had no right to be. It's not like I'd made an effort
to keep in contact with her, and I hadn't invited her to my wedding, why
should she have invited me to hers?"
"Where are you staying
then?" Sara asked.
"I got a room at the
Holiday Inn..."
"You most certainly
are not," Mom interupted. "You're staying with me. I have an extra room
you can stay in."
"No, Mom, really..."
"Rachel, I haven't
seen you in ten years. The least you can do is stay with me. Now, which
bag is yours?"
I sighed, knowing it
was no use arguing with her, and picked up my suitcase.
The four of us piled
into Mom's car. I felt like I was a kid again. I got front seat, Sara and
Jordan squeezed into the back.
On the way to Mom's,
we caught up with eachother. I talked to Mom a few times a year, but rarely
called Sara and Jordan. And I hadn't seen any of them since my wedding,
11 years ago, right after I'd graduated from college.
As we pulled into Mom's
neighborhood, Jordan pointed out her window. "Hey, Mom, pull over. I think
someone's out there Rachel wants to talk to."
I looked out the windshield
to see who she was talking about. On the sidewalk, pushing a stroller,
was a woman. Her back was to us, so I couldn't see her face. All I could
see was that she was wearing jeans and a windbreaker, and her black hair
was cropped close to her head. Before I could protest, Mom had pulled the
car over to the curb and was urging me out.
Self conciously, I
got out of the car and jogged up to the woman as Mom drove off. As I got
closer to her, I recognized her easily.
"Cassie?"
She turned around suddenly,
wondering who had called her name. It took her only a second to recognize
me.
"Rachel!"
I grinned and quickly
eliminated the last few steps between us. Cassie looked like she was in
shock and gave me a tight hug, like she didn't believe I was real.
"What are you doing
here? How long have you been here? Where have you been?"
"Whoa, Cass, hold up!"
I said with a laugh. "Whatever happened to 'Hello'?"
Cassie laughed too.
"I'm sorry, Rach. It's just...I didn't expect to see you around here again
any time soon."
"Niether did I," I
admitted. "Mike had to force me here kicking and screaming."
"Mike?"
"Oh, my husband," I
said, forgetting that she didn't have any idea what I'd been doing for
15 years.
"And I was going to
be informed of this...when?"
"When you were going
to tell me about Dan."
"Okay, okay, I guess
we're even." She was about to say more when the baby in the stroller interupted
with a shriek. Cassie bent over the stroller, cooing to the baby.
"Who's this?" I asked
gently, bending over to see in.
The kid wouldn't stop
crying so Cassie lifted it out. "This is Mia. Mia, say hello to Aunt Rachel."
Mia cried in response.
"I think she likes
me," I joked. "May I?" I held out my arms for the squealing Mia. Cassie
handed her over to me and promptly started digging through the folds of
the blanket in the stroller to find a pacifier.
I talked softly to
Mia and bounced her to calm her down. She was just sobbing a little by
the time Cassie found the pacifier and gave it to her.
"Have one of your own?"
Cassie asedk, laying Mia back in the stroller. She started walking and
motioned for me to follow.
"Two, actually. But
they're alot bigger now. Elyssa and Tom, 9 and 6."
"Sounds like you've
been busy. I'd love to press you for more, but I need to be getting home
and everybody's going to want to hear about it at the reunion tomorrow
so you can just tell me then." She paused. "You are going to the
reunion, right?"
"Why else would I be
here? I'll see ya' tomorrow, Cassie."
"See ya', Rachel. It's
great having you back, even if not for very long."
I walked up the drive
way of Mom's house while Cassie and Mia continued on their walk.
Despite the fact I'd
stayed up late talking with Mom, Sra and Jordan, I woke up around six the
next morning. The actual reunion wasn't starting untill 10.
Knowing that going
back to sleep was impossible, I got up and showered as quietly as possible,
not wanting to wake Mom.
It took nearly half
an hour to finally decide on what outfit to wear. I may be the 30-something
wife and mother of two kids, but I still love clothes. And that's how everyone
remembers me. Might as well live up to the memories. Those, at least.
All morning I was fidgety.
Mom had to tell me to relax countless times, but I never quite could. I
couldn't stop asking myself silent questions. How would everyone react?
