LCU, life in present tense, part 3

LCU, spring semester, 2083 (part 3 of 3). Part 1, part 2, part 2.5.

*soundtrack (for all three parts), "Lifeboats," by Snow Patrol*

She was supposed to have an appointment with a recruiter, but instead it's General Deppiesse who walks into the room. He is confident, casual, and so eased in his stride she wonders if he actually knows she's sitting here. He finally says a simple, "Hello," without even looking her way. She figures he must be talking to her since there's no one else in the room.

This is her mother's doing, isn't it? When Keri wanted to study abroad, her mother wouldn't step in to help, but now that Keri wants to join the military, she's all over it. Keri is convinced her mother is dead-set against everything she ever wanted to do with her life. She's surprised her mother didn't somehow step in to call off her wedding. In fact, for all she knows, her mother probably tried.

Cabe sits down at his desk. He doesn't say a thing, but instead pulls out a logic ball.

Keri says, "Is that supposed to be intimidating? Because it's not. I know why I'm here. You don't have to be clever about it."

"Go ahead then, why are you here?"

"She wants you to talk me out of it. Or she asked you to botch my paperwork or something?"

"Nobody's going to talk you out of it," he says. "And botching Military paperwork is highly illegal."

"Oh please," Keri says. "Like that kind of stuff doesn't happen."

He stands up. "I have a test for you."

"Wait, what? Don't they wait until basics for that kind of thing? You know, working up to it over a few weeks, like with a personal trainer."

"You don't get a personal trainer in basics," Cabe says. "But besides, it's just an assessment."

Outside, the spring sky is misting down rain and the ground is soggy. She's twelve weeks postpartum, and her boobs are still leaking. No amount of yoga classes with Corbin Gray could prepare her for this moment.

"You didn't bring shoes?"

"You're lucky I even had my yoga bag," Keri says.

But leaky boobs, barefoot, soggy in the rain, she tries.

And as soon as the second hurdle she stumbles forward through the air, not like she's supposed to glide, but reminiscent of her failed childhood ballet classes.

"It's okay," Cabe says. "You're doing great!"

She's always been athletic, but she's never been graceful.

Even so, she slogs through the soggy sand, kicking up mud behind her. She should have taken off her jewelry, but she didn't. It doesn't matter. It's surprisingly durable. And before long, she's even forgotten her french manicure, the paint chipping away at sand.

She endures, even though, for the record, there are no trenches in space!

She endures, until finally finishing out her seventh lap, she pulls up with every ounce of strength in her dainty arms. She says, "I'm stuck."

Her arms are jello, and she falls to a flop against the wooden wall.

"That's enough," Cabe says.

"Did I fail?"

"You can't fail an assessment," he says. "It's just to see who you are, what you're made of."

"Not much, I guess."

"That's not what I saw," he says. "Well, not exactly. It's kind of silly, isn't it, a trench exercise when you'll be fighting in space? But you did it anyway, didn't you? That shows discipline, and obedience."

"Please, please," she says. "I thought I would be so good at this. I can't think of anything else I'd be good at."

"Your mother says you're mouthy."

"She would," Keri says, rolling her eyes. "So you did talk to my mother then."

"I talk to your mother all the time," he says. "Your mother has nothing to do with this. Do you still want to be in the military?"

"Yeah," she says.

He waits.

She stands up straighter and wipes the smirk off her face. "I mean, yes, Sir!"

"I think we have just the job for you."

"Does this mean I get to skip boot camp?"

"Oh, no," he says. "You'll still go to boot camp."

Keri can't wait to tell Justin all about it when she gets home. "I'll just be stationed at the International Space Station, which he says is one of the safest places to be out there. I thought you'd like that part."

He nods with enthusiasm.

"But it's still a very important job. I'll be working right with General Deppiesse. Relaying messages, and translations. I'll be handling the most critical information."

"You're a space secretary!" Justin shouts, practically bursting with relief.

"No," Keri says. "Communications specialist."

She's a space secretary! This makes him more happy than he can even express. "You can do anything, Babe," he says.

This is cause for celebration. Not only her new career in the military, stationed reasonably safe, just miles outside the Earth's atmosphere, but she's also finished the final semester of her college degree with a solid B average.

Even here, in this room, Chandler Price is working over there at the podium, and she can genuinely say with all animosities behind her, that she's happy to see he's marrying a nice girl this fall.

She and Justin have signed the closing papers on their new house in Lakeside Heights, Lily is happy and healthy and beautiful, and life is moving forward in a good direction.

***

Keri finally graduates, one rainy Saturday afternoon in May. She feels like she's been in college forever, but it's just been four years like everyone else. There is a light drizzle that afternoon, but Keri isn't about to let that dampen her outdoor graduation ceremony. Keri couldn't care any less if it were a hurricane outside. She's just happy she's finally done!

After the ceremonies, Keri's family gathers around, passing and cooing over Lillian.

Mariah finds Keri first. "I heard, you joined," she says. "You're really doing it?"

"Why is everybody so surprised?"

"I didn't think you really meant it," Mariah says. "Or I didn't think you'd actually go through with it."

