Author's Note: Well, it looks as though all of you have survived the first chapter and have entered the second chapter. This chapter has a few 'past references'—including one of my short stories, Holy Diver. As always, I appreciate critical reviews.

New Generation

Chapter II

A week later, another graduation took place. This graduation was Blaer's eighth grade graduation from St. Agnes Catholic School, but it was on a much smaller scale. For Blaer, it was a moment of transition. Blaer could choose to remain in the Catholic school system, or she could enter the public school system, which was where her parents attended school, and which was where her maternal grandfather had been an administrator.

The day after the ceremony, Xavier, Saber, and Anastasia played on the fence between the Pickles and DeVille residences, while Blaer stood in the tree house at her paternal grandparents, and contemplated her choices. Blaer had one distinct fear. In Catholic school, there were a few students who were friendly to Blaer, but Blaer thought that they were 'too friendly'. Essentially, Blaer felt that these students were Dark Stairway fans, who simply wanted to use Blaer to meet her father. In other words, Blaer was their 'means to an end'. Public school had more students than Catholic school, and Blaer wondered, if she would be dealing with more students who would try to take advantage of her. As Blaer contemplated her dilemma, she reached for her cell phone. There was one person in Blaer's address book, who would certainly understand what she was feeling.

"Hello?" said Austra, as she answered her cell phone.

"Hey, Austra," replied Blaer.

"Hey, Blaer, what's going on?"

"Not a whole lot—well, there is one thing."

"What's that?"

"It's something that's been on my mind. Do you have some spare time, where I can meet you, and talk to you about it?"

"I don't have to work today so sure. Where would you like to meet at?"

"…Is the Java Lava all right?"

"Sure, sounds good. Meet me there in half an hour?"

"Okay, that will be fine."

"All right, see you then."

As Blaer's conversation with Austra ended, she heard someone climb up the steps of the tree house. That someone happened to be her cousin, Elisha. "Hi, Blaer."

"Hey, Elisha."

"Those boys and my sister are so annoying that I decided to come up here."

Blaer smirked. "Perhaps the annoying one is you," she thought. But verbally, Blaer said, "You didn't want to spend any time with your grandpa?"

"No, Grandpa Howie's boring. It seems like all he ever wants to do is watch The History Channel. Now Grandma Betty, she's a lot a fun."

Blaer maintained her smirk. "I could probably agree with a lot of that," she thought.

"Blaer," began Elisha, "what's cheerleading like? I'm thinking about trying out for it this fall."

"Wouldn't you be the stereotypical cheerleader," thought Blaer. "I can't tell you right now, since I have to go to the Java Lava. But you can come along with me, if you'd like, and I can tell you along the way?"

"Okay, cool!"

Before Blaer exited the tree house with Elisha, she looked at the zipline with the rotting rope. When Blaer was big enough to move around, her paternal grandmother asked her paternal grandfather to 'box up' the area where the zipline was, so Blaer would not be tempted to 'slide down on it'. Blaer chuckled.

"What is it, Blaer?"

"I was just trying to imagine something."

"What?"

"I was told that when this tree house was built, Daddy rode this zipline into where the pool is now."

"Yeah, I heard that too."

Blaer giggled. "I heard that he made Grandma Didi faint."

Elisha laughed. "Yeah, I heard that as well."

"It would have been fun to see."

"Did your uncle record it?"

Blaer shook her head. "No, but supposedly he did record Daddy jumping off Grandma and Grandpa's roof to the tune of Dio's 'Holy Diver'."

Elisha laughed. "Now that would be fun to see!"

Blaer smiled. "Maybe we can find it, after the trip to Java Lava—assuming that it's still around here."

"Yeah, sure…Blaer?"

"Yeah, Elisha?"

"There's something that I've often wondered."

"What's that?"

"Why do you call Grandma 'Aunt Betty' instead of 'Grandma'? I mean, she's your grandma too."

"I've always referred to your grandma as 'Aunt Betty', ever since I was a little girl, and your grandpa has just been more of a 'Uncle Howie' to me."

