Doubling

"Alright people," Ashton said, standing in front of her closet door with two dresses in her hands. "These are my final options for my graduation outfit."

"Yeah, after she narrowed it down from about fifty last night," Emma scoffed from her bed.

Ashton rolled her eyes at her twin. "So what do you guys think? Which one should I wear?"
"Hmm," Clarissa said, looking up from her calculus textbook. "The one on the right definitely has potential with the right accessories, but the one on the left has such a cute pattern."
"I know!" Ashton nodded. "That's the dilemma! Quincy, what do you think?"
Quincy looked up from his Pearpad he was scrolling along on as he sat at the foot of Emma's bed. "They're both blue," he said, confused. "I don't really see the difference."
"That's what I told her last night!" Emma said. "Thank you, Quincy."

"Oh he's just agreeing with you because you're dating," Ashton scoffed.

"So?" Emma shrugged.

"Look, will you people just help me with my dress situation?" Ashton asked. "Graduation is in two and a half weeks and-"

Just then the twins' bedroom door slammed open and the girls' fourteen-year old brother, Tyler, stepped in.

"Can you knock?" Emma snapped.

"Yeah, but I don't want to, so I don't," Tyler grinned.

"What do you want?" Ashton asked, rolling her eyes. "Unless you're going to help me figure out what to wear for graduation, get out."
"I was just sizing this place up," Tyler said as he looked around. "Because once you two finally move out of here after you graduate, I'm turning this place into a training room. I'm going to put up a basketball hoop, get some weights, a nice stereo system-"

"Mom and dad aren't going to let you turn our room into some gross training room," Ashton said, crossing her arms. "When Jason moved out they still kept his room set up."
"Yeah, but with you all gone, I'm going to be their last kid at home," Tyler grinned. "And they're going to be so saddened by that that I'll be able to get whatever I want out of them. I'm going to be living the sweet life for the next four years here."

"Dude, get out of here before I tell mom who ate her Bolivian bacon last week," Emma said.

"Later!" Tyler said at once, turning and running out of the room.

"Huey and Kirby have started doing the same thing with my room too," Quincy chuckled. "They have a list of things they're going to turn it into. So far they have rock gym, coffee bar, sauna and recording studio."
"Recording studio?" Clarissa frowned.

"Yeah, they have this crazy idea of coming out with some rap song and making it big," Quincy said, shaking his head.

"Thank God I'm an only child," Clarissa chuckled. "My parents will probably never do anything with my room. Though I have the feeling my mom might use my closet once I'm gone."

"Hey!" Quincy suddenly exclaimed, looking down at his Pearpad. "Mr. Thompson just posted the grades of our last physics exam!"

"He did?" Ashton cried, dropping both her dresses and rushing over to her laptop as Clarissa grabbed her own computer.

"Wow, I can't believe you guys are still getting this crazy over your grades," Emma said as she watched the other three. "We have two weeks left! Who cares about any of this chiz now? It's not like teachers are going to fail you at the last minute. They want you out of the school as much as anybody."
"Not Mr. Thompson," Quincy said. "He's notorious for being extra hard on seniors to keep them from slacking. Do you know how many people never graduated because of his class?"

"Yeah, didn't you listen to his lecture last week?" Ashton nodded. "He said these next couple of weeks he's really going to push us. That's why I studied for days for this last test. Yes! I got a 92!"

"Nice," Quincy grinned. "I got an 86."

"94!" Clarissa beamed.

"How about you, Em?" Ashton asked her sister.

"Um, hold on," Emma said, picking her own laptop. "Wait…so-So Thompson actually fails seniors? Even when graduation is just weeks away?"

"Yeah, I know, it's totally insane," Clarissa nodded. "But I'm sure you did fine, Emma."

"Yeah," Quincy said, putting an arm around her. "I know physics isn't your best subject but you'll still get through this class."

"You always come through in the end," Ashton added.

"Yeah, well, not this time," Emma mumbled, staring at her computer screen. "I-I bombed this exam."
"W-What?" Quincy frowned.

"I got a 56," Emma sighed. "Which brings my average down to a D minus in the class."
"That-That's still passing," Clarissa offered helpfully. "And that's all you need to do right? I mean you already have that great track scholarship from Oregon."
"Yeah, but I don't get that scholarship if I don't graduate," Emma pointed out. "And by the looks of this physics grade, I'm not going to."

