Yep, another story on my fave, Mary Anne. In this one, she's just graduated
from graduate school, having gotten her Master's degree in secondary
education with a minor in psychology. She takes her first full-time
teaching job at the age of twenty-four while at the same time coping with
changes in her own and her friends lives...two of her friends get married
and her first year of teaching is a challenge to say the least. A few
controversial issues and scenes appear here, so homophobes and conservative
right-wingers, be warned. The usual disclaimers that Mona Vaughn is a
creation of Betsy Haynes, not this author and the BSC characters that BSC
fans recognize are not the current author's either, but the sole creation
of Ann Martin. Oh, and thanks to one alert reviewer who pointed this
out...I've added a little to clear up the confusion as to who Claudia and
Kristy wind up marrying.
MARY ANNE:
It was finally drawing to a close. I'd seen it coming bit by bit as I
worked my way through graduate school and moved into student teaching. But
now, having completed this Master's degree, my school days had drawn to a
close. At least my school days as a student had. Come fall it would be time
to head to school this time as a teacher. There were few openings for a
high school teaching position in this area of New York City this coming
fall, so I settled for taking one at a middle school, to teach eighth-grade
English at PS 127. It would do for a few years until the high school field
opened up again.
"So, congratulations, Mary Anne," the head of Staten U., Ms. Alvarez, told
me as she handed me the certificate. Sure enough, it had me listed as
valedictorian of the graduate class of 2008.
"Oh...thank...you," I gasped, my heart swelling at her smile. As I stood,
she reached over tentatively. I leaned toward her to receive her hug, then
hugged her in return.
"Go get 'em, tiger," she told me. I laughed a little, then nodded. Tiger.
Me. Come to think of it, I guess I did battle a lot of things over the
years.
Then slowly I left, my thoughts blowing like the blossoms on the trees in
Central Park. Valedictorian. Me. Wow. I remembered how back in high school,
Stacey McGill, one of my best friends, had graduated valedictorian of her
class.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, congats, Mary Anne!" Mona squealed as she sat on a bean sack after
hugging me. "Way to go; wait until we tell our other friends this!"
"Thanks," I sat on a pillow and sipped my fruit punch. Late May and already
it was hot and humid. Good thing this house has air-conditioning or we'd
keel over from heat stroke in the summer.
"Soo, heard anything from the vet's office in Hudson Ridge?" I asked.
Hudson Ridge is a suburb of the Big Apple about a half hour from here.
"I have another interview next week," Mona told me.
"Good luck at it," I leaned back. Tears came to my eyes as I thought of all
the changes we were heading for once again. So many things in this life
still bring tears to my eyes. Stacey had also finished her Master's degree
last week and had a part-time position as an industrial engineer. Next
year, she'd be going for her doctorate. Kristy Thomas and Claudia Kishi
both had businesses going and were getting married this summer. Abby is in
training for pro sports and with a group of other female athletes, is
forming an all-women's team. Anna just got into a soft rock band and is
recording music for an album. My stepsister Dawn Schafer is doing well as
an archeologist. I looked around, thinking that this was probably our last
summer in this house...Mona, our roommates Greta and Wyser, who rented
this house with us for the past four years, and me. Greta and Wyser along
with Mona and me completed our graduate degrees and were ready for
full-time careers. They'd both gotten jobs in upstate New York, Greta as a
dentist and Wyser as a physical therapist.
"I do hope New York legalizes Greta and Wyser's union soon," I said out
loud.
"Me too," Mona added. "It's medieval that some people still pretend that
gays don't exist." Mona is gay also, so she understands Greta and Wyser's
position even better than any of the rest of us original BSC, better known
as our Baby-Sitters' Club. That's how my group of friends and I
started...most of us grew up in a large town in Connecticut, Stoneybrook
and formed a club to baby-sit for parents there. It became like a
mini-business throughout high school, then once we graduated, we'd passed
the club on to our former charges. "So many changes..." Mona said softly.
"Can't believe Claud and Kristy are getting *married* this summer." Kristy
is marrying Carl Bineware, who's she's been dating for over two years and
living with for a year. Claudia getting married to Tom Lisner, who she
met in her last year of college at Granite U. in Minnesota.
"It'll be so strange with us living apart," I added, feeling my stomach
tighten. "We've lived together since...we started college...seven years."
"Hard to believe..." Mona nodded.
