12th Grade, High School

Age: 16-17

September 2009

…

The freshmen piling into the bleachers look around themselves, wide-eyed and agasp, as if they never thought the day would finally arrive. TJ doesn't remember much about the first day of high school. As a football player, he had been doing preseason for weeks before the official first day and, more likely than not, he was late for the first day anyway. If he had to guess, he and Spinelli probably strolled in right as the principal began his speech, climbing up the bleacher steps to reach their friends, with all eyes focused on them rather than the head of the school.

He hadn't even remembered that the senior class president helped with the welcoming until a few days before, when the principal had stopped by the football field during preseason practice to tell him the time he would need to be there. He had, of course, been excited for the final day off. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors always had the first day of school off, allowing the freshman to have the school to themselves as they learned the ropes. But, instead, here he is, sitting in a chair looking out at all the new faces.

He can't help but think that they look young. Maybe it's just the wide-eyed expressions.

Gus plops into the seat beside him, pushing his backpack under the chair, before turning to TJ.

"You're here early," Gus says, his eyes glancing up at the clock.

He gives his friend a shrug. "I guess, maybe, I'm growing up."

And, maybe, he is. As the principal stands and begins his welcome speech, TJ thinks back to how different everything was even just three years before. Starting freshman year of high school had been exciting, but he had still felt like a kid. There was nothing that felt like he couldn't fix it with an honest conversation. The last three years had been a lesson in growing up. Some things aren't fixable with a cocky grin and well-planned scheme, though it does come in fairly handy still.

He has one final year where it's all fun and games, and then that's it. He will be forced to step out into the real world, where every consequence seems that much more intense. Choices – both good and bad – that keep someone up at night, wondering if it's the right one.

That is the real reason why he was early today. Over the last few weeks, he and his father have really started to get into it. He and Vince worked at the concessions for the Naturals over the summer and would continue while they could on weekends they didn't have games. It had been such a blast. Some nights they worked in the booths under the stadium, slinging hotdogs and ice cream cones between innings, but most nights the managers had them in the stands themselves. The two boys would have their coolers, screaming out for cracker jacks or ice cold soda pop, or whatever it was they were selling that night. They'd make it a game, see who could sell the most. Apparently, it was quite entertaining for the fans to watch and their manager thought it was a riot, plus they sold more than any of the other teens hired when they were out there.

When he wasn't working the Naturals' games, he was over at Joey's auto shop. Joey had worked up the ladder, hoping to one day own his own shop, but for now doing just fine for himself as a worker. He offered for TJ to stop by and learn how to work on cars if he wanted. Spinelli had later told him that she had mentioned in passing over a family dinner one Sunday that TJ still didn't know what he wanted to do after high school and, while Joey hadn't made any mentions to her, he had reached out to TJ himself.

TJ had never really spent a ton of time with Joey Spinelli before. Joey was so much older, long gone from Third Street by the time TJ and the rest made their way to the big playground. Becky knew of him, being a year younger, but didn't know him. They ran in different crowds. So he really had no idea what to expect of the boy that Spinelli often said went to juvie and had a record for her own reputation.

In reality, Joey was a lot like his sister. He was quiet and introverted and very creative. Whereas Spinelli let her creativity flow through her drawings and dancing, Joey fixed up old cars in his spare time. Old clunkers that TJ would never expect to be salvageable had new life under his fingertips. It was quite impressive.

TJ wasn't the best with cars. That much was obvious after the first two or three times to the auto shop. But Joey pushed through, insisting that knowing about cars was an important trait to have as the man of a household, even if working in an auto shop wasn't his destiny. Although both of them agreed that TJ probably didn't need to know too much – Spinelli herself had been under Joey's tutelage for years. Despite the fact that she still hadn't sat for her driver's license exam given all the trauma of the previous year, TJ was sure she could outshine him in the car department any day.

But being around Joey allowed TJ to see another option besides what his parents had done. Joey had a good life without going to college – he had his own apartment, paid his own bills, and went out with his friends to have a good time. In fact, TJ had appreciated that more than the actual auto skills he was learning.

"I hated school," Joey said one day when TJ asked if he regretted not going to college. "I just wasn't good at it. I had a hard time sitting still and doing homework. But the thing is I use math here all the time. But it feels different, you know?"

