Hi there! Yes, I was busy, with work and Jazz Show and graduation coming up, and it took me forever to write this chapter...probably the longest one I've ever written so far. I should be able to finish this story off in no time since I already wrote the last chapter to this story (this isn't it, btw) ;) So I hope you'll enjoy this chapter about Karena's last day in Los Angeles
*I do not own anything related to "Meet the Robinsons." Enjoy!* :)
"I can't believe you're leaving us," Tara cried as we hugged. "We'll definitely miss you working here."
"I'll miss you too," I replied. I was at Wendy's to collect my final paycheck before I move. I was greeted by Tara, who was my best friend at work. She was a sophomore in college, but we always hung out whenever possible if we're both off. Since she was going to be promoted to a manager's position, she gave me my paycheck today. I've always wondered how that was going to work, considering she's in college and going for an internship soon.
"So where are you going after today?" Tara asked me, and I shrugged.
"Out of this world," I replied with a smile.
"Ohmygosh, you're gonna kill yourself?" Tara exclaimed, and I cracked up laughing.
"Why would I want to kill myself when I have the best boyfriend in the galaxy?" I answered wtih my hands clapped together.
"Ooh...who's the guy?" Tara started flooding me with questions. "What's he like? What's his favorite color? Does he like baseball? Where's he from? Do you guys have a lot in common?"
"Tara, Tara, Tara..." I interrupted her with a lot of giggling. "One at a time! His name is Wilbur; he's very cocky, but caring and handsome; his favorite color's orange; he likes a sport called chargeball; he's from Todayland; and I've only known him for one month, so I don't know that much about him yet."
"Todayland?" Tara asked. "Wait, is his last name Robinson?"
"How did you know?" I asked. "Oh, wait...you've seen Meet the Robinsons?"
"Boy, yeah!" Tara answered. "I used to have the biggest crush on him! How in the world did you meet him when he's from a movie? Unless you went to Disneyland and actually met him." I laughed.
"No, I was actually warped into the movie and I ran into Wilbur," I answered.
"How is that possible?" Tara exclaimed.
"It all started when I moved into my apartment and bought a television set..."
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"...and we've been dating for one month," I finished telling my story to Tara as we approached a bench in the park.
"So did Obama get elected in the future?" Tara asked as we sat down.
"Oh please, enough with the politics," I complained, rolling my eyes.
"Okay, okay, yeesh! So is he coming to your graduation?" Tara asked.
"I believe so," I told her. "Just him and his parents." I took a deep breath before changing the subject. "So how is your schedule gonna work with you being a manager AND working an internship?"
"My internship is during the day," Tara explained. "I work and go to college at night."
"So you have no time to yourself?" I asked with a shocked face.
"Well, once in a while, I guess."
"Geez...I'd finish my education first," I said. "But it's your life, so I won't complain."
"That's what I like about you, Kar," Tara said with a smile. "I wish you luck in Todayland."
"Thanks, Tara," I replied, and then I felt my phone ringing in my leather jacket. "Hello?"
"Hey, Karena," my dad said into my ear. "Wilbur's here."
"Okay, I'll be over in a few minutes." I hung up and I got up off the bench. "I gotta go. I'm needed back home."
"I'll see you at graduation!" Tara said waving to me. I waved back and started the trip home on foot. I was tempted to go in the coffee shop near my apartment, but I decided I would show my boyfriend later. I walked with my head kind of facing down when I suddenly bumped into someone, and I fell on my buttom.
"Oh gee, I'm so sorry," I said with worry as I started to get up.
"It's fine, darling," said the voice, which belonged to a man, but it sounded familiar.
"Darling?" I said enraged. "No one calls me that except-" All of a sudden, I felt a finger on my lips.
"Karena. It's. Okay." I looked up to see Wilbur kneeling down with an eyebrow raised, but smiling at the same time. "You alright?"
"Yeah, thank you." Wilbur took my hand, and he helped me get up. "Are your parents here?"
"Yeah, they're inside," the raven-haired teenager replied. "Your dad wants to know what you want to eat."
