Title: Acceptance (noun)
Genre: Drama/Friendship/Romance
Rating: K+/T for now
Fandom: Static Shock
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or related item/symbols/concepts/etc. in this story. Detective Comics, Milestone Comics, and The WB do. I'd like to think the plot is my own original creation, though.
Author's Notes: Well, this is the part where we all walk off the plank together. Enjoy the swim!
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Virgil stared at the envelope. The big, scary envelope. When his pops had called and said he needed to come home right after school, Virgil thought he would be in trouble. But no, it was worse. There was no way he could ever deal with something like this!
"Virgil? What does it say?" His dad was knocking on the door "You can't hide the good news forever in there."
No, I can't. Might as well get it over with so I can go on patrol or something and talk to Richie about it. Virgil sighed and gingerly picked up the heavy envelope. He took a deep breath and slid his finger under the flap, breaking the rather impressive seal. Sliding out was a thick sheaf of paper, topped by a single-page letter. It bore the same seal as the envelope.
Dear Mr. Virgil Hawkings,
It is my honor and pleasure to welcome you to Princeton
Unable to finish reading the first sentence, Virgil set the stack of papers down. For starters, no one sent out acceptance letters this early. It was still March! And as good as Virgil's SAT scores were, he had no "real" extra-curricular activities, and Virgil knew very well that those extras were the difference between a local community college and a private Ivy-League university. This had to be a joke. Or a test. Or... or something.
Picking up the letter and shoving it in his pocket, Virgil went down to the kitchen. Pushing through the door, Virgil called out, "Hey Pops, I smell somethin' good. Please tell me Trina's cooking tonight." Though a part of Virgil hoped that focusing on the subject of food might work as a distraction, he knew his father too well.
Robert Hawkings practically jumped from the table to the door "Well, what did it say? Come on, don't keep your old man in suspense." Clapping a hand on a slumped shoulder, he steered Virgil to his seat at the table. As Trina set a Styrofoam container in front of each man, she spoke, "Oh calm down Robert. Let him tell you when he's ready." Sitting down, she opened her own container, "After all, I went out of my way to get you the best Indian in town. So take a moment and enjoy it before you get on about colleges again." She inhaled with deep pleasure over what appeared to be peas and an unknown meat covered in a rather questionable sauce.
Peeking under the lid of his own dinner, Virgil made the simple decision between dinner and a "discussion".
"No, Pops, you should know," Pulling out the letter, Virgil took a breath, "I got accepted into Princeton." He carefully handed it over to his father. "But I... I just I don't believe it. It shouldn't be possible. I..." Virgil's brow furrowed, as he didn't know how to explain all the reasons the he had never seen this coming. "Son, this is great!" Virgil's pop patted him on the back with a little too much enthusiasm, "You never told me you applied to Princeton! I'm speechless I'm so –"
Virgil put a hand up to stop him before the man became a one-man Proud Parent Parade.
"I'm gotta… I'm headed over to Richie's to think, okay? I need time to absorb this one." Virgil gave a small nod to his Pops as he stood up from the table. He turned to Trina before heading back out of the kitchen "Thanks for dinner."
As the door swung shut behind Virgil, Trina looked across the table at Robert "Celebrate all you want, that does not mean you're off the hook for dinner. You'll try it and you'll like it." Smiling sheepishly, Robert opened his own dinner and gulped "Looks delicious, honey."
* * *
"Hey Richie, ya there?"
"Yeah man, what's up?" Richie's voice was a little calming over the shock-box.
"Can you meet me at HQ? I need to talk to you about something."
"Sure, sure. See you in ten."
"Make it five." As much as Virgil wanted to just let everything spill over the shock-box, he needed to see Richie now. Richie would help him make sense of this. Of all of this.
"Jeez, yeah, I'll be there."
Flipping off the shock-box, Static threw on his jacket and took off into the evening sky.
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Post-Chapter Ramble: So, I'm gonna have to amend my Disclaimer above to include the fact that I do not own Princeton and I'm pretty sure Princeton owns Princeton or some-such. I didn't include it up there because I was trying not to ruin my own surprise. Also, if any of you out there know what the opening line of the Princeton acceptance letter is, can you please let me know? I'd like to be as accurate as possible ^^; Thanks! I really hope you guys liked it so far. See you next chapter! ~L
P.S. I love Indian food. I just wanted to see what the Hawkings men would do when faced with it.