TJ's father had not appreciated the wisdom and when TJ had mentioned it briefly at the dinner table, his father had erupted. TJ was going to go to college. His grades were good enough that he could get in somewhere and he would go wherever that may be.

"What do you expect to do without a college degree?" his father had yelled. "You will go to college, end of story."

He had been up all night, frustrated and upset. This morning, his mother had tried to make him understand where his father was coming from – a college degree would mean that TJ would be able to support himself and live a good life. At least in his parents' eyes, that was the only way forward.

"He just wants what's best for you," she had said.

Now he looks out at the group of kids sitting in the bleachers, bright-eyed and bushy tailed, and wishes he could go back.

The principal finishes his speech and gestures to TJ and Gus.

"Now I'd like to introduce TJ Detweiler and Gus Griswald, your senior class president and vice president."

The two boys walk to the small podium that has been placed in front of the bleachers. TJ has a small notecard in his pocket, with a couple of bullets that he thought would be good talking points, but he doesn't pull it out. Instead, he crumples it in his fist, not even taking it out of his pocket.

"I was just sitting back there, watching all of you guys, and thinking to myself how exciting today is for you all," he says, pulling the microphone just slightly more toward him. "People often say that high school is the best four years of your life, but I'm not sure that's really true. I think it's better to say that it's the four biggest years. It's a time where you can truly grow into yourself, figure out your passions and embrace all the new experiences that are waiting for you without the big black cloud of adulthood weighing down on you."

He nods to Gus. "Gus and I, as well as the entire senior class, are here to welcome you and support you in whatever ways we can. We're hopeful that this year our government will provide an inclusive and positive environment, so we can all grow and learn to the best of our abilities. We can't wait to work with you as you start your own governments and begin your journey as a class."

He takes a step back and lets Gus say a few words of welcome. Once they're both finished, he glances up at the clock on the wall. Normally he would still be in bed at this time of the day without an early practice, but now he's plenty awake. He waves to Gus as they go their separate ways, TJ jumping on his bike and heading toward home. As he turns down 3rd Street, he notices all the cars lined up, dropping the kids off for the first day of school. He bikes in the street to avoid the sidewalks lined with moms holding their kindergarteners' hands and groups of friends as they race toward the front steps. It all feels so familiar and yet at the same time, so far away from his own experiences.

As he bikes by the front entrance, he sees Ms. Finster standing at the top of the stairs, yelling at a group of younger kids playing on the flag pole, trying to climb to the top. He shakes his head. Vince had tried that once, when they were in second grade, after Lawson had dared him that he couldn't touch the flag. He had made it halfway to the top before Ms. Finster caught him.

He can hear her now in his head, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Vince LaSalle, you get off that flag pole or I'll drag you down myself!"

He turns the corner, away from the hustle. Only a few stragglers remain on the side roads, groups of older kids trying to arrive right as the school bells ring. As he approaches his next turn, he sees the final stragglers, two girls standing at the base of a large tree, both looking up into the branches. TJ frowns and slows down, hopping off his bike to walk it toward them. The girls don't even move, barely registering that he's approaching, and so TJ tries to get their attention.

"Hey, what's going on? You guys are going to be late for school," he says.

The two girls look up at him, one of them with a cellphone in her hand, the other pointing at the tree next to them.

"There's a cat stuck in the tree!"

TJ glances up in the tree and, lo and behold, he sees the cat. It's a small orange tabby, his meow soft and squeaky as he keeps meowing at them. He recognizes the cat almost immediately. It's Conan, Ms. Finster's orange tabby that always sneaks out when Ms. Finster forgets to lock the cat door before she leaves for school. Conan never strays far from Ms. Finster's condo when she's home, but the minute the school year starts, Conan always manages to sneak out, trying to find her at school. TJ thinks every single one of his friends has found this cat at some point or another. Most of the neighborhood knows Conan – scared little Conan who just misses his mom.

TJ shakes his head and turns to the girls.

"I know where he belongs," he says. "You girls go to school before Ms. Finster writes you up. I'll make sure he gets down."

"I called the fire department!" the girl with the cellphone says, holding it up as if to show him proof. "They should be coming soon!"

"Thanks, mister!" the other girl says, then the two start to race off toward Third Street.