Would they expect the warrior who had helped the end of the war with the
Yeerks back in the begining of high school? Would they even recognize me?
Marriage and motherhood change a person. I'd seen it in Cassie yesterday.
She wasn't the mild girl I'd left behind, she was a talkative woman with
a perfect daughter.
Finally, Mom couldn't
stand me anymore. She pushed me out of the house, giving me directions
to the bust stop, which I reached just as the bus was pulling up. I dropped
my fare in the box and settled into a back seat for the half hour ride
to the high school.
I was one of the first
to arrive. Apparently, not everyone was as anxious as I was. By now I just
wanted to get this whole thing over with. Say hi to old friends, do some
minimal catching up, then hole myself up in Mom's guest room untill I left
for my flight tomorrow afternoon.
Wandering around the
gym, I was assaulted by both greetings from long forgotten acquaintances
and the memories I'd had in this room. Practically restroying the place
in one of the final battles, troturous gym classes, senior prom, where
I was crowned queen and my date, Tobias, king.
Yes, Tobias had graduated
high school with us. The ever non-interfering Ellimist had aged his human
morph, but required him to become a nothlit again. He'd been studying
with me for years, so he was even with us. He got records from somewhere,
no one knows for sure, but my money's on the Ellimist.
I shook my head at
the prom memory. How naive I'd been! I'd thought life couldn't be any better.
The Yeerks were gone, I was a teenager in love, and I had just gotten my
college acceptance letter. Then I'd left for college, leaving Tobias behind,
met Mike, and never looked back.
Why had I abandoned
everydobdy? Those last two years of high school were heaven for us. We
could spend the last two years of our lives as kids, and we did. Cassie
and Jake were happy, Tobias and I were happy, Ax had gone back to his people
and even Marco had a girl friend, as hard to believe as that is. The world
knew the Yeerks had come and gone, thanks to the Andalites, but also an
anonymous group of human rebels who'd been fighting for four long years
before eradicating the Yeerks. No one knew who the rebels were, and that's
how the other Animorphs and I wanted to keep it.
"Rachel?"
I froze. I knew that
voice anywhere. Stay calm, Rachel, I ordered myself as I turned
around to face the tall, handsome man who'd said my name. I hadn't left
him on very good conditions, but maybe he was willing to forgive and forget.
I hoped he was.
"Hello, Tobias."
He lifted me up in
a hug and spun me around a few times while I laughed and beat him on the
shoulder playfully, forgetting any apprehension I'd had. "Put me down!
I'm a married woman, stop that!"
"You heard her, bird
boy, put her down. For all you know, she has that husband of hers ready
to pound you."
"Oh, look, it's a midget,"
I joked as Tobias set me down beside Marco. "This is a high school reunion,
not a midget convention."
"Funny, Xena. Okay,
where's the guy nets enough to marr you? Anyone I know?"
"He's halfway across
the country with the kids."
"Kids? I'm disapointed.
I figured you'd be a Navy SEAL by now, or something like that. Not a mother."
"Glad you approve,"
I said, rolling my eyes.
"Hey, Marco, and...Tobias?"
another person said, coming up behind Marco and Tobias. I couldn't see
him, Tobias and Marco were blocking my view, but the owner of the voice
elbowed his way into our circle and nearly fainted with shock when he saw
me.
"I'm your cousin, Jake,
not a ghost," I said after a moment. "Get a grip. Did you expect me to
miss my high school reunion?"
Luckily, Cassie saved
him from answering by joining us. "Tobias! Wow, two surprises in one reunion."
"You knew Rachel was
here already?" Jake asked, getting over his shock.
"I saw her last night
on a walk with Mia as Mom was bringing me from the airport."
We started catching
up on what we'd all been doing the last 15 years. Cassie, along with being
a wife and a mother, was a veterinarian at the Gardens, having taken over
her Mom's job. Marco was single, big surprise there, and a fairly successful
computer programer. Jake was married, had three kids, and was a CEO at
some company I'd never heard of before. Tobias had moved away, too. He
was now married and his wife was expecting their first child in about a
month. As for work, he was an airline pilot. He'd flown with the airforce
for about a year before it was dissolved. The world leaders had figured
out that the planet needed to be led harmoniously. The Yeerks had been
able to infiltrate us easily due to our petty differences. Once everyone
realized we really had no reason to fight, armies had been rendered obsolete.
