Calvin finished his reading and the classroom broke into a smattering round of applause. And Calvin,with all the humility he could muster, bowed repeatedly with much extravagance and flamboyance. He turned his paper in to the teacher, who complemented him on his well written story and accepted the paper for final grading.
As Calvin returned to his seat, he reflected on the assignment. The class had been assigned to write a short story, given complete liberty as to what to write about. At first, Calvin had been frustrated by the project – not only because of the assignment itself, but also because of being able to write anything at all – at least when they were given a subject to write about, he had an idea to go with, so he grumbled about it on the bus ride home. Bust as he and Susie disembarked at the bus stop, a mouse dashed out of the grass and scurried across the sidewalk in front of them. That single incident reminded Calvin of Susie and his brief experience in the Beast Wars. And then it struck him – if that wouldn't make for a good story, nothing would.
While he didn't use his or Susie's real names, he recorded the events as accurately as he could recall. In the end he was quite pleased with the result. (Along with the fact that Hobbes didn't have to write this one for him) And if the reactions of the class and teacher were anything to go by, he was almost guaranteed a good grade.
Soon enough, the bell rang, signaling the end of school. As Calvin trotted down the hallway, Susie cantered up beside him. "Hey Calvin," she said. "I really liked your story!"
He turned to look at her. "Oh,... uh, thanks." he replied.
"How'd you come up with it?" she asked.
Calvin rubbed the back of his head, nervously. "... I dunno, it just sort of... came to me."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Sort of like how a Dread Gozaar is drawn to the putrid plague moss fens of Amnekost-Seven!"
"You're so weird." Susie sighed, shoving his shoulder, gently.
Calvin couldn't help but smile at the girl. Whether she realized it or not, her experience in their little escapade had changed her. Before, Susie would be driven away by the slightest hint of Calvin's weirdness; now she simply rolled her eyes and shrugged it off. It also appeared that she had overcome her fear of rats – though Calvin couldn't really confirm this; as far as she knew, Susie had never revealed this fear to him.
"It is strange, though." Susie amended.
"What's that?" Calvin hummed, curiously.
Susie looked to be in deep thought for a moment before answering. "When you were telling the story, it almost seemed... well... familiar... like I knew what was going to happen next."
Calvin felt a slight moment of panic – had she recovered her memories?
She stood there puzzling for a moment more, then finally shook her head in frustration. "I really can't explain it – I just don't know why it seemed so familiar."
Calvin breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, life's full of mysteries, isn't it?"
"... I guess." Susie breathed, softly.
Calvin was antsy, wanting to end this before it got out of hand. "Well,... I guess I'll see you next week, then!"
The comment snapped Susie back to reality. "Huh? Oh! Yeah, I'll... see ya!" she waved to him as he dashed away.
Calvin was feeling quite chipper as he walked into his house – he was doing well in school, Susie was getting along with him and Hobbes hadn't even tried to pounce on him when he came home. Yep, things were going swell.
As he came into the house, Calvin heard voices coming from the kitchen, talking anxiously. Curious, he rushed in and saw his mom seated at the table. "Mom? What's going on?" he asked. Then his gaze turned and he saw who else was in the room. "Dad? What are you doing home?"
His parents turned to look at him. They cast cursory glances at each other, than back at him. Finally, his dad spoke up. "Oh Calvin, you're home... Come here, son. We've,... we've got some big news."
Calvin was morose. He sat on a swing in the park, the events that had transpired yesterday replaying in his head over and over. Why now? Why when things were going so well did this have to happen? He was so caught up in these miserable thoughts that he didn't notice someone calling to him.
"Calvin!" the voice called, urgently.
Calvin stiffly turned his head to see who was calling him. "Hey Susie." he said, lifelessly.
"Jeez, who died?" Susie quipped, noticing his dower expression. She took the swing next to him, waiting for a reply.
Calvin sat for a moment. He in no way wanted to discuss what was troubling him – as though this were a dream he could still wake up from and telling her would only make the situation real. Still, if not from him, she would only find out from someone else... might as well get it over with. "My dad was offered a new position." he said in a dull tone.
Susie looked at him perplexedly. "Well, that's good... isn't it?"
He turned to her with a profuse expression of sadness. "We're moving." he flatly stated, causing Susie's eyebrows to rise. " – to England."
Susie's mouth fell open at the announcement. Recovering quickly, she replied. "Oh,... well,... that's um..."
"Yeah." Calvin grunted, looking at the ground.
Susie shifted uncomfortably on her swing. "So uh,... how long... when is... er..."
"End of the month." Calvin croaked.
"Wow, that's... really soon."
An uncomfortable silence descended on the two then. Both had so much they wanted to say, and neither knew how to say it. Ultimately, they both ended up simply gazing out across the the park – savoring what little time together they had left.
Susie walked into her house with stiff, robotic movements. Her eyes downcast, she plodded across the living room, giving no heed to her mother as she called to her. She made her way incrementally up the stairs to her bedroom where she cast herself on her bed, hugging her pillow tight to her chest and letting her woes and tears seep out.
She remained there for a good long while; her body convulsing as she sobbed. In time, she felt a weight depress on the side of her bed while a light pressure rested on her shoulder. "Susie..." she heard her mother's voice above her. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"
Susie turned to see her mother's face lined with sympathy, looking at her daughter with an expression of concern and worry. Susie wrapped her arms around her mother and buried her face into her neck. She held her mother like a lifeline, crying and sobbing all the while. Somehow, amidst the wails tears, Susie was able to convey what had happened.
