Chapter 4
Taking the next street over, Michael drove parallel to the group. After a few blocks he switched back and rejoined his friends, just at the city limits and the cover of the car went back down and the head phones went on.
"Ready? Buckled?" Sonya asked.
"YES!" Summer yelled.
"3" Vincent stated.
"2" Mickie stated.
"1 and here we go!" Michael stated.
The group took off as they hit the change of speed limits sign with Mark leading the way. The song changed over to Rob Zombie's "Two Lane Blacktop" and Michael turned it up as they drove down the highway.
"Wow short trip!" Michael stated as they came to a stop.
"No. We're 10 miles out." Sonya stated.
"Blacktop rolling" Vincent stated.
Everyone got out of their vehicles and headed over to Mark. They help Mark unpack the compartments of his motorcycle, laying out the blanket over the table that was closest to the water's edge. Jeff helps set up a few small chairs and a portable table for the kids to eat at. Michael pulled out a few glow sticks and placed them around the table along with some bug repelling candles.
"So Mark, what did you want to talk about?" Michael asked.
"I want to ask you if you'd mind taking over something for me at work." Mark answered.
"I've already got D-X to worry about, but let's hear it anyways." Michael responded.
"I've heard from Shawn about that, but I wanted you to take over my streak at Wrestlemania." Mark suggested.
"What!? No, I can't. That would be putting you out of work." Michael protested.
"I want you to, please. Think of is as a way to generate huge business and let's face it, I'm getting too old to do this." Mark responded.
"That's what Shawn said. Could you pass the Kung Pao?" Mickie asked.
"Sure. Can I have the hot mustard?" Jeff responded.
"Matt Fact: Matt strongly dislikes mustard!" Krista stated.
"Matt.. no.. no. Muttard, no.. no." Vincent chimed in.
"What was that?" Paul asked.
"A Matt Fact. Something we tell about Matt like how.." Jeff started to say.
"How he hates mustard and wishes he could super kick it out of his like.." Shawn started to say.
"No, Shawn! Don't!" Paul stated.
"Not around my car or anyone else's." Michael stated.
"Ok. You're right." Shawn responded.
"I only brought one replacement and I'm using it." Michael stated.
The group laughed and continued to eat and discuss their lives, children and business. It was decided that over the next few months a storyline between Krista, Michael and Undertaker would take place as well as one with D-X heading into Wrestlemania.
"So I have an idea. I'll kidnap Krista and take out Jeff." Mark stated.
"That's when Shawn and I will try and defend Michael for his choice of remaining face." Paul added.
"For as long as we can." Shawn stated.
"And I'll come to Krista's rescue." Michael stated.
"Sounds good to me. And at Wrestlemania I'll reveal that it was a test to have you take over my streak." Mark stated.
"Hey guys! Don't I get a say in this?" Krista asked.
"Or me?" Jeff asked.
"What about us kids?" Summer asked.
"Yeah, me too!" Vincent stated.
The dinner carried on well into the night. A campfire was built and the kids went to play. Everyone enjoyed some s'mores while plans and ideas were tossed around. The unwanted ideas were tossed aside and now all that was left was to run it by Shane and Stephanie.
The next morning found everyone trying to get to the airport and through security. It wasn't easy with 5 children, but Krista and Jeff managed to get everyone to their gate. It was going to be a rather short flight, but still with 5 kids and 3 adults, it's never an easy task.
Once Jeff, Krista, Jodi and the kids were all home, plans for Caitlyn's graduation started. Jeff already had the DJ and caterer hired and a menu was given. Krista couldn't believe that her oldest child was already graduating from High School. While Krista and Jodi were getting everything unpacked, Jeff went to collect the mail from Michelle.
"How was your trip?" Michelle asked.
"Busy. A new storyline is in the works, but I am not liking it." Jeff answered.
"Oh?" Michelle asked.
"It's basically where Undertaker kidnaps Krista after taking me out and Midnight along with D-X comes to her rescue." Jeff answered.
"That doesn't sound too horrid." Michelle stated as she handed Jeff their mail.
"I hope it's better than it sounds. Krista isn't too thrilled either. But we still have to wait for approval from Shane and Stephanie before doing the storyline." Jeff stated. "Thanks for collecting our mail."
"Same here. Anytime." Michelle responded as Jeff left for home.
After Jeff got home, he started going through the mail and getting rid of all the junk mail. There were the usual bills and letters from Krista's family and friends. There was one envelope that caught Jeff's eye and it was for Caitlyn.
"Caitlyn! You have mail." Jeff called out.
"From who dad?" Caitlyn asked as she walked into the kitchen.