"Geez, I"ve had a boring
life compared to all of you," I said once they'd told their stories.
"What have you been
doing, then?" Tobias asked.
"I spent four years
in college, majoring in middle school education, but as soon as I'd finished
the basics, instead of going on to finish my education, I married Mike
and had kids. Now I pass my time teaching gymnastics at the local YMCA
and occasional do some modeling for a friend of mine who's a photographer."
As we continued to
talk, we were occasionally interupted by other friends. Lots of people
just had to see if the prom king and queen had stuck together since
we "had looked so in love that night." We were in love then-with being
kids again, not with eachother, although I don't think I realized that
untill I met Mike.
Around noon, the gym
was nearly filled to capacity, Music, what was now considered oldies, blared
from speakers. People were talking, eating and dancing. If you looked beyond
the fact that the atendees were the age of school dance chaperones, it
could have been one of the dances we'd had in high school.
Abruptly, the music
switched off and Melissa Chapman, the senior class president, took the
stage. yes, there was a stage in the gym, don't ask me why.
"Hi everybody," she
greeted cheerfully. "It's great to see so many old friends here, isn't
it? Isn't it weird how people you thought would do one thing once they'd
graduated did something completely different?
"We have five people
here today who need to be recognized specially for doing just that. As
all of you know, from about the time we were in 7th grade to our sophomore
year, Earth was under a silent attack by aliens. And they were repelled
by the Andalites, but also a group of humans."
I nearly panicked then.
I looked at the rest of the Animorphs. Cassie, Jake and Marco were acting
as if nothing was happening, while Tobias' face was white. .He was gripping
my arm so hard I was sure I'd have a series of bruises later. Although
I didn't feel it at first. Possibly because I was doing the same thing
to him.
"No one knows who these
brave people were, or how many of them fought," Melissa continued. "That
is, until now.
"We're lucky enough
to have the five human members of this group with us today. The majority
decided they'd hid the truth long enough and wanted to tell the world who
they were in front of their closest friends. So will the Animorphs please
come up here?"
I looked at Cassie,
Marco and Jake frantically. "What did you three do?!"
"C'mon, Xena, your
adoring public awaits," Marco said, pushing me towards the stage.
Reluctantly, I climbed
the short stair case leading up the the stage and faced the applauding
audience. Jake, being the leader he always was, took the mike. Cassie and
Marco looked pretty smug. Obviously, they'd been the ones behind this,
not bothering to tell Tobias and I since we lived out of state.
"I know we waited a
long time to make ourselves known," Jake said. "But we wanted to see how
Earth adjusted to the knowledge of the Yeerks before we said who we were."
He turned to Tobias
and I. "Two members of the group didn't have a say in the announcement,
and judging from the looks on their faces, they aren't too happy about
it," I could feel myself blushing at that point. Better red than white,
I guess. "But they'll survive. We always did.
"I want to keep this
short, but thanks for putting up with us through school. Fighting took
alot out of us, and we weren't the most pleasant company sometimes, but
it was for our friends we were fighting, and that's why we won."
The gym erupted into
another round of applause again as we left the stage. The local newspaper
was there, just to write up a quick blurb on the reunion for tomorrow's
paper. They had been lurking in the shaddows before, but now they had shoved
their way up to the front of the crowd, begging for quotes and pictures.
Surrounded by the mass
of classmates, I turned accusingly to the instigators of this. "Why did
you do that?! You could have warned us at least!" Tobias nodded in agreement.
"What's the fun in
that, Xena?" Marco asked. "If you had kept in touch, perhaps we would have
told you."
"Now I remember why
I moved away, to get away from you," I said, giving him a playful shove.
We were being swarmed
by people. People thanking us for freeing them or family or friends. Trying
to guess who had what morph, (everyone thought I had been the tiger, Jake
the bear. Both of us laughed at that.)
Then came the media.