"Hey, don't say that," Quincy said. "You can still pass physics."

"How? There's still one more test and we all know I'll do just as bad on that one as I did this one," Emma said.

"Not if you really study!" Ashton said. "Come on Emma, we'll all help you, won't we guy?"
"Of course," Clarissa nodded.

"Yeah, Em, you just can't give up," Quincy told her. "It's like one of your track meets! This is the final sprint and you can't slow down, no matter how many of those…what are they called again? Those things you jump over?"

"Hurdles?" Emma replied.

"Right!" Quincy nodded. "No matter how many hurdles you have left in front of you."

"Yeah, but I'm actually a decent runner," Emma pointed out. "There's absolutely no hope for me with physics."

"Emma," Quincy sighed, hating to see his girlfriend like this. "That's not-"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Emma said firmly, getting to her feet, grabbing her headphones and sneakers. "I'm going for a run."

….

"How's Emma doing?" Clarissa asked Ashton the next day as they stood at their lockers with Quincy. "I tried calling her a million times after I got home last night and she didn't answer."

"Same here," Quincy nodded. "I'm really worried."

"Me too," Ashton sighed. "I've never seen her like this! After she got back from her run, she wouldn't talk to anybody and just shut herself in our room all night."

"Guys, we have to make sure she graduates," Quincy said. "I'll stay up all night studying with her until that last physics exam if I have to!"

"Isn't your dad really good at physics?" Clarissa said to Ashton. "Can't he help Emma too?"

"I don't think Emma wants to tell our parents about this," Ashton replied. "Especially our dad. He's been going on and on about our graduation for ages. I don't think she wants him to be all disappointed."

"Too bad Jason isn't home from college yet," Quincy said. "He's a physics wiz too and Emma wouldn't have to worry about him being-"

"Well, now it's official," Emma said heavily, turning the corner and joining her friends. She held up a piece of paper. "I just spent my last two classes in the principal's office. He actually confirmed that if I don't pass physics I won't get to graduate. And he's making me get this form signed by a parent so they're 'aware of my current situation'."

"Have mom sign it," Ashton said at once. "She-She'll understand. And she'll know how to break the news to dad."

Emma didn't reply.

"Listen," Quincy said, putting his arms on her shoulders. "Emma, you're going to graduate with us. We're all going to make sure of that. I mean, you think I'm going to enjoy graduating without my girlfriend, who I love,up there with me?"

"Yeah, and I don't want to graduate without my best friend," Clarissa nodded.

"And you're my sister," Ashton said, giving her twin a warm smile. "Even if you annoy me constantly, I-I'd hate it if you weren't there next to me during one of the most important days of our life."

"See?" Quincy said. "You have all of us. The physics test is in six days, and I know if you really put your mind to it and study and just don't get discouraged, you can pass this test and pass the class and graduate with all of us."

Emma gave him a small smile. "You really think I can cram enough physics junk in my brain to actually pass?"

"Definitely," Quincy nodded, leaning down to give her a quick kiss. "And who knows? You might do more than pass."
"Let's not get carried away," Emma said. She looked down at the form in her hand. "Now the hard part though….telling my parents."

"Tyler, no!" Sam said firmly as she slid a tray of cookies out of the oven. "You can't turn your sisters' room into a gym once they leave for college!"

"Why not?" Tyler moaned.

"Because they're still going to use it when they visit," Freddie said. "In the summers, on school breaks-"

"Well then can I turn Jason's room into a gym?" Tyler asked. "He hardly even comes home anymore! And by doing that, maybe it will even freak him out enough for him to actually start visiting more."

"Hmmm," Sam said thoughtfully. "Actually, you might be onto something-"

"No!" Freddie said, rolling his eyes. "No one is turning anybody's room into anything!"

"Fine!" Tyler moaned, stomping out of the kitchen.

"Wow," Carly chuckled, reaching over and helping herself to a cookie. "The girls haven't even graduated yet and he already wants their room?"

"Eh, I think it's just his way of coping with them leaving," Sam shrugged. "He might not want to show it, but he'll miss them."

"It's so weird to think about all of this," Carly sighed. "In just two weeks our kids will be walking across that stage getting their diplomas. And then soon they'll be off to college and then before we know it, they're only going to be calling us a few times a year."

"Nah, they'll still call when they need stuff," Freddie chuckled. "I mean Jason calls at least three times a week."

