may, in bloom

May 2078 - Jeremy Nova is 62, Alice is 56, Patrick is 26, Lara is 24, Stephanie is 18. Keri Riley is 17. Tyler Jackson is 14.

Patrick Nova squeezes in a few last shows for some extra money, because his wife, Lara, is expecting in August.

He asks his little sister, Stephanie to stop by and keep Lara company. Stephanie and Lara get along well and like to talk about hippie stuff like recycling. Stephanie will be going to college in Lake City next year, and she thinks it will be fun being closer to them.

Some things are in bloom that maybe shouldn't be, like workplace romantic indiscretions. Jeremy Nova is married, and working as a music and arts instructor at LCU's Nova Hall, and this is Ms. Holly Miller, LCU's university president and his boss! They haven't taken things any further than flirtations yet, but somehow I'm guessing Jeremy's wife wouldn't approve.

Stephanie Nova is going to her senior prom, and her best friends Justin Kim and Keri Riley are coming, too. Keri did offer to take Chandler as her date, since she felt bad because they never officially broke things off. But he said he didn't want a pity date. And besides, they were just a high school thing - there's no hard feelings.

So Stephanie says, "How do you not know Justin? He doesn't have a date, either. You guys should totally go together."

Phoenix McCullough books his first paid gig as a photographer taking prom pictures. Hey, you gotta start somewhere!

Stephanie and Keri should have gone shopping for their prom dresses together, and they might not have ended up so color coordinated! At least Stephanie encouraged Julian to trade in that pink suit he wore to her brother's wedding. Justin isn't doing too much better in his white and blue one, but at least he matches the girls.

Of course, Keri Riley being who she is, she and her friends get to use her father's Riley Hall for free!

Dancing, some more silly than others...

Closer dancing, some closer than others...

Keri and Justin are on their first official date, and it's going well.

And other couples, it seems, are coming to an end. Stephanie is going to LCU this fall, on both art and soccer scholarships. And Julian was accepted into a college on the west coast. They were trying not to bring it up because they didn't want to spoil the night, but I guess it was unavoidable.

Amicably, they decide to break up. That isn't to say they aren't sad about it though.

In any case, Stephanie's two very good friends are dating now. She's trying to be happy for them, even if she is single now herself. She's going off to college in the fall, she'll be swimming in boys!

There was a really intense thunderstorm that night. Have you ever seen a soccer net catch on fire before? Weird!

So it's the morning she leaves for college orientation, and her taxi is due in a couple hours. Her parents come down to talk during breakfast. And God, she thinks, how can they keep a straight face talking to her with that mountain on her forehead??? She hopes there aren't any cute boys at orientation, or she'll just die!

She kind of had a feeling Tyler would drop in to say goodbye before she left. He's starting high school in the fall, ninth grade, and she wonders if he looks a little taller, and does he have hair on his face?

One last game before she goes? At first she thought his silly crush on her was funny, but she's actually grown fond of him over the past two years. And she owes her soccer scholarship to their early morning practices.

She's indebted to him, what can she say? "What am I going to do without you, Tyler?"

She gives him a hug and a little kiss on the cheek to say goodbye.

And not to say his little "girlfriend" isn't just as cute as they come, but he's been in love with Stephanie Nova ever since puberty, and as she goes back inside to finish packing, Tyler is thinking this just might have been the best kiss of his life.

***

notes: LOL at Stephanie and Tyler, and their matching zits!!!

Stephanie and Julian only had two bolts together (about 75 ACR), so while they really did care about each other, I'm sure she'll be okay. She'll be discovering a whole new world of hotties in college!

And a teaser: Only two more updates until the next round! And that means new random events! Possibly tragic this time around, but we've had a lucky ride around here lately and this happy little 'hood has been lacking in tragedy...