Microphones and television cameras were shoved in our faces, questions
were fired at us. Someone must have called every paper and TV station in
the city. We moved out into the hallway of the school so our classmates
could continue the reunion while we held an impromptu press conference.
I didn't get back to
Mom's house untill 10 o'clock that night. When I did get there, I found
her glued to the TV, watching CNN. They'd already gotten a tape of the
conference. Or maybe they'd been there. I couldn't keep track of everyone
there.
Mom noticed me watching
the screen over her shoulder. She had tears in her eyes. "Rachel...I...oh,
hon, I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For...well, I don't
know. I'm sorry you had to go through the hell that must have been. I'm
sorry I didn't realize anything was happening with you..."
I hugged her, "Mom,
it's okay, really. It...it wasn't as bad as you imagine. Not for me, at
least," I added grimly. "And what would have happened if you had noticed
something? I couldn't have told you anything, I didn't know if you were
a controller or not."
"What do you mean..."
"That it wasn't hell
for me?" I shook my head. "I don't want to go into that right now. Let's
just say it was a contributing factor to my never coming to visit. The
rest of the Animorphs knew things about me I didn't want to face." I gave
her another hug, more for my own comfort that hers, "And now I'm going
to bed. I'll talk to you in the morning."
Or maybe I wouldn't.
The lawn was swarming
with reporters the next morning. Everyone wanted to talk to Xena. Marco
had probably told them that. I called the others and the same was happening
to them. No one could leave their house. And I had a place to catch that
afternoon.
"That's not going to
happen," Cassie told me when I explained my problem to her. "I suggest
calling Mike and tell him you're not going to be home for awhile."
"I guess that's what
I'll have to do," I said resigned. "But my kids are probably freaking right
now. Elyssa has always been interested in the rebelion. Always tells me
that she would have had the grizzly morph...and now she knows she's the
daughter of that rebel. She's probably going to beg to move here."
"Why don't you?"
"Why don't I what?"
I asked, feigning ignorance.
"Move back here. We've
all missed you Rachel. You should move back here."
"I don't know...I mean,
my family's entire life is based there...I don't know if I could move it
all here..."
"If Elyssa suggests
it, promise me you'll at least consider it?" Cassie pleaded.
I sighed. "Alright.
But I won't guarantee anything."
Cassie paused before
answering. "I've gotta go, Rachel. I hear Mia waking up. See ya'."
"Bye." I hung up and
dialed the number for my place.
"Hello?"
"Elyssa? It's Mom--"
"Mom! Oh my gosh! Why
didn't you tell me? Or Dad? You were the grizzly bear, right? I
knew it! You are definetly a bear person--"
"Elyssa!" I interrupted,
trying to sound stern but I couldn't keep the laughter out of my voice.
"Is Dad there? I need to talk to him."
"Sure, Mom. What ya'
gonna be home?"
"That's what I'm going
to talk to Dad about. Go get him for me."
"'Kay." I heard Elyssa
set down the phone and faintly heard her running away shouting for Mike.
A moment later, he picked up the phone.
"Rachel? Are you okay?
What's happening?"
"I'm fine, Mike. I
don't think I'm going to be getting home tonight, though. Mom's house is
surrounded by press people."
"Any idea when you'll
be home?"
"I'll try to leave
tomorrow night, even if I have to get a police excourt to the airport."
"Alright." A pause.
"Elyssa's begging to talk to you again, so's Tom."
"Put one of them on."
Elyssa probably fought
the phone away from Tom, I heard him complaining in the background. "So,
who were you, Mom? The bear?"
I sighed, surprised
the press hadn't found out who was who."Yes, Elyssa, I was the bear."
"I knew it!
Hey, think we could move there? It would be so cool!"
"I figured you'd want
to. When I get home, I'll talk to your dad. Put your brother on, will you?"
"But..."
"Elyssa. Please? Don't
make me come home and enforce punishment as a grizzly bear."
She sighed. "Fine."
A pause, then Tom came on. "Mom!"
"Hi, Tom! How ya' doing?"
"Bad. When will you
be home?"
"Tomorrow night. What's
wrong?"
"When you get home,
can you morph and beat up Ben an' them?"
Ben was a kid in our
neighborhood who belonged in juvie, not sulking around the neighborhood
harassing smaller kids. "Why?"