"I guess," Carly said. "I just can't believe I'm gonna have an empty nest once Clarissa leaves."

"Hey, you can always share custody of Tyler," Sam grinned.

"Thanks," Carly laughed. "I just might take you up on that." She got to her feet. "Anyway, I've got to go home and start cleaning out our guest room. My dad and granddad are both flying in next week for the graduation."

"See you," Freddie said.

"You know, that's gonna be us in four years," Sam sighed. "Once Tyler graduates we're gonna have that empty nest too."

"I know," Freddie said. "It sucks that kids have to grow up, doesn't it?"

"Someone really should find a way to put a stop to it," Sam grinned. "I mean, what are you and I going to do here with no kids around anymore?"

"Well," Freddie said, stepping over to his wife. "We could take a trip, redo the house, pick up some new hobbies, or…" He leaned down, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. "We can finally have some 'us' time."

"That does sound more entertaining than some new hobby," Sam chuckled. "Hey…I think Tyler's is out back shooting hoops. Want to go upstairs and have some 'us' time now?"

"In the middle of the day?" Freddie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Eh, I've got nothing else to do," Sam shrugged.

"Well in that case," Freddie said, leaning down to kiss her again.

The two pulled apart, though, as they heard their front door slam open.

"And that's the end of that, I guess," Freddie sighed. "Rain check?"

"Definitely," Sam smirked as their daughters walked into the kitchen.

"Sweet, cookies," Ashton said, helping herself to one.

"How was school?" Freddie asked. "Did you get anymore graduation information? I still need to know if I'm allowed to bring this amazing banner I'm working on."

"I'm not letting you bring that," Sam said.

"Oh come on!" Freddie frowned. "It's cool!"
"You're going to embarrass the chiz out of them!"

"I'm not embarrassing!"

"Aw, baby," Sam chuckled, giving him a quick kiss on his cheek. "It's cute how after all this time you can still think that."

She turned to the twins. "Oh, and good news! Uncle Carmine is making parole this weekend. That means he'll be able to come to your graduation!"

"That-That's great," Ashton said, quickly glancing at her sister. "Oh, daddy? Do you think you could possibly help me out with something?"
"Sure, sweetie," Freddie nodded. "What is it?"
"Um…a computer thing," Ashton said.

"What kind of computer thing?"

"I don't know, just-just come look at it!" Ashton said, taking her father's hand and dragging him out of the room, leaving Emma and Sam alone in the kitchen.

"So," Sam said. "You get your graduation tickets on Friday, right? Let's see, we're going to need a few extra. Jason's bringing Eileen and with Uncle Carmine and your cousin Chaz that means we'll need-"

"Mom?" Emma said suddenly, taking a deep breath. "Can-Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course," Sam said, sitting down at the table across from Emma. "What's up?"
"Okay…first-first you have to promise that you won't hate me or yell," Emma started.
"I'll promise to the first part of that," Sam said slowly. "Is everything okay?"

"Um…well," Emma started. "I-It turns out-I-um…"

"Emma," Sam said gently. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it can't be that bad. Just tell me and we'll figure it out and-"

"I might not be graduating," Emma blurted out.

Sam's eyes widened. "What?"

"Yeah, um, I-It turns out," Emma said, taking the form she had gotten from the principal. "If I don't pass physics, which, you know, isn't exactly my best class, I-I won't graduate."

"I-Emma!" Sam moaned. "Emma, how-how are you just finding this out now? Graduation is two weeks away!"

"Well I didn't know they actually fail seniors!" Emma defended. "What kind of messed up system is that?"

"Emma, if you don't graduate, you're going to lose your track scholarship!" Sam said.

"I know that!" Emma cried. "I'm sorry, okay! I-I screwed up! I was stupid and irresponsible and now I ruined my entire future, I get it!"

Sam sighed. "You're not stupid, Em."

"I want to graduate with Ashton and Clarissa and Quincy," Emma sniffed.

"I know you do," Sam said, put a comforting arm around her.

"I was so excited to go to college too," Emma continued as a tear rolled down her face. "I was going to get to run with some of the best athletes and-and Quincy even decided to go Oregon with me so we'd be together. And-And I was going to get to live in a dorm and take classes that don't sound like they'd bore you to death and all this other stuff."

"I know," Sam said softly. "I know…Look, I-I get it. School has never exactly been your strong suit. And-And I know it sucks seeing everybody else around you getting everything so easily when you just can't seem to wrap you head around it."
"That's how I feel in physics!" Emma nodded. "I hate it! Ashton and Clarissa and Quincy all get it right away and I can barely memorize a formula."

