Artie stood alone in his room, staring at the two outfits he had taken out of his closet, wondering which one he would prefer to wear in Marge's presence. Nothing was really going on tonight, perhaps a movie, maybe a quick trip to the café for coffee but that was it, nothing spectacular. For some reason though, Artie always felt that he needed to look his best for Marge even if he was only going to her house to chat. So tonight it was either going to be the bellbottoms with the blue polo, or the bellbottoms with the long sleeved green shirt and the brown vest. Both seemed like a nice ensemble and continued to think which one would be better.
As he did so, the family tabby cat, Jasper leapt onto his bed and let out a faint meow. Artie stared at Jasper for a moment who was now sitting in front of both outfits, tail twitching while his eyes gave him that contented look most cats gave when nothing important to them was going on. Artie smiled at him; perhaps Jasper would help him decide.
"Well Jasper, what do you think?" Artie asked.
Jasper let out a purr before moving forward and sniffed both outfits before looking up at Artie with bright eyes. Artie gave Jasper a quick scratch on the ears until the cat moved forward and made himself comfortable on the long sleeved green shirt. Jasper apparently had made his decision.
"Well knowing that you left your cat hair on that outfit, I shall go with the blue polo," Artie replied as he put the shirt on while Jasper simply purred in amusement.
Now that Artie was finally ready for his evening with Marge, he made his way out of the room. The cat did not follow, he was happy to sleep on the outfit that Artie had left behind, he would go exploring later. As for Artie though, he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen to grab his keys, but before he could even reach them, he was met by his brother Benjamin who was holding up a big envelope in front of him.
"Hey Bro, you got a package from Capitol City College," Benjamin said as he handed the envelope to Artie.
Benjamin, who preferred to be called Ben thank you very much, was three years younger than his brother Artie. Not as smart as he was and much more handsome, he barely looked like his older brother, his nose not as sharp and his hair shorter and saggy. Not in the afro like his eldest brother and he was a bit taller too. He was currently still in junior varsity of the baseball team at Springfield High and hoped to prove himself over the summer that he could make varsity level. He was surprised that his nerd of a brother now had a girlfriend, seeing as how he always had his nose in books and never really acted that charming, but whatever worked, a lot of surprising things happened during and after high school.
"Oh good, I was hoping it would finally come, hopefully this means I have been accepted," Artie replied as he grabbed the envelope out of his brothers hands and began to open up the letter.
"So does this mean I get the house to myself?" Ben asked as he watched Artie read the letter with fascination.
"Why Ben, are you planning on taking my room?" asked Artie.
"Of course not, what makes you think I want your room, I just want to hang here without you being here twenty-four seven," said Ben.
"Oh I know what you really want, to have parties here when mom and dad are away, well you know Benny, you could have done so even while I was here," Artie replied.
"Really?" Ben asked a bit surprised yet suspicious by what Artie just said.
"Of course, just as long as it was done by midnight maybe and no one entered my room to bother me," Artie said as he put the letter back into the envelope and tucked it under his arm.
"Oh always a catch, I could make the party go until seven in the morning with booze up the wazoo!" Ben said as he spread his arms out to show a point.
"Now now Benny, are you sure you want rectal cancer?" Artie asked as he began to walk out the door.
Ben only stared back at his brother, that probably explained his reasons for not being seen with a can of booze, even during his parent's parties. But Ben quickly shrugged it off and made his way up the stairs to his own room to gather his baseball equipment. It was time to do some practicing.
Artie made his way to Marge's house, humming along to Band on the Run and feeling a bit happier now that he had truly been accepted into the college he wanted to go to. He could break the good news to Marge and perhaps go out for a celebratory dinner where perhaps he could talk Marge into trying to apply for the school as well. It wasn't a hard school to get into, as long as the grades were good and he remembered Marge saying that she did have a 3.0 GPA when she graduated. He knew it would be hard for both of them to be separated for so long, Capitol City was hours away, making it impossible to leave for short periods to see family and girlfriends.
He pulled up to Marge's house and made his way to the front door, as usual one of the twins was there to greet him with a big smile on her face.