"Just how the shit am I going to live next year without you all?" I laughed
weakly. "After all we went though these years...the nine-one-one
disaster...Kristy's roommate's death...me going through three
breakups...both of us losing our virginity at nineteen...me winding up with
gonorrhea at twenty-one...all the theses in grad school...getting this
house together..."
"That's what I've wondered myself," Mona said with a shaky laugh. "We'll
stay close...after all, we did when all of us original BSC graduated from
high school and went off to different colleges. Oh, hey, Mary Anne, is that
gonorrhea gone completely? Was the penicillin effective?"
"Yes, it was," I closed my eyes. "The fever was gone in a few days, but I
itched for a year after I got infected." Gonorrhea is no fun to have, so I
wouldn't recommend a dose of the clap to anyone, especially through one
night of stupid unprotected sex. Until a few months ago, I still felt the
effects of the clap. The acute infection lasted only a few months, but for
a couple of years, my body had to get back to normal since I still had
occasional vaginal dryness, inflammation, and thick discharge. I'm so glad
it's just about over now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The graduation ceremony was a kind of bittersweet experience. The day was a
pleasant warm for a change instead of sticky and humid, but I still felt a
bit of sadness as I thought of this era in our lives ending and the start
of something completely new. My voice shook a little as I gave my speech
and as I finished, tears spilled down my face once I focused on my friends
and parents and grandmother in the audience. Once the ceremony ended,
everyone whooped, then us college grads stood and tossed our caps into the
air. I smiled as I watched my cap bump into Mona's and hurtle sidelong into
a tree. Mona and I both laughed, then hugged.
"I think you're popular tonight," Mona joked, pointing toward several
people who were headed toward me. Yep, they did come to congratulate me.
Ms. Alvarez came up.
"You were wonderful, sweetie," she told me. "You were nervous?"
"Yeah, I usually am," I tried to smile. "To tell you the truth, I'm nervous
about next year and all...being the one in charge of a class and all..."
"You'll make it," Ms. Alvarez told me. "You've been through a lot in life
and every time, you've pulled through like a trooper. We're all proud of
you and with your wit, courage, and determination, you're going to not only
make it in life, but go far places in your life..." Her words carried over
and soothed me as I headed to my friends, Dad, Sharon, and Grandma.
More later! Hope you enjoy this prologue! Meanwhile, I'll be adding more to
my other stories soon; I haven't forgotten them!
from graduate school, having gotten her Master's degree in secondary
education with a minor in psychology. She takes her first full-time
teaching job at the age of twenty-four while at the same time coping with
changes in her own and her friends lives...two of her friends get married
and her first year of teaching is a challenge to say the least. A few
controversial issues and scenes appear here, so homophobes and conservative
right-wingers, be warned. The usual disclaimers that Mona Vaughn is a
creation of Betsy Haynes, not this author and the BSC characters that BSC
fans recognize are not the current author's either, but the sole creation
of Ann Martin. Oh, and thanks to one alert reviewer who pointed this
out...I've added a little to clear up the confusion as to who Claudia and
Kristy wind up marrying.
MARY ANNE:
It was finally drawing to a close. I'd seen it coming bit by bit as I
worked my way through graduate school and moved into student teaching. But
now, having completed this Master's degree, my school days had drawn to a
close. At least my school days as a student had. Come fall it would be time
to head to school this time as a teacher. There were few openings for a
high school teaching position in this area of New York City this coming
fall, so I settled for taking one at a middle school, to teach eighth-grade
English at PS 127. It would do for a few years until the high school field
opened up again.
"So, congratulations, Mary Anne," the head of Staten U., Ms. Alvarez, told
me as she handed me the certificate. Sure enough, it had me listed as
valedictorian of the graduate class of 2008.
"Oh...thank...you," I gasped, my heart swelling at her smile. As I stood,
she reached over tentatively. I leaned toward her to receive her hug, then
hugged her in return.
"Go get 'em, tiger," she told me. I laughed a little, then nodded. Tiger.
Me. Come to think of it, I guess I did battle a lot of things over the
years.
Then slowly I left, my thoughts blowing like the blossoms on the trees in
Central Park. Valedictorian. Me. Wow. I remembered how back in high school,
Stacey McGill, one of my best friends, had graduated valedictorian of her
class.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, congats, Mary Anne!" Mona squealed as she sat on a bean sack after
hugging me. "Way to go; wait until we tell our other friends this!"
"Thanks," I sat on a pillow and sipped my fruit punch. Late May and already
it was hot and humid. Good thing this house has air-conditioning or we'd
keel over from heat stroke in the summer.
