TITLE: The Class of 2008
SERIES: Imperfection Deviation
AUTHOR: Macx
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belong to me, sadly. They are owned by
people with a lot more money :)
Author’s Voice of Warning (aka Author’s Note):
English is not my first language; it’s German. This is the best I can do. Any
mistakes you find in here, collect them and you might win a prize
FEEDBACK: Loved
BETA: okami_myrrhibis
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Sam Witwicky, engineer, technopath, holding two doctorates, first contact to an
alien race called Autobots, hero of the hour of Mission City – and that had
been over a decade ago – stared at the innocent letter with a horrified
expression.
High school reunion.
Gawd…
Sam had been kind of glad to leave that part of his life behind him. High
school had been a phase of his life where he hadn’t belonged anywhere. Not a
jock; definitely not a jock. Not a true geek either. He had been somewhere in
the middle, never part of anything, and the best thing that had happened in all
that time had been the alien car scaring the shit out of him. Followed by a
maniacal evil mech trying to kill him, after another evil robot had almost
squished him.
Amusement flooded through him, but not his own.
::Listening in again?:: he grumbled at Bumblebee.
::You think very loudly:: was the teasing reply. ::And you’re not blocking,
Sam::
He sighed. Great. Now such a measly little thing as a letter about a
get-together with his old ‘peers’ had him drop his shields.
But really… he wasn’t a reunion type and even if he and Mikaela were still
together, he doubted he would go.
Speaking of which… she would probably call and ask him if he went, and then he
had to lie, which he was really, really bad at when it came to such things.
::Go:: Bumblebee suggested. ::It’s been ten years, Sam. Things have changed::
Huh. Yeah. So not true. He was even more of a geek and outsider now. Sam could
hardly tell anyone what had happened in the past decade because, hey, top
secret, need-to-know-basis, national security and all that. People would call
him all kinds of things if he started to talk about alien robots and mysterious
cubes, let alone technological telepathy.
::I’ll come along:: Bumblebee offered.
He smiled a little. ::Appreciated:: he sent back.
And it was. At least he wasn’t completely alone then, though he wasn’t going. No
way. No way in Hell..
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The decision was more or less taken out of his hands when Lieutenant Trent
DeMarco walked into the kitchen area of the Autobot base, shooting Sam a grin.
“Oh no,” Sam groaned. “I forgot about you.”
Trent leaned against the counter, mug of coffee in hand, the grin growing
into ‘shit-eating’. “You got the letter.”
It sounded like some ominous top secret letter.
“Yes. Not going,” Sam replied immediately and poured milk into his coffee.
“You so are. Even if I have to drag you along.”
And Trent would.
“Not going,” Sam insisted.
“What’s so bad about it?” the logistician wanted to know.
Sam glared at him. “Sayeth the jock. You know how bad high school was for me. You
taunted me enough, so you should remember.”
Trent frowned a little. “And that’s why you’re not going? Because of a bully
or two? Sam, I give you my holy oath I won’t so much as look at you wrong.”
“That’s not it.”
Sam ran a hand through his hair. He knew he had changed from the geeky non-jock
into the little-less-geeky, semi-Army trained technopath. Most of that was top
secret, so no one would know. At least he looked a bit more athletic. He had
put on muscle. But compared to Trent’s all-American football looks, he was
still a nobody.
Trent studied him with a frown. “Don’t tell me you’re self-conscious about
your looks.”
“No!”
“You are,” DeMarco argued immediately. “Hell, you’re as fit as any Army grunt.”
“That’s not it.”
Trent rolled his eyes. “And you’re successful. You have two doctorates. Hell,
I envy you.”
Sam blinked. “What? No, wait, that’s really not what this is about. I just
don’t want to hang out with people who didn’t give a shit about me and listen
to their lives’ stories.”
Trent regarded him curiously. “You think I want that? As much as you think I
would enjoy hanging out with my old buddies – which I haven’t talked to in
about as long as I’ve been with the Army – I’m not. But it’ll be fun to see who
amounted to what. You’ll probably shock half of them.”