"I'm in the mood for pizza right now," I answered as we walked into the apartment.
"So..." We were greeted by my dad's voice. "What's for dinner?"
"My girl says pizza," the cocky teen replied with enthusiasm.
"Now, Wilbur," my dad started to ask. "What do you like on your pizza?"
"Extra cheese and pepperoni," my boyfriend answered.
"I'll go ahead and place the order." My dad left the living room to call the pizza place.
"If you guys want anything to drink, there's pop in the fridge or you can help yourselves to water or milk," I told the Robinsons. "I'm gonna go get changed, considering it's 4:30...and I need to be at school at 6:00."
I walked to my bedroom and over to the closet where I found my dress and graduation gown. The dress I got for the occasion will cherish with me for the rest of my life. I didn't get it from a store; Franny gave it to me. She told me that it was her dress when she graduated high school in her world back in 2013, and if she had a daughter, she would have wanted to see her daughter wear it. Since she didn't have one, she gave me the dress, telling me that I was already welcomed in the family as a future daughter-in-law.
The dress was a kelly green color with sleeves up to my elbows, and it was decorated with silver and gold swirls. It was an off-the-shoulder dress, and when I spun, the skirt rose up, and I felt like a princess.
After I put on the dress, I curled the bottom of my hair, for the top of my hair was going to be covered in the cap along with my bangs. I do usually curl my hair casually for school and stuff, but not for tonight; tonight was going to be special. Not only did I put curls in my hair, but also some waves toward the top. I did not put my hair in a ponytail because I thought I'd look better with the hair down.
I then proceeded to do my makeup. I put a little foundation and powder on my face and then some blush on my cheeks. While putting on the blush, I heard knocking on the door, and I turned my head to acknowledge the knocking.
"Who is it?" I asked.
"Pizza's here, dear," I heard Franny calling through the door, and I got up off the chair. I figured I'd finish my makeup after dinner; after al, I didn't have that much left to do.
I was greeted in the living room with whistles from all three men and a hug from Franny. I blushed when Wilbur came over to hug me and kiss me on the cheek.
"That dress is perfect on you," Franny complimented me with a smile.
"You're such a beautiful flower," Wilbur chimed in, and I blushed as I walked toward the table. All of us grabbed plates as my dad gestured me to have the first slices of pizza. My dad and I had the taco pizza while Wilbur had pepperoni and his parents had the garbage pizza.
"Where did you get the dress, hun?" my dad asked me.
"It was mine when I graduated from high school," Franny answered. "Karena is already welcomed to the family as a future daughter-in-law, and since I don't have a daughter, I gave the dress to her."
"You wanted your girl to wear it, huh?" my dad asked.
"Yeah, but it's alright. Wilbur has brought me enough joy in the world."
"I hope you don't mind me asking," I replied. "But how old are you? Forty-one?"
"She's twenty-two!" Wilbur exclaimed before his mother gave him a glare.
"I'm actually forty-two as of March 3rd," Franny answered.
"How did you two meet?" I asked with interest.
"We met at the science fair," Cornelius explained.
"Back in 2007, correct?" I interrupted.
"Yes," Cornelius continued. "I was showing the judge, who would eventually be my foster mother, my science project: the memory scanner. My invention won first prize, and I started my job at InventCo."
"I was showing the judge my frogs, which weren't genetically enhanced at the time," Franny explained. "To my surprise, I got 2nd place at the fair. Just after I got my prize, my frogs escaped from the box, and so I had to chase them around the gym. Frankie, the lead musician, was the hardest to find. After a few minutes, I found him on Bud's head. Cornelius, or Lewis as he was called back then, asked about my frogs, and I told him that everyone thought I was crazy."
"But I told Franny that she was right, and we became friends," Cornelius finished.
"He asked me out sometime after he graduated from college," Franny explained.
"And we went out for three years before getting married," Cornelius finished. I glanced at my phone, and my eyes went wide open; it was 5:45! I had to be at school in 15 minutes!