"From University of North Carolina, Charlotte chapter." Jeff answered.
Caitlyn opened the letter and read it carefully. Krista came into the kitchen and stood next to Jeff waiting to hear what the letter stated. Caitlyn was good at keeping calm even when she was overly excited.
"Well, what does it say?" Krista asked.
"I got in!" Caitlyn told them. "I'm going UNC!"
"That's great sweetie!" Krista stated as she hugged her daughter.
"I'm sure your Uncle Matt will be just as proud as we are." Jeff stated.
"I hope so. Can I go over there and tell Uncle Matt and Aunt Michelle?" Caitlyn asked.
"Sure. Just be home for dinner." Krista stated as Caitlyn bolted out the door.
"We now have a college student!" Jeff stated.
"That we do. But we also have a Jr High student, 2 elementary school students and a toddler." Krista stated. "There is never a dull moment in this house."
Meanwhile, Caitlyn was heading over to Matt's house to tell them the good news. Michelle answered the door and couldn't believe how excited Caitlyn was. Matt made his way downstairs and hugged his oldest niece.
"It's so good to see you, Cat." Matt stated.
"It's good to see you too, Uncle Matt." Caitlyn responded. "I have some great news that I wanted to share with you."
"Ok. What's up?" Michelle asked.
"I just got a letter in the mail stating that I got accepted into UNC Charlotte!" Caitlyn exclaimed.
"That's great! Congratulations!" Matt responded as he hugged her.
"That is really great news. I'm sure Jeff and Krista must thrilled as well." Michelle stated.
"They are." Caitlyn stated.
After spending some time with Matt, Michelle and the kids, Caitlyn headed home for dinner. She text Justin to tell him about the letter, but didn't get a reply. Caitlyn just blew it off since it was dinner time. After dinner, she still hadn't heard from Justin, so she tried calling him. His phone went directly to voicemail, so she left him a quick message asking him to call or text her back.
The next week seemed to fly by for the Hardy family. It was now the day of Caitlyn and Brandon's graduation. Caitlyn still hadn't heard from Justin and she gave up. The graduation ceremony was set to start at 4pm on the football field.
"Please welcome the graduating class of 2018!" the principal stated. "We have a special guest speaker with us this evening. Please welcome, World Wrestling Entertainment's Shane McMahon."
"Thank you everyone. It is a great honor to be here tonight to speak to all of you. You all have come along way since your very first day of school. Each of you has achieved the honor of being a high school graduate. I would like to congratulate each and every one of you on this achievement. I am also pleased to present some scholarships here tonight. As I call out your name, please make your way up to the stage." Shane began his speech.
Jeff, Krista, Matt, and John were all shocked that Shane was the guest speaker for the graduation. Krista and John also knew that because they worked for the company, their children were not eligible for the scholarships, but little did they know, Shane changed the rules for this special occasion.
"The scholarship for business management is awarded to Caitlyn Hardy." Shane stated.
Krista and Jeff exchanged looks as they clapped for their daughter. The others couldn't believe it either.
"Did Shane change the rules for the scholarships?" Matt asked.
"He must have. I had no idea about this." Krista stated.
"The scholarship in Football goes to Brandon Summers." Shane stated.
"I hope he isn't playing favoritism to our kids." Jeff stated.
"Me too." John agreed.
"The scholarship for Engineering goes to Justin Erikson." Shane stated.
"Justin got one too. I didn't know he was going into Engineering." Krista commented.
"Where is Justin?" Jeff asked noticing that Justin didn't walk up to the stage.
Shane finished handing out the scholarships and the rest of the ceremony went on. Once everyone had crossed the stage and received their diplomas they took their seats for the end of the ceremony. Caitlyn was worried as to why Justin wasn't there. She looked around as best she could, but she didn't see his parents anywhere.
After the ceremony everyone headed over to Jeff and Krista's house to the party. Family, friends and co-workers were all at the house having a great time. Krista's parents were there as well. Krista could tell that something was bothering Caitlyn, but didn't want to ask questions in front of her friends. The party lasted well into the night.
After everyone had left to go home or to hotels, Jeff, Krista, Matt, John and Michelle started cleaning up the yard and the house. Caitlyn was in the living room cleaning when a news bulletin caught her eye.
"We are just getting word that a local high school graduate, Justin Erikson has been taken hostage in Iraq. We do not know all the details at this point. What we do know is that Justin enlisted in the US Army almost a year ago, but was allowed to remain in school until his 18th birthday. He was deployed out of North Carolina 3 weeks ago. We will keep you updated as we get information." the anchorman stated as Caitlyn stared at the TV in shock.