"Oh honey, I'm so sorry that your little friend is moving away." she squeezed her daughter consolingly. "It's not the end of the world, you know."
"I know." Susie sniffled. "But why did this have to happen now? I just got to be friends with him and now he's moving... It's so unfair!"
"Oh, it'll be alright." her mother said as she stroked her back. "You'll still be able to write each other, and make phone calls and – "
"But I'll never see him again!" Susie moaned. "And he'll just end up making new friends and probably meet some snotty British girl with some prissy accent, and, and..."
Her mother pulled her back, looking at her in surprise. Her mouth then melted into a soft smile. "Is that what this is about?" she said with a laugh.
"Wh,... what?" she squinted at the older woman. "What do you mean?"
"Susie, it's obvious you have a crush on this boy." she stated matter-of-factly. "And now that he's going away, you feel as if you're losing him."
"I might as well be." she morosely countered, not even trying to dispute her mother's claim. "Long distance relationships never work."
The woman embraced her daughter once again, trying to soothe the ache she felt. "Susie," she said, softly. "Let me tell you something."
Before long, the month had come to an end, and moving day was at hand. Calvin sullenly watched from his window as his parents moved about frantically – packing things into the car, getting ready for the trip to their new home.
He blew out an irate sigh, glaring spitefully at the vehicle; as if he could eradicate it with his scorn, thereby annulling the move.
Hobbes placed a consoling paw on his shoulder. Calvin looked at his best friend in all the world; though everything else would be left behind, Hobbes would be with him always. And that one constant in this turmoil of change would at least make the ordeal a little less terrible.
Behind them, the door opened. "Come on, Calvin." said the voice of his mother. "It's time to go."
"I don't wanna go." the child grumbled, bitterly.
"It's a bit too late for that." his mom replied. "C'mon, get your things out to the car!"
Begrudgingly, Calvin gathered up the last few of his possessions. Pausing for a moment to get one last, long look at his room, soaking up all the memories he had made there. Then, at length, he turned and slowly trudged down after his mother.
"Stupid move." he snarled under his breath. "Why couldn't dad get transferred to somewhere in the same state? In the same country, even! Why, of all places, did it have to be England?"
"Oh, cheer up, Calvin." his mom admonished. "Once we're there, I'm sure you'll grow to love it! You know, my grandfather was British – he came from a place called Little Hangleton."
"Yeah, and he left Little Hangleton and came here!" Calvin countered. "Doesn't do a lot for your argument!"
His mom sighed heavily.
As Calvin got his things stashed away, he turned to see an unexpected figure behind him. "Susie?"
The girl gave a bleary smile. "Didn't think you could get away without saying goodbye, did you?"
Calvin replied with a mirthless chuckle. "Never." He closed the car door and strode over to Susie.
Susie took a long look at the packed vehicle. "So,... this is it, then?"
"... Yeah."
She rubbed the back of her neck, sheepishly. "Calvin, I... I'm gonna miss you."
"... I'll miss you, too." he said, heavily. He held out his hand to shake, but Susie did something that surprised him. She rushed forward, and wrapped her arms around him. Calvin was shocked at first, but after the initial surprise wore off, he returned the embrace.
"You'll keep in touch, won't you?" Susie murmured softly.
"Of course." he replied.
"Promise me you'll write as soon as you get there!"
"I will... I promise." Calvin answered, holding her tighter.
From behind them came the sound of a car honking. "Calvin, let's go!" Calvin's dad called.
Reluctantly, Calvin broke out of the hug with a soft "Goodbye." and ambled into the car. As the vehicle rolled away, Calvin gazed out the back window, keeping his eye on Susie as she grew smaller and smaller. When at last he could no longer see her, he held his face in his palms as tears stung in his eyes. He would remain in this sullen silence through the remainder of the trip.
Susie watched the car as it pulled away. A pair of tears rolled down her cheeks as the vehicle finally disappeared from sight. She continued staring at the spot where they had vanished, as though watching that spot would somehow make them come back.
As she stood there, her thoughts traveled back to couple weeks earlier. The conversation she had with her mother was brought to mind.
"Have I ever told you how your father and I met?" her mother asked.
She sniffed. "You... said you met at a new year's party."
"Yes, but what I haven't told you is he didn't live in my hometown."
"He... didn't?"
"No. He was only there on vacation – visiting relatives, I believe. But he lived on the other side of the country.
"Now we had spent the whole night talking and we both felt we would like to know each other better. So we exchanged phone numbers and mailing addresses. The point is, just because we lived so far away from each other didn't mean we couldn't keep in touch."
"Yeah, but you at least lived on the same continent." Susie countered. "There'll be an entire
ocean separating us!"
"Oh sweetheart." her mother placed her arm around her shoulder. "A little thing like distance doesn't matter. I'm not saying that you two will suddenly meet up again and fall in love, but if you really do care about each other, then you should be able to keep in touch – no matter what."
"No matter what." Susie repeated as she blinked her tears away. She gazed out at the spot where the car had vanished. "This is not over, Calvin Mitchell." she said. "Whatever it takes – no matter how long, I will see you again!... I promise you that!"
A/N: So now you know the whole story.
Anyway, I'm thinking I'll give it another week or so before I make the final decision for what my next story will be. So this is your last chance to cast your vote for what you want to see next.
Also, I'm thinking about revisiting some of the chapters of The Best Seven Years – particularly the earlier ones – bringing them up to par with the rest of the other chapters and make them more compliant with In Love And War.
So for now, this is Blu Taiger saying see yez!