Once they've rounded the corner, TJ turns back up to the tree.

"Conan, why do you always do this?" he asks, shaking his head as if the cat will respond. Instead, the orange tabby just continues to squeal.

TJ drops his bike in the grass. At least Conan picked a tree that's easy to climb. He reaches for the low hanging branch and lifts himself up, climbing the first couple of branches before reaching the cat. Conan must recognize him, because he leaps into TJ's arms, purring into his neck as TJ rolls his eyes.

"You chase a squirrel up the tree?" he asks, looking to see what the best way to get down one-handed might be.

He hears the fire truck before he can start his descent. The large red engine comes to a stop in front of the tree, stopping its sirens and the crew sliding out. One of the firefighters sees him in the tree.

"Is it Conan?" the firefighter asks.

TJ nods. "Sure is."

The firefighter shakes his head, laughing as he shouts over his shoulder. "Told you!"

One of the other firefighters grunts. "Should have known. First day of school." Then he looks up at TJ. "Hold on, kid. We'll get the ladder for you."

It's easy to get down once the ladder is in place. He keeps one hand on Conan and then heads down the ladder rungs, stepping onto the ground and thanking the firefighters.

"Hope this isn't disturbing your day," he says. He knows there are probably better things the firefighters can be doing besides helping him help Ms. Finster's dumb cat out of the tree.

The first firefighter shakes him off. "Nah, not a half bad way to start a shift – an easy call."

TJ glances at the fire truck. He used to have a fire truck when he was younger – as well as an ambulance and a police car. He would play with them on a rug in the living room while his mother cooked or cleaned, making the noises of the vehicles himself as entertainment. He imagines that coming to save a cat is just a little outing for them, no adrenaline rushing, just mild annoyance for having to leave the station to, once again, come to Conan's rescue.

A real call though would be different. It must be a thrilling job – to go from nothing to everything as soon as the bell rings.

The men all hop back in the truck, heading back off to the firehouse, as TJ grabs his bike. Conan draps himself over TJ's shoulder, enjoying the ride as TJ turns in the opposite direction as he normally would have gone to get home. He continues toward Ms. Finster's condo complex, finding her door easily. He has been here a few times with Spinelli over the years, and more recently this summer when Spinelli cat sat for her while Ms. Finster and her grandmother went on a cruise together. He knows that Ms. Finster keeps a spare key under a rock in her yard, grabs it, and opens up the doorway.

Conan jumps down as soon as he's in his house, running toward his cat condo and jumping up to the top where he looks out the window. TJ quickly kneels in front of the back door, making sure the cat door is switched to locked. Satisfied that Conan is safe and locked inside until Ms. Finster arrives home, he starts to head to the front door to leave. But something catches his eye on the small table in Ms. Finster's entryway. There's a white envelope sitting on a book, A. Spinelli written across the envelope in Ms. Finster's loopy old-lady cursive. He moves the envelope just enough to read the title of the book, Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher's First Year. The flap of the envelope hasn't been sealed and he debates it for a second before taking it in his hands, his curiosity getting the best of him. He pulls out a small greeting card.

Spinelli –

Your grandmother mentioned you were thinking of majoring in education. I read this book on the cruise and thought you might enjoy it.

M. Finster

The note reads like Ms. Finster, nothing too overtly flowery or sentimental. Just the facts. TJ slips the note back into the envelope. He already knew that Spinelli was considering being a teacher. Over the summer, she had helped Madame Pavlova out with her summer camp again, despite the fact that she had quit ballet classes there in the midst of everything that had happened. Spinelli had assumed she was done completely with ballet, now too far behind her regular class even if she had wanted to join. The class itself was too triggering.

But as she started to feel better, she wanted to continue dancing. She had reached out to Madame Pavlova to see if her former instructor could recommend a different studio. Instead, the instructor had asked if Spinelli would still assist her with the summer camp as she had the year before. In exchange, Madame offered her private lessons, on different days than her former class was in the studio.

Spinelli had debated it and in the end had agreed. Over the summer, she had been given the younger girls, ages 4-6, and she had thrived with the duty. TJ went to the recital at the end of the summer and, while the performance itself had been quite comical, it was clear that Spinelli had a way with the little girls. He had spent most of the night watching Spinelli. The pride radiating off of her when the girls took their bows reminded him of how much she would light up at the end of her own performances.