"It's rough," Sam agreed. "But…But unfortunately, honey, as useless and dumb as you might think physics is, you-you have to get through it. That was always my biggest problem when I was in school. If I couldn't understand something I wouldn't ask for help. I'd just stop thinking and caring about it. But it would always come back to bite me in the end."

Emma continued to stare down at her lap.

Sam sighed. "Is there any way that you can pass this class still? Extra credit, homework…anything?"
"Yeah, actually, I-I still have one last test," Emma nodded. "And if I can manage to pass that, I-I can pass the class. Quincy and Clarissa and Ashton all said they'd help me, but-"

"Well then you're going to pass that test," Sam said firmly. "And you're going to graduate. You'll stay up till two in the morning studying until the test if you have to! Quince, Clarissa and Ashton are all pretty decent at physics and your dad was obnoxiously good at it too! Heck Jason basically teaches physics at Cal Tech now; he'll help you too when he gets into town. And I'll-Okay, I-I won't be much help to you with the actual physics part but-but I'll help you out in any other way I can."

"You think I can actually pull this off?" Emma asked, looking up at her mother.

"Em, I've seen you pull off some pretty tough stuff in your life," Sam told her. "Because you're a real tough girl. This physics test…I know you'll destroy it. You know, in-in a good way."

Emma nodded. "I hope you're right. And-And I hope daddy feels the same way."

"Don't worry about your dad," Sam assured her. "I'll talk to him."

…..

"She's not going to graduate?" Freddie exclaimed later that evening as him and Sam sat up in their room. "This is horrible! This is a disaster!"

"Baby, you need to calm down and-"

"Calm down?" Freddie repeated. "Sam, I can't calm down! You just told me my daughter isn't graduating high school!"

"Might be!" Sam hissed. "I said she might not be graduating."
"Oh, well that makes it so much better!" Freddie snapped. "Where is she? I'm going to go have a long talk with her about this!"
"She's over at Quincy's," Sam replied.

"Quincy's?" Freddie stuttered. "Well there it is! I knew no good would come from her having a boyfriend! You know what? I'm going over there and having a few words with him too while I'm-"

"She's studying over there!" Sam said.

"Oh, right, she's studying," Freddie scoffed. "That's not the oldest trick in the-"

"No, Freddie, she's really studying, okay!" Sam said. "Look, she's real upset about this. You think she wants to give up graduating and getting that track scholarship she worked so hard for? She's already beaten herself up and doesn't need you to do it too."

Freddie didn't reply.

"Yeah…she-she should've been keeping up in physics more," Sam said. "And yes, she-she shouldn't have had such a lax attitude about school this year. But-But that's all in the past now. What Emma needs to worry about now is passing her last physics test so she can pass her class and graduate, and we need to make sure she does that!"

Freddie sighed. "So…So if she passes this test…she graduates?"

Sam nodded.

"Quincy, Ashton and Clarissa are all willing to help her," she said. "But, you know, I bet she could always use one extra tutor."

Suddenly they heard their front door open downstairs.

"That Emma?" Freddie asked softly.

"Probably," Sam replied.

Freddie got to his feet. "Don't wait up for me."

He headed downstairs where he saw the kitchen light was on. He stepped into the room and saw Emma's textbook open at the table.

"Dad?" Emma said as she turned around from grabbing a soda from the fridge. "You're still up?"

"Yeah, you know, couldn't sleep," Freddie said. He picked up Emma's textbook. "So…you doing some late night studying?"

"Um, yeah, I just got back from Quincy's," Emma nodded. "We got through one chapter for my test there but then his dad started cutting his toenails in the middle of the living room and it got kind of distracting so I left."

"Ah," Freddie said. "Gibby toenails flying at your face could do that."
Emma looked down at her feet. "Did mom tell you?"

Freddie stepped over and wrapped his arms around her. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry," Emma mumbled. "I know, this is a huge mess and-"

"Hey," Freddie said gently. "Let's not worry about that now. The only thing we need to worry about right now is making sure you pass that physics test. Now, I don't know if you know this about your old man, but I was something of a physics guru in high school. So if you're in the mood for getting a little more studying in tonight, I wouldn't mind lending a hand."
"Really?" Emma said. "That'd be great. I was just about to start another chapter."

