The day of Montparnasse's high school graduation was an unremarkable one. The Detroit, Michigan weather was nice enough. The gifts his family got him were nice enough. Everything was just nice enough, which was even more unremarkable due to the consistency of this trend. His neighborhood, in which he lived in a mid-century brick rowhouse, was middle-class and as unremarkable as any of the nearby suburbs.
Eponine was one of the few non-family members at his graduation party, a fact that wasn't overlooked by Montparnasse's vaguely disapproving, naive mother. He hadn't invited Babet or Gueleumer because they never failed to irritate him, and Claquesous was still wary of Montparnasse after their encounter in the school percussion room (a story for another time).
In order to escape the multitude of grandparents, aunts, cousins, and various other relatives he barely saw, Montparnasse sat on his front stoop, facing the side street he lived on,with Eponine. "I don't know how I'll survive next year," Eponine, who had just completed her junior year, complained, "Babet will be the only one of our friends left and he's a total creep. He'll probably try to accost me the moment you're gone."
Montparnasse didn't respond at first to Eponine. She was right; Babet had tried to hook up with her on more than one occasion, despite knowing that he was encroaching on Montparnasse's territory. Montparnasse occupied himself with the task of fixing the rolled-up sleeves of his white button-down, then looked at Eponine.
"How about a road trip?"