“It’s not like I can talk about much that I do.”
“You think I can?”
Sam sighed deeply. “I’m not getting out of this, am I?”
“Nope.” DeMarco grinned brightly. “And Mikaela will be there.”
“How do you know?”
“I saw her name on the registry. Online.” At Sam’s still confused expression he
added, “Look at the letter. There’s a website for the online registry. Mikaela
and Chris registered.”
“Cool,” the technopath finally said.
He was happy to hear that Mikaela would be there. And Chris. The last time he
had seen her had been over a year ago.
The sun was out, the clouds drifted lazily across a brilliant blue sky, and the
water breaking at the cliffs was a calming background noise. Seagulls screamed,
people around him chattered and took pictures of the beautiful landscape, and
Sam Witwicky truly enjoyed being out and about. A soft hum in the back of his
mind echoed the emotions.
::Your planet is beautiful:: Bumblebee murmured. :So varied::
Sam smiled. ::No complaints about the salt water being bad for your paint
job?::
That got him a chuckle. ::I’m not Ironhide::
Not that the aggressive salt water could actually damage any of the mechs. For
Ironhide it was just good-natured grumbling.
Sam caught sight of someone approaching and he got up from where he had perched
on Bumblebee’s hood, smiling in genuine happiness. He was suddenly engulfed in
a hug and he automatically hugged the young, slender woman back.
“Whoa, hi!” he laughed. “What did I do to deserve that?”
Mikaela Banes smiled brilliantly at him, almost radiating. “I’m just happy to
see you again.”
“Oh-kay…” Sam said slowly.
“Hi, Bumblebee. How are you?”
“Hello, Mikaela,” the Autobot replied pleasantly. “I’m fine, thank you.”
“It’s been a while,” Sam remarked.
“I was busy,” she answered, almost bouncing with unreleased energy. “I need to
tell you something.”
Sam had never really seen her like this, so happy and alive and… like she was
bursting to tell him something.
“Is this the something you wouldn’t want to mention in any of your emails?” he
asked.
She nodded.
“And?”
“I told you about Chris, right?”
Sam chuckled. “In detail.”
Chris Speed was Mikaela’s boyfriend, someone she had met throughout a car show
where her father had worked, and they had taken an immediate liking toward each
other. Mikaela hadn’t really been looking for a relationship, she had told Sam
one evening when they had talked over the phone, but it had happened. From
friends to lovers, so to speak.
For a while Sam had felt strangely like he was losing a really good friend. Mikaela
had a boyfriend who knew nothing about the mechs among them, who had not been
through what they had experienced, what had bonded them together. Of course he
wasn’t interested in Mikaela any more. Of course he was happy for her. Still,
Chris had been a stranger and probably not very happy about his girl still
talking to her ex – if he knew.
Over the past two years the feelings had changed. Mikaela rarely gushed about
him and they had never met. Still, she mentioned him now and then. Speed owned
a car racing team and had money. Mikaela knew about cars and could handle
herself in his world.
“He proposed,” she now said.
Sam felt something inside of him constrict, then burst with shared joy. He
hugged her.
“Congratulations!”
“And…” Mikaela added, grinning. “Soon there’ll be a new addition.”
“You’re…?”
“Pregnant,” she confirmed.
Sam had to lean back on Bumblebee. “Geez! Wow… that’s… wow!”
She laughed, so very happy.
Hannah had been born six months later and Sam had visited the new mother and
baby. Mikaela had been positively glowing and Chris had been one very proud
father. Sam had never felt anything but shared happiness. He had his own life,
his own relationships, and his own happiness.
Things were really good.
“Now, do I have to drag you there or are you coming voluntarily?” Trent asked.
“You know, I liked you better when I still hated you,” Sam muttered.
Trent smirked. “I take that as a yes.”
“All right, all right, I’ll make an appearance.”
“Don’t forget to register for a room.”
