Arcadia, Maryland - The Girardi House - Friday Evening
Joan was in her room, finishing her packing, when her mother's voice called up the stairs to inform her that dinner was ready.
"Just a minute!"
She finished stuffing her favorite sweatshirt in her suitcase and struggled to get the zipper closed. Her room was pretty bare, but it didn't really bother her since she hadn't spent much time in it over the last few months. In fact, the week that she had been home from camp had been incredibly awkward for her in a number of ways.
But she had one last family dinner to get through before starting at a new school. She was looking forward to the fresh start with people who didn't know she was crazy.
Kevin
Kevin looked over as Joan entered the room. "Finally, her highness graces us with her presence."
Helen
"Kevin, be nice," Helen admonished. "Your sister was busy packing."
Kevin
"Yeah, yeah, I know how this song goes," Kevin said. "Gotta be nice to the fragile kid. I guess I should say thanks, Joan. Your craziness issues have totally overshadowed me being a cripple."
Joan
"I'm not crazy!" Joan protested. "Dr. Dan said so."
Luke
"If you're so certain that you're not crazy, why are you going away?" Luke asked.
Joan
"Because I'd like to finish my last two years of high school somewhere where people don't think that I'm crazy," Joan said.
Kevin
"Yeah, but eventually they're going to meet you," Kevin pointed out. "And then they'll figure it out anyway."
Will
"Enough!" Will interjected. "Your sister has had a very difficult summer recuperating from her illness. She wants to go to a new school and your mother and I agreed to let her try it. You might want to try being supportive."
Kevin
"Aw, but where's the fun in that?" Kevin grumbled.
Helen
"Can we please stop fighting and eat?" Helen requested. "This is our last family meal for a while and I'd like to enjoy it with minimal sniping." Her eyes were damp.
Joan
Joan rolled her eyes. "Mom, you act like I'm going to Outer Mongolia or something. Lexington isn't that far. And if the school food sucks, I'll make Kevin come pick me up for dinner."
Kevin
"Maybe she'll even bring some new freak friends home," Kevin said. "There's probably tons of geek chicks at a boarding school. Maybe she'll meet your soulmate, Luke."
Luke
"Shut up," Luke said, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
Will
"I said enough!" Will repeated. "Your mother cooked a wonderful meal. It's your sister's last day at home. We're going to pretend to be a normal family for thirty minutes and enjoy it, okay?"
Joan
Joan chuckled at her father's order. She was pretty sure that they couldn't pull off normal family for three minutes, let alone thirty. But she was willing to make the effort. She had plenty of practice in pretending to be normal lately. She hoped that it stuck at her new school. She was definitely ready for a fresh start.
"Just a minute!"
She finished stuffing her favorite sweatshirt in her suitcase and struggled to get the zipper closed. Her room was pretty bare, but it didn't really bother her since she hadn't spent much time in it over the last few months. In fact, the week that she had been home from camp had been incredibly awkward for her in a number of ways.
But she had one last family dinner to get through before starting at a new school. She was looking forward to the fresh start with people who didn't know she was crazy.
Kevin
Kevin looked over as Joan entered the room. "Finally, her highness graces us with her presence."
Helen
"Kevin, be nice," Helen admonished. "Your sister was busy packing."
Kevin
"Yeah, yeah, I know how this song goes," Kevin said. "Gotta be nice to the fragile kid. I guess I should say thanks, Joan. Your craziness issues have totally overshadowed me being a cripple."
Joan
"I'm not crazy!" Joan protested. "Dr. Dan said so."
Luke
"If you're so certain that you're not crazy, why are you going away?" Luke asked.
Joan
"Because I'd like to finish my last two years of high school somewhere where people don't think that I'm crazy," Joan said.
Kevin
"Yeah, but eventually they're going to meet you," Kevin pointed out. "And then they'll figure it out anyway."
Will
"Enough!" Will interjected. "Your sister has had a very difficult summer recuperating from her illness. She wants to go to a new school and your mother and I agreed to let her try it. You might want to try being supportive."
Kevin
"Aw, but where's the fun in that?" Kevin grumbled.
Helen
"Can we please stop fighting and eat?" Helen requested. "This is our last family meal for a while and I'd like to enjoy it with minimal sniping." Her eyes were damp.
Joan
Joan rolled her eyes. "Mom, you act like I'm going to Outer Mongolia or something. Lexington isn't that far. And if the school food sucks, I'll make Kevin come pick me up for dinner."
Kevin
"Maybe she'll even bring some new freak friends home," Kevin said. "There's probably tons of geek chicks at a boarding school. Maybe she'll meet your soulmate, Luke."
Luke
"Shut up," Luke said, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
Will
"I said enough!" Will repeated. "Your mother cooked a wonderful meal. It's your sister's last day at home. We're going to pretend to be a normal family for thirty minutes and enjoy it, okay?"
Joan
Joan chuckled at her father's order. She was pretty sure that they couldn't pull off normal family for three minutes, let alone thirty. But she was willing to make the effort. She had plenty of practice in pretending to be normal lately. She hoped that it stuck at her new school. She was definitely ready for a fresh start.