"Soo, heard anything from the vet's office in Hudson Ridge?" I asked.
Hudson Ridge is a suburb of the Big Apple about a half hour from here.
"I have another interview next week," Mona told me.
"Good luck at it," I leaned back. Tears came to my eyes as I thought of all
the changes we were heading for once again. So many things in this life
still bring tears to my eyes. Stacey had also finished her Master's degree
last week and had a part-time position as an industrial engineer. Next
year, she'd be going for her doctorate. Kristy Thomas and Claudia Kishi
both had businesses going and were getting married this summer. Abby is in
training for pro sports and with a group of other female athletes, is
forming an all-women's team. Anna just got into a soft rock band and is
recording music for an album. My stepsister Dawn Schafer is doing well as
an archeologist. I looked around, thinking that this was probably our last
summer in this house...Mona, our roommates Greta and Wyser, who rented
this house with us for the past four years, and me. Greta and Wyser along
with Mona and me completed our graduate degrees and were ready for
full-time careers. They'd both gotten jobs in upstate New York, Greta as a
dentist and Wyser as a physical therapist.
"I do hope New York legalizes Greta and Wyser's union soon," I said out
loud.
"Me too," Mona added. "It's medieval that some people still pretend that
gays don't exist." Mona is gay also, so she understands Greta and Wyser's
position even better than any of the rest of us original BSC, better known
as our Baby-Sitters' Club. That's how my group of friends and I
started...most of us grew up in a large town in Connecticut, Stoneybrook
and formed a club to baby-sit for parents there. It became like a
mini-business throughout high school, then once we graduated, we'd passed
the club on to our former charges. "So many changes..." Mona said softly.
"Can't believe Claud and Kristy are getting *married* this summer." Kristy
is marrying Carl Bineware, who's she's been dating for over two years and
living with for a year. Claudia getting married to Tom Lisner, who she
met in her last year of college at Granite U. in Minnesota.
"It'll be so strange with us living apart," I added, feeling my stomach
tighten. "We've lived together since...we started college...seven years."
"Hard to believe..." Mona nodded.
"Just how the shit am I going to live next year without you all?" I laughed
weakly. "After all we went though these years...the nine-one-one
disaster...Kristy's roommate's death...me going through three
breakups...both of us losing our virginity at nineteen...me winding up with
gonorrhea at twenty-one...all the theses in grad school...getting this
house together..."
"That's what I've wondered myself," Mona said with a shaky laugh. "We'll
stay close...after all, we did when all of us original BSC graduated from
high school and went off to different colleges. Oh, hey, Mary Anne, is that
gonorrhea gone completely? Was the penicillin effective?"
"Yes, it was," I closed my eyes. "The fever was gone in a few days, but I
itched for a year after I got infected." Gonorrhea is no fun to have, so I
wouldn't recommend a dose of the clap to anyone, especially through one
night of stupid unprotected sex. Until a few months ago, I still felt the
effects of the clap. The acute infection lasted only a few months, but for
a couple of years, my body had to get back to normal since I still had
occasional vaginal dryness, inflammation, and thick discharge. I'm so glad
it's just about over now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The graduation ceremony was a kind of bittersweet experience. The day was a
pleasant warm for a change instead of sticky and humid, but I still felt a
bit of sadness as I thought of this era in our lives ending and the start
of something completely new. My voice shook a little as I gave my speech
and as I finished, tears spilled down my face once I focused on my friends
and parents and grandmother in the audience. Once the ceremony ended,
everyone whooped, then us college grads stood and tossed our caps into the
air. I smiled as I watched my cap bump into Mona's and hurtle sidelong into
a tree. Mona and I both laughed, then hugged.
"I think you're popular tonight," Mona joked, pointing toward several
people who were headed toward me. Yep, they did come to congratulate me.
Ms. Alvarez came up.
"You were wonderful, sweetie," she told me. "You were nervous?"
"Yeah, I usually am," I tried to smile. "To tell you the truth, I'm nervous
about next year and all...being the one in charge of a class and all..."
"You'll make it," Ms. Alvarez told me. "You've been through a lot in life
and every time, you've pulled through like a trooper. We're all proud of
you and with your wit, courage, and determination, you're going to not only
make it in life, but go far places in your life..." Her words carried over
and soothed me as I headed to my friends, Dad, Sharon, and Grandma.
More later! Hope you enjoy this prologue! Meanwhile, I'll be adding more to
my other stories soon; I haven't forgotten them!