He knows she would be a great teacher, but knowing that Ms. Finster is now in on it makes everything feel much more real. Before it had just been a thought, just as all of their friends had thoughts of the future. Spinelli being a teacher seemed just as far away as Vince playing college basketball or Gretchen being a world renowned scientist. But he supposes, it really isn't that far away at all.

They're not kids anymore. That's for sure.

He locks the door and hides the key, waving to Conan, who watches him from the window as he leaves. He hops on his bike and starts for home, biking back the way he had come. He drops his bike in the yard, knowing he'll use it later, and climbs the front steps by two. He gives his mother a shout hello and is just about to go upstairs when he hears her hustling out of the kitchen.

"Oh, TJ!"

She walks out, holding something in her hand as she approaches him.

"I picked this up at the grocery store," she says, handing him a brochure. He takes it from her and grinds his teeth. It's a brochure for the community college down the road. "They have business administration. You could go on to do marketing. You've always been so good with people."

He gives her a tight smile and then heads up the stairs. He might as well crack it open and take a look. He's not sure this is what his father had meant when he said TJ was going to college no matter what, but maybe a two-year degree could be a compromise. He flips it open as he walks into his room and looks at this list.

To be honest, he had never really thought about programs at a community college and what they might look like. He sees the one his mother mentions – business administration. It has a few different tracks, including sports management and pre-marketing. But his eyes glance over that to some of the other options, both degree programs and certificates: Automotive Technology, Computer Science, Criminal Justice, Fire Science/Emergency Medical Technician, HVAC, Liberal Arts Studies, Nursing, Plumbing, Pre-Engineering, and so many more.

Jobs that he could do that would still be good jobs, but wouldn't require him to sit behind a desk all day like his father does. Sure, he could probably do well as a businessman. His father and sister both make good livings and he didn't do so bad on the playground all those years ago during the Monstickers craze. But sitting in a cubicle or behind a desk in a suit and tie, budgeting or pushing money around between accounts seems so unbelievably boring.

Yes, he has the charisma to be a businessman. What he doesn't have is the ability to sit all day long at a computer.

He takes another look through the list before turning around in the hallway, heading back downstairs toward the computer to do some research. There are a few on the list that seem interesting. He isn't meeting up with any of his friends until later in the afternoon, so maybe he can see what some of these programs entail.

…

Notes

In Chapter 24, it's mentioned that TJ and Vince want to get summer jobs together working for the Naturals baseball team. Turns out they did!

In the episode Operation Field Trip, the bus breaks down and the kids try to fix it. TJ and Vince attempt first but have no idea what they're doing, then Spinelli and Gretchen end up doing the majority of the work. Spinelli mentions her "big brother Joey majored in auto repair in prison" during this episode. Of course, in this universe, most of Spinelli's lines about her family are half truths and in my headcanon, not sure if it's been mentioned in any of the final drafts of these chapters yet, but Joey went to a vocational program during high school and he did auto repair there, preparing him for his career as we see it now. Joey is about 24/25 now.

Conan the cat is introduced in the episode, "The Trial", where Spinelli saves the cat from being stuck in a tree.

Educating Esme by Esme Raji Codell was published in 1999.

The Monstickers episode is Economics of Recess.

Why I chose teaching for Spinelli: in multiple episodes, she is shown to be good with younger kids and having a maternal side. In the Break-Up, she goes to the kindergartener area. In School's Out, she is yet again the one in charge of the kindergarteners. She is also shown to do well in school (even if she makes sure to hide it) and actually likes reading (the episode with the Barnaby Boys). I know it's common lore for TJ to be the future teacher, but I just don't see it and I think Spinelli fits the role better.

As for TJ's career, he's figuring it out but as Economics of Recess show him as a cunning businessman, I think it's just too constrained for him. TJ's favorite part of school is recess. He loves being outside, hanging with his friends, and making sure everything is fair and justified. There are other careers that suit TJ's leadership other than business and during senior year, we'll see his path.

I have an outline for the major plot points for senior year, but if there's anything in particular you'd like to see in terms of a senior year event or whatnot, let me know and I'll try to fit it in!