"Why hello handsome!" Selma exclaimed.
"Good evening…uh…" Artie was still very terrible figuring out which twin was which so he looked up at her with a sheepish grin.
"Selma," she replied.
"Yes Selma, is Marge ready for me?" Artie asked.
"She's actually waiting in the living room for you," Selma said as she moved out of the way for Artie.
Artie stepped inside and soon found Marge sitting in the living room next to her mother waiting for him. She let out a happy smile when she saw him before jumping up and giving him a big hug.
"So are you in the mood for going out tonight?" Artie asked once she let go of his embrace.
"I am slightly in the mood for some good pasta at Basiles; you know the one downtown by the harbor with the amazing breadsticks?" Marge asked.
"I do and that does sound good, are you ready to go now?" Artie asked.
"Sure thing, just let me get my shoes on," Marge replied as she ran upstairs to grab a pair of shoes. Artie stood there and waited, he knew she would not be long.
Marge was very quick, and soon Artie was driving Marge down the road and toward their dinner for the evening. Artie decided to keep the conversations light while driving; he wanted to save what he wanted to say to her until they got there. He knew a quiet dinner was not as fun as one where you discussed things before the meal arrived. So instead they engaged in small talk. Marge told Artie that her father was flying to New York that evening with his steward job and would not return until Sunday evening after flying to Miami, Atlanta, and Sacramento. A few weeks ago, her father returned with a little souvenir from Baltimore for Artie, a silly little magnet that said "I got crabs, and they were delicious." from a seafood restaurant by the harbor. It was an odd gift but still sort of fun to have and put on the dresser. The refrigerator just didn't seem like the right place for it.
It wasn't long though before they finally reached their destination and Artie brought Marge into the restaurant where they were promptly seated, which was surprising since it was a Friday night. Both took their seats and studied the menu before Artie decided it was time to start discussing his future.
"Guess what Marge?" Artie said as he took out the envelope.
"Oh did you get accepted into something?" asked Marge as soon as she saw the envelope.
"I did, Capitol City College to be exact, the one with the wonderful technology department," Artie said excitedly.
Marge grabbed the envelope and looked at the brochure they had given him. It was such a nice looking school, not the most well established school in the country but still one that was worthy of going to. Its technology department was one of the best, and it also had a great biology and communications department as well. The only problem was that she knew it was far away and she was not sure how she could deal with seeing Artie so little.
"So you really want to go here?" Marge asked with a hint of sadness in her voice.
"I do Marge, and I can tell you are not very thrilled, but let me explain. Have you decided on a college to go to?" asked Artie.
"No I was actually thinking about finding employment for a year, you know just to help my parents with the college tuition, college is definitely not cheap," Marge replied.
"There is that, but you can always do student loans, we can both go to school together, me and you for four years. We could help each other study, enjoy the sights of Capitol City and come home when we get a bit homesick," Artie said.
"Hmmmm, I don't know Artie," Marge said nervously as she looked down at her utensils.
Artie noticed how Marge seemed very reluctant about going to college right away. He knew it had to do with her family, she never strayed far from them and he noticed how she was always so close. She was always helping them when they needed her especially when her father was flying all over the country. Carefully Artie took one of her hands and stared back at her with a concerned face.
"You don't want to leave your family do you?" Artie asked.
"…No, and I'm still not sure what I want to do with my life," Marge replied.
Artie stared back at Marge, that was a predicament and a choice that she had to make on her own. Of course he suggested that she become a teacher a few weeks back just because she had a way with explaining things and had such great patience. Of course she was reluctant then, maybe her mind could change. But then he also noticed how amazing she was at painting. He remembered staring at the sunset picture in the dining room that she painted, he never complimented on it but he always liked it. But of course artists never really had the best jobs; it really was a tough decision.
"So you don't want to try for a teaching career?" asked Artie.
"I could try for that, but if I did, I think I would want to be an art teacher," Marge said.
Artie raised an eyebrow, that had to be a good job for her; she had to try it out, just as long as he could persuade her to leave her family for four years.
