Twenty Three

Exams season had spread across the campus like a plague. Each and every student was affected by the affliction in their own way. A rampant fear that bordered on hysteria was implanted in both the upper and underclasspersons. No one was safe from the all encroaching dangers of finals.

For some, it meant whether or not they would get their degrees and move on to the next stage of their lives. For the rest, it meant that they could miss, stumble, and fall off that course and be labeled a failure by their families, friends, and peers for the rest of their lives. Yes, the once easy feeling that led up to spring break had broken like a levy and released a flood of anxieties and insecurities that deluged into the student body. A repeat of feelings that mirrored those felt at the beginning of their first semesters engulfed them all.

To some it was comfortable. The feeling of the upcoming litany of deadlines and due dates felt like home to them. They were the ones who had adjusted to their academics better than the others. The ones whose only conciliation at that point in time was the reminder that the end was in sight, and that all their hard work hadn't been for nothing.

Both Ed and Eddy were not a part of that crowd. However, their intellectual friend, Double D, was. The group sat at their usual spot in the dorm's lounge taking advantage of some last minute study time to cram. Eddy was sprawled out on the couch peering through squinted eyes at a piece of paper he gripped in outstretched hands. Ed, sat crunched up in what little space remained on the couch. He wore an easier expression as his paper sat off to the side.

Double D sat across from them, a small smile on his face as he read through the material before him. He was taking his time to tutor both Ed and Eddy in their remedial math class, a course he passed out of thanks to his test scores. To him this was a review. But refreshing his memory on this information excited him, and considering he had helped Marie through the same class a semester ago he had a better battle plan for aiding his friends.

At the thought of her, his smile widened as she filled his mind. It was a distraction, but he thought the group was due for a break anyway. Eddy seemed to agree with his sentiments as he tossed the paper away from himself with a huff.

"This is impossible!" he sighed in defeat.

A moment passed and without hearing any sort of reply from his friends he adjusted in his seat to look at them. Upon seeing the stupid smiles across both Ed and Double D's faces his frown deepened. "Oh gag me with a spoon!" he shouted out grabbing both their attentions. "You two are acting like a couple of little girls. I mean come on! We've got tests to worry about! That's way more important than our girlfriends." he grumbled.

"Eddy, you know as well as I that I don't have a girlfriend." Double D sighed, not out of disappointment. This was just a conversation he'd had more times than he cared to mention since the camping trip.

"Yeah, yeah." Eddy began, leaning back into the couch. "Tell that to Marie."

"If we were in anything more than a platonic relationship, she would be well aware." His friend reassured.

"I still can't believe Lumpy and May got together! I mean can you believe that?" Eddy bellowed out with a chuckle. "Came out of nowhere, I swear."

"She makes me happy." Ed shrugged.

It was both a simple and honest answer. Something that was so Ed. She made him happy, and he liked spending time around her. There was nothing else to it. Not ulterior motives or hidden agendas. More experienced people in the field would call it someone dating their best friend. Which was, after all, a sound strategy.

May had demonstrated time and time again her loyalty and how much she cared about him. This was all the proof he needed that she was the right one for him. It was a lot simpler than everyone else made it out to be in his opinion. Just date someone who makes you smile. Can't go wrong there.

"Tck." was Eddy's only reply.

"I for one am happy for Ed. I think he and May make a fantastic couple. The same can be said about you and Lee." Double D nodded.

"Yeah, what can I say? I'm a lucky guy." Eddy grinned. His façade cracked and the lovestruck sentiments shone from underneath.

Double D couldn't help himself but chuckle, "Who would have thought that after all this time not only would we have repaired our relationship with the Kankers, but that two of us would be romantically involved with two of them."

"It was in the stars." Ed replied.

"I betcha they coulda told us. You know as well as I do how tricky they are. This was probably all a part of their plan to begin with." Eddy crossed his arms.

"I sincerely doubt that." Double D replied, but he had to admit that deep down there was a part of him that had to wonder how much truth that theory held.

The Kanker Sisters sat in their usual spots in May and Lee's dorm room. May on her bed, Marie on Lee's, and the oldest sister sat in the chair at her desk. Each had their legs outstretched in front of them, and each admired and touched up the nail polish they had just applied.

It was a deserved moment away each of them had earned after all the studying and test prep they had undergone. The three of them had put the time in and were awaiting the tests with a sort of confident anxiety. Lee looked at her two sisters with a sense of acute pride and accomplishment. It was only a year ago when she was riding them about getting their grades up for college, and only a handful of months since both of them struggled to come to terms with the plan she had worked so hard to see through.

They weren't going to be statistics. They weren't going to be what was expected of them, or what everyone whispered about them when they had their backs turned. No, they were going to make something of themselves, and Lee Kanker was going to make damn sure of it. No more trailer parks, no more hungry nights, no more cockroaches, and no more lack of central heating and air. They deserved better than that, and even after all this time, after all these years of Lee protecting them, guiding them, and trying to keep them safe, Lee knew she deserved better.

She had raised her sisters, made sure they were tough enough to survive on their own, and made damn sure that was an event that would never happen. They were going to be together. and have each other's backs. Always.

Which meant that they had to be with her through this process, and even though she was dragging them along kicking and screaming, dangling carrots in their faces, both of them had found their own ways. They wanted to be here, and that was everything Lee could have asked for.

That coupled with her new boyfriend. Chasing after both him and his friends had been the perfect excuse to get her sisters to tag along with her. There was no way in hell that any of them would have let the trio slip through their fingers. Not after everything. Every harsh word shared from both sides, every high and low moment, every chase through the alley or woods back in Peach Creek, all of it.

Who could really tell when it had started? When it transitioned from something to pass the time to actual infatuation. Each sister held that closely guarded secret deep in their heart. A passing glance, a demonstration of kindness, or even an attraction born out of mutual frustration. Lee did love a challenge. After all, anything worth having and holding onto in this world was always something you had to fight for. She knew that better than most.

When it had all started it was a distraction. Something to occupy her thoughts and look forward to as she fought for her and her sisters' lives. But at some point, it changed. Her attraction to Eddy, her love, altered her path. She didn't think any of them would be dating an Ed and given her and Eddy's past she would have lumped her chances as slim to none.

But she was. They all were. Her, her sisters, and their Eds. Together and happy. If she was the sappy type, she would have contributed it to some sort of cosmic intervention. As if it was always meant to be. The Eds and Kankers. Destiny. A love story like no other. She would never have admitted it. Not even to Eddy, the man she'd shared so much with, but she liked the sound of that. In her older days, when she was more cynical and angry, she never would have believed in soulmates or any of that mumbo jumbo. But as she sat with her sisters who meant more to her than anything, talking about the boys who meant more to them than anything, continuing their educations and taking the steps to make something more out of themselves, she figured maybe it was supposed to have worked out like this all along. And that was fine by her. Maybe there was something to that destiny crap.