"Excuse me, but I have to finish my face." I rushed off to the bathroom and quickly applied eyeshadow and lipstick. My eyeshadow was the color brown to bring my eyes out, and my lipstick was colored like a rose. I heard knocking on the door as I finished applying my lipstick.
"Karena, it's time to go!" the cocky teenager yelled through the door. He can be so impatient sometimes.
"Coming!" I yelled back, and I put on my graduation gown and cap. I was now ready to go after I put on my green shoes that matched the dress, and I looked in the mirror.
"Okay future, I'm ready for anything you throw at me."
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"Karena!"
"Rosie!" I hugged my best friend of fourteen years as I entered the auditorium. Rosie Copper really looked elegant with her blonde hair in a side bun and the pink eyeshadow to match her pink dress.
"Can you believe we're graduating in just fifty minutes?" Rosie asked with excitement.
"No way!" I replied. "And I'm moving tomorrow."
"Moving in with the beau, huh?" Rosie asked with a smirk.
"Oh I'm not ready for that yet," I replied. "His parents found an apartment for me, so I'll be moving into that."
"What did your dad say?"
"He was troubled at first, but he smiled at my decision...especially since he did talk with my bf."
"You think you're gonna marry him someday?" Rosie asked.
"I'm not even close to that point yet!" I answered with a laugh. "But his entire family thinks that I'll be his wife someday." I took a deep breath, changing the subject, but the principal started to give his 'thank you' speech before I could talk. We all sat down, eager to hear him talk about our lives from freshman year to graduation. Honestly, I was falling asleep toward the end of his speech until he yelled at us to get in our lines in alphabetical order. Since my last name started with an E, I was toward the front of the line, but since there were about 300 students in my class, I was to be in the 2nd row on the left side facing the stage.
We finally heard the "Pomp and Circumstance" music start playing from the band...well, what's left of it, anyway...and we started walking to our seats. I admit, I was a little nervous about my graduation, but when I saw the Robinsons in the audience giving me a thumbs up as I passed by, I calmed myself down and smiled. This was supposed to be the best day of my life, and there was no way I was going to let one minor nerve ruin it for me.
I reached my seat, and I had to wait for about five minutes before everybody reached their seats, which really killed my feet because I was in heels. I finally heard the line, "Graduates, you may be seated," after the music died out, and we all sat down, to my relief. The principal started his introduction speech, and...again, he talked about our start as kindergarteners and our finish as high school seniors and how life has changed between the years. When he was done talking, he introduced the top ten students of the class.
"Number 10: Drew Peterson...number 9: Elizabeth Kendall...number 8: Jessica Jones...number 7: Richard Nelson...number 6: Alex Sanders...number 5: Rosie Copper...number 4: Bonnie White...number 3: Martin Olsen...number 2: Lili Hansen...and number 1: Karena Edwards."
The ten of us rose out of our seats and walked up to the stage in that order. The audience applauded once I reached the stage and turned to face the graduates and the audience. Then Lili and I stayed while the other eight walked back to their seats, eager to listen to our speeches. Lili walked up to the podium and smiled as I took my seat next to the principal, listening to her speech.
"I'm normally not good at making speeches, but I am honored to talk to you tonight," Lili said as she took a deep breath. "Nothing is easy at first. When we were born, we had tried to identify our paretns by both their voices and their looks. When we started Pre-K or kindergarten, we tried to make at least one friend. As the years went on, we had to try a lot of new things: get good grades, make pizza, vacuum a rug, paint a wall, etc. I would like to say "kudas" to everybody, for everybody tried something and succeeded no matter how major it was or how long it took. Trying just one thing can make a difference to those surrounding you.
"We all have a weakness of some kind, whether it be too confident, very honest, always too early, or even overdoing something." Everyone laughed at this sentence as Lili continued. "Mine just happens to be that I'm very shy. But did it stop me from being here tonight? No. Did your weaknesses stop you guys from graduating high school? No, it sure didn't! We never worried about what our weaknesses were, and we just went about our days as normal teenagers. We may have needed help with a problem in Calculus or in Chemistry, but we were never down when it came to success. College is like a level up in a game; we continue our lives until we end the game, and we'll be victorious. We have just levelled up, graduates!