"Why not study that in Capitol City while I get my technology degree? I hear they have a great teaching department," Artie said.
"I know Artie, it even says it right here. It's just the idea of leaving the only home I've known for eighteen years for so many months and not seeing my family for that long. I get so anxious when my father is coming home in a few days, its nuts! I can't imagine what that will be like in the weeks and months while I'm gone," Marge said.
"But I'll be there for you, to help you cope and calm you down when times are hardest for you. All of us have to leave our family eventually and the longer you wait, the harder it gets," Artie replied as he continued to pat her now shaking hand hoping she would understand and make the right decision.
Marge stared back at Artie, her eyes bright with worry and feeling very unsure about herself. She did care about Artie, but was she willing to sacrifice four years with this man? She had dated other men in the past and they had tried to get her to follow in their ways. She remembered one boy in particular about a year ago, one that she really cared about, until she caught him with several other boys behind the school gym, shooting heroin. He had always told her he loved her to death, to prove it she told him to never do it again. He said he promised, and Marge believed him until she made a surprise visit to his house one day. He was doing it again and Marge ran out the door with tears in her eyes. He tried to talk her back into the relationship, even going as far as slapping her in the face for saying that it was over. But Marge knew better, even after being slapped she said goodbye while her ex yelled obscenities at her until she was out of earshot. She did not want to end up in an abusive relationship like that, especially one who went back on his promises. That boy did not return to high school the next year, and Marge believe he either went to another school or dropped out, it was good riddance either way.
Was Artie like any of these men? So far he didn't show the same characteristics, that was good so perhaps she could trust him. She enjoyed his company immensely, he was always so helpful, and was willing to do anything she asked or didn't ask which was usually the case. And as she thought about it, she realized it was probably better to study for four more years, instead of looking for a job right away and most likely flipping burgers. A job that her sister Patty had already endured, a job that she heard never made you successful unless you owned the place. Studying for a few more years actually sounded better; at least you did not smell like a fryer when you returned from class.
"You're right, it's probably best not to wait," Marge finally replied.
"So you want to join me?" Artie asked a bit excitedly while also trying to chew on some bread.
Marge nodded. "But as long as you help me talk to my parents about it as well, I've already told them I might be seeking employment instead of going to college. They were really up on the idea, but now it has changed and I really don't know how they will handle it."
"I'm sure they will be fine," Artie smiled.
And just like that, the conversation ended, perfect timing too now that their dinner had finally made it to the table. Artie knew that Marge's parents would agree on it, they would understand everything and let her go. They knew it was time just like him; Marge needed to start moving out on her own. With any luck, in a few years their love would blossom and grow into something Artie believed would happen one day, marriage.
A/N: Well chapter five is finally completed for you guys, I know it was boring and that it sucked but hey at least I tried. I know it was a long delay but that's what happens when you are stressed out, you just can't write, or at least I can't. Plus I then got a bit depressed and all worrying about my grades and what will happen to me in these coming months, I almost wanted to stop writing. But I am starting to feel better; I'll feel even better once I see my grades. My semester is finished and even perhaps my years in college, I know I got a good grade in one of my classes; I just have to wait to find out about the other one. If it's what I need then I graduate in a week so cross your fingers if that happens, I really want to finish college. It's time to end those years of writing essays and taking tests, it's time to start life in the real world.
And finally one more thing, to Simpsons fan, I noticed you asked Shoz if I sent him or her a message about how annoying you are. Just to set something straight, I did not, in fact I did not send anyone that message. You've actually been better since what I told you in chapter 3, and besides I am not that heartless, I would not send a ton of stranger's messages about the way you review. Instead it's best to discuss this matter to the person in question. I think Shoz just wanted to know that you were the same person who reviewed me; I'm not a hundred percent sure why though. Also please remember that I am a girl, it's kind of annoying seeing as how you refer to me as a he. I always thought it was a bit obvious, but that's just me. Oh and please don't read Memoirs of a Blue Bird, that story sucks so much.
Any way sorry about the long rant everyone, thanks for taking the time to read. Please review if you feel the need.