"You keep referring to my grandma and grandpa as 'your grandma and grandpa', but aren't they yours as well?"

Blaer sighed. "Not really…not by blood anyway."

"Huh?"

"You do realize that I was adopted into the DeVille family, when your aunt adopted me, when I was real little. Your aunt's not my real mother. Surely, your mom, if anybody, told you about this?"

Elisha nodded. "Yeah, she told me."

Blaer returned the nod, and the two left the tree house.

When the two returned to the ground, Elisha added, "You know, Blaer, my mom showed me a picture of your mom and her, when they were in high school."

"Could we not talk about my mom, Elisha?!"

Elisha was stunned. The 'brat' side of her ended, whenever she saw others legitimately hurt. "Sorry, Blaer."

Blaer sighed. "That's okay. I'm sorry that I snapped at you, Elisha. There are just times that I don't want to talk about my mom."

Dil secured some flowers from the passenger's side of his truck, and he exited the vehicle. Dil's surrounding showed signs of spring, and yet he was in a place that represented death.

"It just seems so ironic," thought Dil, as he took in his surroundings, "that a place that represents death can take on the beauty of spring. And yet, the name of this place is called Resurrection Cemetery. The name 'resurrection' meaning 'rebirth', which symbolizes spring."

Dil had not been to the cemetery in a while, but he knew where the gravestone in question was—Dezirae Raia Pickles: October 26, 1991-November 16, 2015.

"Hey, Dezirae," began Dil, while he placed the flowers in the vase next to the headstone. "I know that it has been a while, and I hope that you didn't that I've been forgetting about you. Last month, I was in Russia. I happened to play a show that was near the village where Grandma Minka and Grandpa Boris were from. I visited the village, and it was cool to see where Grandma and Grandpa grew up."

Dil smiled. "Of course, I'm sure that you are aware of all of this anyway—watching from the Silver Mountain on high…I'm also sure that you know what Rachel said about Blaer the other day. She's such a beauty, Dezirae. Rachel was telling me how much she looked like you. She certainly does." Dil smirked. "Now, I'm going to have to watch out for all the boys, who are going to come after her."

A cool gust of wind blew some of the seeds of a dandelion past Dezirae's grave.

Dil smiled. "She's getting ready for high school. Our little girl is all grown up, which made me think of something…During my trip, or dream, to the Silver Mountain, I remember that you talked to me about giving something to Blaer. I think that the time is right for me to now do so."

"Looks as though you have a guest," Austra said, when she saw Elisha arrive with Blaer.

Blaer smiled. "Yeah, Elisha wanted to come with me. Anyway, let's sit at the counter."

From the counter, Betty smiled. "Well, what can I get you girls? Will it be three strawberry smoothies?"

"Yes, Grandma!" said a brightened Elisha.

"That works for me," said Blaer.

"Yeah, same here," added Austra.

Betty maintained her smile, and turned to the Java Lava's storage room. "Hey, Kirk, can you help me out with making three strawberry smoothies?"

"Yeah, sure," replied Kirk.

But when Kirk left the storage room, and saw Blaer, he began to twitch. "I gotta be cool," he thought. "I need to make a good impression."

Kirk helped Betty with the smoothies, and when the product was finished, he delivered them to their recipients.

"Here you go, Austra," Kirk said, as he placed the drink before her.

Austra smiled. "Thank you, Kirk."

Kirk returned the smile, before he placed a smoothie before Elisha. "Here you go, Elisha."

Elisha returned the smile. "Thank you, Kirk."

Kirk returned the smile and turned to the last recipient. Kirk was doing his best not to twitch. "And here you go, B-Blaer."

"You stuttered there a bit, Kirkley," Betty said with a smile. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Kirk replied with a bashful smile.

Blaer smiled, which made Kirk blush.

"Damn it!" thought Kirk. "If I couldn't make myself look so obvious!"

"So," began Austra, while she took a drink of her smoothie, "what did you want to talk about?"