"I am Lili Hansen, and I was involved in the library club, environmental club, the peer squad, and the cheerleading squad. I will be attending California University to major in genetic engineering. I will now introduce our valedictorian, Karena Edwards. She was involved in the band, the choir, the color guard, the karate club, the library club, and the National Honor Society. She will be attending Todayland University to major in music education."
The audience and graduates applauded as Lili finished her speech, which I thought was pretty good. I stood up and walked to the podium as Lili shook hands with me, the principal, and the superintendent. Lili walked back to her seat, and I started my speech.
"I would like to start my speech with the words of Kim Possible, or actress Christy Carlson Romano when she graduated. As I stand before you tonight, I see the faces of friends, friends who have become an extended family. And, like all families, we have had our ups and downs. But we will rise above our fears and face the unknown road that lies ahead, knowing that it's not the end of the world, but only the beginning of the world.
"We have all lived in a world where we were told what was right and what was wrong, and we applied what we learned in our daily learning. We had limits on what we could eat or how long we could watch television or play video games, because our parents want us to learn what was best for us. When we were in grade school, we had cool prizes if we did something good or followed all the rules. We had free ice cream if you turned in your homework in on time.
"Now we live in a world where we make our own decisions, and where we decide what's best for ourselves. As Lili said in her speech, everyone in the world is successful in some kind of way. Now it's our job to show off your talent to the world to see what you're capable of. As a wise man once said to me, nothing is set in stone. You have to make the right choices, and keep moving forward. Thank you."
The audience and graduates applauded for a couple minutes as I shook hands with the principal and superintendent. As I walked back to my seat, I noticed that everyone was now on their feet and still clapping their hands together. Everyone sat down as I sat down, and the principal started talking again. I almost fell asleep when I felt my phone vibrate in my dress pocket. Since cell phones weren't allowed in a graduation ceremony, I let it be, and I resisted the temptation to unzip my gown; it would've been embarrassing anyway.
I almost fell asleep again when I heard names being called. I shot up wide awake as I saw movement in the front row; we were now getting our diplomas. The last person in the front row got back to his seat, and the front row sat down. My row got up and started to walk toward the stage.
"Caroline Elizabeth Banks...Edward Philippe Brown...Madison Carmen Brown...Elizabeth Jane Candy...Mary Jane Carlson...Rosalynn Georgia Copper...Henry James Daniels...Ronald Alexander Davidson..."
I walked out to the isle and took a deep breath as the principal prepared to call my name.
"Karena Michelle Edwards." I walked up the steps and walked over to the board president, who gave me my diploma. As the principal continued to call out names, I walked down the stairs to run into Wilbur, who had a bouquet of flowers in his hand and a message. We hugged, and I walked back to my seat. We were told to be seated when the last person approached his seat.
As the principal called out names of the last rows, I decided to look at the message that I got with the flowers.
That was a great speech you gave. From your dad, I am so blessed to see you grow into a young lady. I'm glad I got to know you as father and daughter, and I'm proud of you. I will dearly miss you, and I'll see you in heaven. From the Robinson family, thank you for entering our lives and helping Wilbur with his problems in the month that we've known each other. We all know you will influence him to be the person he will become in the future. Congratulations!
I smiled at the message as the very last graduate got back to her seat.
"Graduates, will you please rise?" We all stood up facing the stage. "It is my privilege to welcome you the Theodore Roosevelt High School Class of 2013."
All of us turned around to face the roaring audience and I beamed a smile while sheepishly trying to find my party. I finally found my dad and the Robinson group on my side of the bleachers, and the recessional music began. I stood patiently, waiting for my turn to leave the gymnasium. It took about five minutes before my row started to walk away. I walked back into teh auditorium and waited until the music stopped before walking out to meet my dad.
I walked back into the gym, and I was met by a pair of hands on my shoulders, to my surprise. I looked up into my boyfriend's eyes, and we fell into a kiss. Then all my classmates started to cheer around me, and we tossed our caps up in the air. My journey in Los Angeles, California was now complete.
And there you have it! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! R&R :)