"Perfect," Freddie said, clapping his hands together. "What's the chapter about?"
"Um, something called torque," Emma replied.

"Well you're in luck," Freddie smiled. "Because I'm a real torque fanatic."

…..

"Well," Emma said as she leaned against her locker several days later. "This is it. In four minutes I have to take the most important test of my life. The test that will determine if I get to graduate and go on to actually have a future…or if I'm just gonna spend the rest of my life as some chump who couldn't even finish high school."

"You're going to do great," Quincy assured her, leaning down to give her a quick kiss. "You must've studied a combined sixty hours for this test. You know every formula, every definition…everything. You're going to do fine."
"But what if-"

"Don't think about the 'what if'," Quincy said firmly. "Just focus on this test."
Emma nodded, taking a deep breath.

"I know you can do it," Quincy told her, flashing her a smile. "You're the most incredible girl I know. No stupid test is going to get in your way."

…..

"What do you mean you're only here for a week?" Sam frowned as she on the couch with her oldest son.

"Mom, I have an internship I have to get back to in California," Jason said. "I told you, I'm working with a robotics company to design-"

"Well can't you do that in Seattle?" Sam groaned. "Jeez, it's like you don't even live here anymore!"

"But I don't live here anymore," Jason pointed out. "I have my own place in California, remember?"
"Well rub it in, why don't you?" Sam snapped. "That's it! I'm letting Tyler turn your old room into a gym!"

"Sweet!" Tyler beamed, looking up from the video game him and Freddie were playing.

"Sam…" Freddie said rolling his eyes.

"Well our son is leaving us to be successful!" Sam snapped. "What am I supposed to do? Encourage it?"

"You know the company is owned by Michael Fouter's son," Jason grinned.

"Michael Fouter?" Sam gasped. "You mean the guy who-"

"-Invented the pork rind? That's right," Jason nodded.

"Oh my God…" Sam said. "My son's going to be working for someone descended from royalty! Jason, you think you can hook me up with samples or-"

"Way ahead of you mom," Jason said, grabbing his backpack and pulling out a large bag of pork rinds. "They have tons of these things in the lobby, the break room, the bathroom…"

"Proud of you, kid," Sam said happily, opening the bag.

Just then the front door opened and Emma and Ashton ran into the house.

"Hey!" Freddie said, pausing the game. "How'd your test go?"

"Mr. Thompson is posting the grades online any minute now," Ashton said anxiously, grabbing her Pearpad from the coffee table.

"I remember Mr. Thompson," Jason commented. "That guy was real tough. He made us do work until the final bell on our last day of school while every other teacher just let us goof around."

"How did it go for you, Em?" Sam asked, looking over at her daughter, who was nervously fiddling with the end of her shirt.

"I-Good," Emma replied. "I-I don't really want to jinx it, though."

"Are the grades up yet?" Clarissa asked as her and Quincy burst through the door.

"Nope," Ashton sighed. "Not yet."

"So these are your last grades of high school, huh?" Freddie said.

"Yeah, after that, everything is set for graduation," Clarissa nodded.

Quincy stepped over to Emma, giving her an encouraging smile before taking her hand silently.

"Mr. Thompson is a super fast grader, at least," Ashton said, refreshing her Pearpad screen once more. "I think it's because he doesn't have a life outside of school. I mean how else can you explain-Oh! Oh, they're up! The grades are up!"

She quickly thrust the Pearpad in her twin's hands. "Go ahead, you can check first, Em."

"Alright," Emma agreed, quickly logging onto her school page.

The entire room was silent as Emma scrolled along the screen.

"Well?" Sam finally asked after a moment. "Did-Did you-"

"I got an 81…" Emma said softly, hardly believing the news herself. "I got an 81!"

"An 81?" Freddie repeated. "That-That's a B! Emma! You passed! You passed physics!"

"I did!" Emma exclaimed, her face lighting up as it all truly dawned on her. "I'm going to graduate!"

She tossed the Pearpad down as Quincy threw his arms around her. "I told you!" he said. "I told you that you could do it!"

"Emma! This is incredible!" Ashton said as her and Clarissa pulled her into a hug as well. "You did it!"

"We're so proud of you, sweetie!" Sam said as her and Freddie hugged their daughter tightly. "See? You don't give up on yourself and look what happens?"

"You did good, Em," Freddie told her, kissing the top of her head. "Real good."