Blaer took a drink of her smoothie and replied, "As you know, I completed the eighth grade this year, and I've been thinking about leaving Catholic school for public school. I was wondering, if you could tell me what public school is like?"

"Well, I could have told you that, Blaer," interjected Elisha.

"Yes, but there is a reason why I wanted to ask Austra."

Austra had another drink of her smoothie. "Well, I've never been to Catholic school, so I can only go by things that I've heard. One thing is that you don't have to wear a uniform."

"Why do they make you wear those uniforms?" interjected Elisha.

"I've always heard that it was so no one would be ostracized, because of their clothes."

"Heh, that's not a bad idea," interjected Betty, while she cleaned the counter top. "Not everybody can afford the 'best stuff'."

Austra took another drink. "Chances are you won't have any nuns as your teachers."

Blaer laughed. "I can live with that. Some of the sisters really got on my nerves!"

"You'll be treated like you're five," interjected Kirk, as he stocked a shelf beneath the counter.

Austra chuckled. "Well, yes, that's true—that's one of the worst things. Even when you're 18, some of the teachers will still treat you as though you are five."

"Well, so do some of the nuns, but there's a more important question in all of this."

"And what's that?"

Blaer took a drink and replied, "There were a few times in school, where I felt like someone was trying to be my friend, only because of who my dad was. It didn't happen often, because most of the people that I went to school with, I've known since kindergarten. But it did happen a few times. Did you ever experience anything like that?"

Austra took another drink. "A few times, but I can't say that it only happened to me. I'm sure that it happened to Ian, Cody, and Candance as well…Maybe J.T. and Krystal have had similar experiences as well, in respect to their father and uncle." Austra paused to take a drink. "Regardless of which, if I get the impression that someone is talking to me, simply because they want my dad's autograph, I inform that person that if he or she wants my dad's autograph, then he or she can go to my dad, and get it. I'm not my dad's 'middle man', and if it came back to wanting to meet my dad, I would tell that person that I am not my dad's 'personal secretary'."

"And that works?"

Austra finished the last of her smoothie and nodded. "Yes. It removed who I thought would take advantage of me, versus who I thought that I could trust."

Blaer returned the nod. "Well, I think that when I get home, I'm going to tell my dad and mom that I want to try public school." Blaer finished the last of her smoothie and added, "If it doesn't work out, if anything, I can always go back to Catholic school."

When Blaer returned home at 5:30 in the evening, she discovered that her mother was cooking dinner, while her father sat in a recliner and watched the news.

"So where have you been?" asked Lil.

"At the Java Lava," replied Blaer. "There was something that I wanted to talk about with Austra. Elisha came with me."

"Did you take care of whatever it was that you wanted to ask Austra?" asked Dil.

"Yes, I did, which is something that I want to talk to both of you about."

"All right," said Lil, while she stood next to Dil.

Dil placed the television on mute. "What is it, Blaer?"

Blaer nervously locked her fingers. "I've been thinking about this a lot—ever since my eighth grade graduation."

"What's that?" asked Lil.

"Well…I think that I'd like to try public school."

Lil was stunned. "Blaer, are you sure?"

Blaer nodded.

Dil look away briefly, before he returned to his daughter. "Well, I've always said that once the kids graduate eighth grade, they can decide, if they want to stay in Catholic school, or go to public school. Blaer, if that's what you want, we'll register you for the fall."

Blaer smiled. "Thanks, Daddy!"

Dil returned the smile, but then his eyes turned to the clock on the wall. "Looks like it's nearly supper time." Dil left his recliner, and turned to the stairs that led to the second floor. "Xavier! Saber! Get down here! Supper's nearly ready."

"Your mom's a good cook; isn't she, kids?" Dil said, before he had a bite of his cheeseburger.

Blaer and Xavier nodded.

Saber, however, smirked. "Say, Dad, aren't you partially Jewish?"

"Through your grandmother, yes."

Saber maintained his smirk. "Aren't Jews not supposed to eat cheeseburgers?"

Dil shot his youngest a look. "Ah, I see where this is going. Of course, you've seen your grandmother have a cheeseburger before, right?"