"No one ever does," Keri says. "I bet you didn't think I'd graduate either."

"I'm just worried. You're my baby sister."

"I'm not a baby anymore," Keri says.

"Fine, sorry," Mariah says, taking her sister's arm in her hand. "We don't have to talk about it today."

Keri has barely spoken a decent word to her mother in months. And here, she'd expect nothing less than one more lecture from her about why she shouldn't be joining the military right now. But Madison only says, "I'm proud of you."

"Hmph," Keri grunts. She was set up in this "very important" job. She knows it. She feels it rising in her to reject it all just out of principal, but that's exactly what her mother wants. "You don't need to take care of me," Keri says.

"Of course I do," Madison says. "This is actually happening. These things are really out there, and in weeks, Keri, we're sending troops out to fight them. Weeks, maybe even days."

For once in her life, Keri has no snide remark to spout off, she just watches her mother's eyes plead at her.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Madison asks. "There are still ways out. We could find something."

"No," Keri says. "I'm going."

The rain gets heavier then, cutting their argument short. It doesn't matter. They've made the same stands again and again. The sky crackles with thunder and flashes with lightning. Guests and graduates alike run to wherever they might escape the downpour. Keri grabs Lillian and runs into the library, while Justin runs across campus to find their car.

Keri managed to keep the child mostly dry using the plentiful fabric of her graduation gown, her cap shielding them like an umbrella. And Lily, so very tiny, just three months old, doesn't even know that sprints through the pouring rain aren't a normal occurrence. She just takes the world as it comes, as her parents hand it to her.

Keri realizes that Lily will likely grow into a little girl without her. She has a very important job out there, but she also has a very important job to come back to when this is all done. She's a mommy. So she'll be a space secretary if it means helping the way she can, and being able to come home safely when she's done.

But weeks? Maybe just days? Is that really all? Is this really happening? She knows she's ready for it, but are they ready?

There's no one around, and Keri speaks freely to her daughter out loud. "You'll be fine with your daddy for a while. You guys are going to have a lot of fun together. He's kind of emo, your daddy, and he needs lots of hugs. So be nice to him, or he might cry. In fact, he probably will cry. Probably a lot. So it's your job to give him lots of hugs, and he'll love you, and spoil you, just like he spoils me."

"And don't forget you're a Bradshaw girl too you know, which means you're strong and proud and stubborn like your mommy. And like Grandma Maddy. And I don't know if anyone will tell you this, so I'll tell you this now, and I'll tell you again when you're older, I promise. You can be whoever you want to be. Don't ever let anyone tell you differently."

Congratulations Graduates! LCU Class of 2083!

Keri Riley-Kim: B.S. Economics
GPA: 3.0
Employment: elite forces, The Military
Plans: Keri has been placed as a communications specialist in the military, effective immidiately. She and her husband purchased a home in Lakeside Heights where they'll live with their new baby daughter.


Report Cards for 2083, Spring

Beau, freshman, economics: C
Tyler, freshman, undecided: C-
April, freshman, art: C

*******

notes: Wow, sorry about the wait on this one! Thank you all for being so patient! I hope to settle into some kind of regular posting schedule again soon, more than once a week, I hope! You know how it goes, trying to find balance between all these segments of our lives... anyway... ;)

Oh, and um, brain fart - the first scene in this would technically be a flashback, since it took place the same morning that Tyler joined (if you refer back to the end of part 2), and then part 2.5 took place after that. If we're going to be all technical and chronological about things, lol!

Cabe has nine nice points, by the way, which probably makes him about the least intimidating military general ever!

*** outtakes ***

Stupid sim-like things to ignore...

WTF, Keri? Chandler??? We'll just pretend you didn't think that, lol! Because she can't reasonably *really* want to fall in love with him. Except it's hard to ignore, because it was there constantly!

So if we might *try* to make sense of it, maybe she's just remembering that they used to be in love, and she's feeling that maybe they should talk before she goes off to war, because as over as they are, he still might feel badly if anything happened to her and they never got to make peace?

Yeah, that must be it...

So I had in mind this whole scene, where Keri wanted to talk to him and make peace before she goes. She did talk to him, since he does work there at Deppiesse's where they went to celebrate. I just didn't feel like making a scene about it though. It was a non-conflict before this, and remained a non-conflict afterward. I just felt like it was taking up space.

*** post-graduation update ***

They've moved to one of my favorite houses on Lakeshore Road in Lakeside Heights. Of course, both of them have sizable trust-funds, so nothing but the very best! They're on the same street she grew up on, but the other end, near the Deppiesse families.

The house was downloaded ages and ages ago from MTS. I wouldn't possibly know where to find the link to it, and I don't remember who the creator was, but if you recognize it and do remember, please share!

And their actual neighbors came over in the welcome wagon. That's kind of cool, it's usually some townie, or someone from across the neighborhood.

It appears Delphie has a little crush on her handsome new neighbor! (two bolts, lol!) We suppose that's no more harmful than Dakota's crush on Tyler Jackson. Orion doesn't look amused, lol!