Welcome Home, Meg

"Meg sweety, it's time to wake up." Lois Griffin called through the door into her daughter's room.

Meg groaned and rolled over, pulling her pillow over her head, before remembering what day it was. She sat bolt upright in bed and threw her blankets off. She looked around the bedroom, bare except for her bare desk, dresser, bookshelf, and vanity. Boxes full of her stuff were piled against the bare walls with the words "College" or "Storage" written on them in bold. Meg had slept on the bare mattress with a blanket and a throw pillow because her sheets and pillows were already packed away.

The big day, Meg's move to college, was finally here. She had applied, and gotten into, Wesleyan College in Middletown, CT, with a full ride, work-release scholarship for her writing. She'd be working in one of the libraries. The college was far enough away that she could leave her ghosts behind, but close enough to be able to get back to the house quickly if she ever needed too, which she didn't plan to.

Meg dressed quickly in the outfit she'd laid out the night before and hurried downstairs. After a quick breakfast of pancakes and eggs, they started loading all of Meg's stuff onto a rented POD and into the family car. Meg was paying for the POD with her own money, not trusting her family not to forget or get rid of her stuff if she didn't. The few boxes they loaded into the car were going with Meg to college. Freshmen orientation was at 12:00 and the drive was at least an hour and a half and, at 10:30, they left.

The drive seemed extra long to Meg. Stewie was working on some new evil invention and arguing with Brian, Cris was jabbering at no one in particular about the monkey in his closet and how he was going to move into Meg's room, Peter was yelling and cutting people off, and Lois was yammering on and on about how much fun would have and how college would be great and blah, blah, blah... It was the same crap she'd been hearing since she got accepted, and indeed her whole life. All she knew for certain was that she couldn't wait to get there. Anything was better than her life so far.

Meg threw the last pillow onto her bed and flopped down onto it. Outside she could hear her parents arguing about going to a college party that Peter had seen on a flyer on a door and Stewie was bouncing around on her roommate's bed. Said roommate had yet to arrive and since there was only fifteen minutes left until Orientation, Meg was beginning to hope that there wouldn't be a roommate at all. Meg sat up and was about to go tell her parents that they had better get going if they were going to get Cris to his boy scouting trip and home before dark when Brian came through the door.

He jumped up on the bed with her and sat with his legs dangling over the side. He looked at her and smiled. "Happy to be free finally?" He asked.

Meg brought knees up to her chest. "Truth?"

Brian nodded.

"More than anything. I can't believe I'm finally out of that house. Can't believe I'm actually here..." She looked out the window at the lush grounds. Kids, kids from all walks of life, sat out there. Meg longed to get out there, meet them all, start living.

Brian could hardly believe what he was seeing. Meg almost seemed to change before his eyes. He realized that she was no longer the little girl that he had lived with since she was small. Now she was a full grown woman. Her chestnut hair cupped her face and her eyes shone with light. There was a real smile back on her face, not the plastic one she had perfected over the years. He opened his mouth to say something, but Lois appeared in the doorway, a sulking Peter behind her.

"Meg honey, we're going to go. We need to get Chris to camp." Lois said, sitting down on Meg's bed next to Brian.

"Okay mom. I'll walk you guys out." Meg said, the plastic smile back on her face.

They walked down to the parking lot. Before they got in the car, they all gave her a hug. Chris hugged her and muttered that he would miss her. Meg could have sworn she saw his eyes start to water. Stewie didn't want to let go, even though he acted like he was glad she was leaving. She was his only big sister after all. Brian hugged her quickly and wished her luck, knowing that she was finally where she wanted to be. Peter hugged her close and breathed into her hair. "Goodbye Meg." He said quietly, but she still heard him. Then he pushed her brusquely away and hurried quickly into the drivers seat, wiping his eyes. Lois hugged her last. "Promise to email every day?" Meg nodded, her voice catching in her throat. "And call once a week?" Lois's eyes were misting over, exact replicas of her daughter's. "And be careful." She said, hugging her baby to her again. Wiping her eyes, Lois released Meg and sat down in the passengers seat. As Peter drove out of the parking lot and out onto Wyllys Avenue, Meg waved, and everyone but her father turned to wave through the back window.

They rounded the corner and were out of sight. Meg turned back to the campus, her tears drying as she looked over the widespread campus. "Welcome home, Meg."

This is totally out of the blue I know, but I always identified with Meg in a lot of ways. So I decided to write this. Meg's gone to college and while the freaking idiosyncrasies and mild abuse she suffers at home won't be happening there, she hasn't quite escaped everything. She's going to meet some friendly faces, and some not so friendly faces, but she's finally found a place to bloom. Wish me luck!

R&R Please and Thanky Muchness!