"Which one?"

Dil maintained his look. "Grandma Didi."

"Yes."

"Well, that just shows that your 'Jewish grandma' isn't so good with observing the dietary laws either." Dil chuckled. "Smart aleck aren't you, Saber-tooth?"

Saber grinned.

And Lil laughed. "He gets that from his father."

Again, Dil chuckled. "I'm sure. Anyway, I don't consider myself to be really Jewish. I'm more of a Christian, just not a good one."

"Dad," began Xavier, "I started working on a new story. Would you like to read it?"

"Sure, sometime after dinner."

"Hey, Dad," began Saber, "wanna play the new Rock Band game with me?"

Dil, who was busy eating, could not immediately respond to his son.

"Um, Saber," began Xavier, "did you just hear Dad say that he was going to read my story?"

"Oh, he can do that later. Besides, it's fun to watch Dad sing and never get a perfect score—especially on the Dark Stairway songs."

"Just for that," began Dil, "I'm going to spend my time reading Xavier's story. Besides, that's one of the things that's wrong with that game. When a professional singer, the man who helped write most of those songs, can't get a perfect score…something's wrong about that."

Lil, Blaer, Xavier, and Saber chuckled.

"Besides," continued Dil, "if someone really wants to learn the path of music, then he or she needs to pick up an instrument and learn music the proper way."

"Well, I'm done," Blaer said, as she stood from the table. "Thanks for dinner."

"Going somewhere?" asked Dil.

"I just thought that I'd walk around town for a bit."

"Don't you want to stay and play Rock Band, Blaer?" asked Saber. "It's fun to watch you sing."

Dil smirked. "Thank you, little brother. Maybe later."

"Blaer, I need to see you for a moment," Dil said, while he stood from the table.

"What for?"

Dil did not respond to Blaer's question directly. Instead, he replied, "Would you follow me upstairs?"

Blaer followed her father to the master bedroom, and as soon as they could make it not look obvious, her younger brothers followed from a distance. Whenever Dil or Lil asked to see Blaer, Xavier, or Saber alone that usually meant that child was in trouble.

"What is it, Daddy?"

Dil shut the bedroom door and smiled. "I have something to give you, Blaer."

"What is it?"

Dil maintained his smile. "You'll see. Have a seat on the bed."

Blaer did as her father requested, while Dil opened a drawer from his dresser.

"Here it is!" said Dil.

"What is?"

Dil turned to his daughter and smiled. "Blaer, the other day at Java Lava, Rachel told me how much you looked like your mother. I have to agree, which is why I want to give you something."

"What?"

Dil held up a ring, and placed it in his daughter's hand. "This."

"A ring?" Blaer said, while she observed it. "It looks to be a wedding ring."

Dil nodded. "About 15 years ago, your mom placed that ring on my finger. Even after she passed away, it was hard for me to take it off. When I finally did, I told myself that one day it would belong to you. That day is now."

Blaer's lower lip began to quiver, as she observed the ring. "Thank you, Daddy. Would you mind, if I wore it as a necklace?"

"Go right ahead."

Blaer embraced her father.

Dil smiled, and kissed his daughter's forehead. "I love you, Blaer. Lil means a lot to me, but no one will ever replace your mother. I know that she's watching over us right now, and I know that she's happy."

Blaer increased the embrace on her father.

"What are you hearing?" whispered Saber.

Xavier, who had his ear on his parents' bedroom door, whispered, "I'm not sure. It sounds like Blaer is crying, but I never heard Dad raise his voice. I don't get it."

Saber nodded. "I guess we shouldn't worry about it." But as he completed his sentence, Saber smirked. "Besides, I bet I can get the information out of Blaer at a later time."

"How so?"

Saber kept his smirk. "I have my ways…Anyway, you want to play Rock Band?"

"Well, I really want Dad to read my latest story."

"You can write a story about how you got a better score singing Dark Stairway songs on Rock Band, than the actual singer."

Xavier chuckled. "True…Okay, why not."

"Awesome!"