"They're being mean
again."
"They're just jealous,
Tom. Only four kids in the world, including you, can say their parents
are the Animorphs."
"Who else can?"
"Well, your sister,
and my cousin, Jake, has two kids who can talk. His youngest and Casie's
daughter can't talk yet."
"Oh."
"I've got to go, Tom,
I don't want to run up your grandmother's phone bill too high. Love you,
see you tomorrow."
"Bye, Mom."
I hung up and sighed.
Elyssa was probably trying to convince Mike with all her nine year old
charm to move here so she could meet all the Animorphs. Tom would be hanging
in the background. He'd always been quieter than Elyssa, more like his
dad.
"What'cha thinkin'
about?" Mom asked, entering the kitchen where I'd been on the phone.
"Oh. Nothing. Just
got off the phone with Mike and the kids telling them I wouldn't be getting
home 'till tomorrow/"
"Did I hear someone
mention moving?"
I nodded. "Both Cassie
and Elyssa suggested it. Well, Cassie suggested, Elyssa begged."
Mom laughed, "She reminds
me of another girl I used to know." She stopped laughing and sighed, as
if remembering. "It happened around 8th grade, didn't it? You became so
much more seriousthen. I thought you were just growing up."
"That when it began
to get real bad, yeah." I paused, debating whether I should say what I
was planning on saying. "Remember how I said the fight wasn't hell for
me? I loved fighting, Mom. I got a natural high everytime I went
into battle. That's what the other Animorphs knew about me that I didn't
want to be reminded of. By moving away, starting a new life with Mike without
them kept most of the memories out." I blinked quickly a few times, trying
to keep the tears from flowing, but Mom didn't miss them. She handed me
a tissue.
"And I suppose that
love of fighting was what gave you the name Xena?"
I laughed a little.
"That was Marco's doing. I was Xena, Jake was Fearless Leader, Tobias was
Brid-Boy."
"Cassie, Marco and
Axim...Axam..."
"Ax. Just Ax."
"Fine, Cassie, Marco
and Ax didn't have names?"
"Cassie was everything
from Ms. Manure to Dr. Dolittle and Ax was just that, or Ax-man, occasionally,
but that was mostly what Tobias called him. And I dubbed Marco midget,
or any other name I could think of that would poke fun at his...lack of
height."
"Sounds like you had
a pretty tight group."
"We did," I said with
a whistful smile. What had happened to that group? And, more importantly,
would we ever get it back?
Three months later,
as I was standing with the Animorphs at the airport, I had the answer:
almost.
I was exiting the plane
with Mike and the kids. Waiting for us in the terminal were all the Animorphs-Tobias
had moved back, too-and their families.
It felt like old times.
Almost. There was a bit of underlying tension in the air. Maybe it was
nervousness, maybe it was all the time spent apart, or dark memories were
dredged up with us all being together. Whatever it was, we weren't the
happy-go-lucky group we once had been. Sure, we put on a pretty convincing
act, but I think everyone knew things would never be the same between us
as a groupd. Between Cassie and I, it was as if nothing had changed, even
between Marco and I it wasn't too different, we teased eachother endlessly,
but I don't think I could have been alone with Tobias for a substantial
ammount of time. His happiness to see me at the reunion must have been
an act, or maybe he'd just forgotten what had happened between us when
he saw me. The same with Jake. Too many dark memories were shared between
us that we didn't want to re-live.
But at the moment I
stepped off the plane and saw my friends again, I wasn't thinking of that.
I was thinking how great it was to see them again, and how could I keep
Elyssa from making too much of a scene. She'd gotten off the plane, seen
the Animorphs, and headed straight for them, chattering away as if they
were old friends.
Mike gave me a 'she's
your
daughter' look and laughed, picking up the incredibly shy Tom. Hand in
hand, we walked towards the group, ready for anything, so long as the ones
I loved were with me.
Author's Notes: Geez, that was a sappy
ending line.And I was trying for a non-sap story!!! Dang it, well, once
a sappy writer, always a sappy writer I guess ~sigh~ Anyways, what'd ya'
think of the story??? Drop me a line telling me what ya' think.