Sam muttered something under his breath, took his coffee, shot Trent a baleful look, and left.
Bumblebee still radiated amusement at Sam’s prickly mood concerning a high
school reunion, and Sam decided that a day in the lab would probably do him
good.
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The reunion had been planned to happen in Las Vegas, which suited Sam and
Trent, even Mikaela, who lived reasonably close. Everyone who stayed the night
– which were all – had been booked in the Luxor or Excalibur because the hotels
were interconnected. Sam felt really out of place, but he was glad to have
Bumblebee with him, even if it wasn’t in person. The Camaro was parked outside
in the parking lot.
Sam had left early and spent some time touring along The Strip. He liked the
feel of Las Vegas, though he could never imagine living here. It was nice to be
just a tourist.
Around late afternoon he had drifted back to the hotel, taken another shower
and dressed. Since he didn’t want to look like he was going to a dance, he had
decided on jeans to a black dinner jacket and a white shirt.
There was, of course, lots of food. A really huge buffet table where everyone
could take whatever he wanted. Drinks consisted of wine, beer and soft drinks,
but there had been an announcement that the bar would open after dinner was
over. The dance floor held no great attraction for Sam and he lurked a little
in the background, watching his former school peers.
Of course there were also the mandatory fun photos, recollections of the ‘good
old days’, with successes and triumphs of the football and basketball team and
the cheerleaders. The geeks had their corner, with great experiments and
competition wins, and there was a teacher gallery. In an adjoining room was
more old memorabilia and even a TV with a DVD player where old high school
videos were shown. Sam had lingered there for a while, smiling a little
wistfully at some stuff. Football matches, theaters and even the odd excursion
or two. There had been laughter and hooting and comments from everyone.
Sam sighed as he looked around the room. This wasn’t really his kind of gig. Give
him Megatron rampaging through Mission City any day.
::You don’t mean that:: Bumblebee sent.
::Right now? I think I do::
Well, Megatron had nearly killed him, which wasn’t something to look forward to
on the worst day. Here, no one was out for blood, but the embarrassing high
school time was still something he didn’t want to remember.
Some of the guys had recognized him, had nodded their hellos. Some of the girls
had smiled, most of them accompanied by what looked like a husband or fiancée. Marsha,
a girl he had never really talked to in school, had handed out the badges and
gushed at him, how great he looked and the like. She had also been part of the
organizers of the reunion.
Teachers milled around. They might remember his name, but Sam wasn’t really
sure.
“Hey, buddy!”
The jovial voice had him look up. “Miles?”
“In the flesh! Man, haven’t heard from you in ages!”
Hair still shoulder-length, a bit more sun-bleached than before, and looking
like a computer
geek on vacation, Miles beamed at his old friend.
“It might be because you off and disappeared after our senior year,” Sam
pointed out.
Miles had the decency to look sheepish. “Oh yeah, that. But hey, reunion!”
He slung an arm over Sam’s shoulders and gestured at the woman who had stood
back throughout the greeting.
“Sam, meet my wife of five years, Lilly.”
“Nice to meet you,” Lilly said, shaking Sam’s hand. “Miles always mentioned a
Sam from school.”
“Must be me. Nice to meet you, too. So, Miles, what are you up to?”
“This and that. I live in San Diego now. Met Lilly there, fell for her so hard
it must have been a five on the Richter scale, and we married. Two kids,” Miles
added proudly.
“Oh god, you are multiplying,” Sam laughed.
Miles gave him a friendly jab, grinning like the proud father he was. “What do
you do?”
Sam shrugged. “Went to college, got my degree, work as a consultant now. Mechanical
engineering.”
Miles whistled. “Cool. Never thought you were such a tech head.”
Another shrug. “Turned out it’s really fascinating.”
“You and Mikaela…?”
“Split. She married a guy named Chris Speed.”
“Too bad.”
“We’re still friends.”
They made some more small talk. Lilly was a secretary at a large pharmaceutical
company and Miles had a desk job at a law firm. Sam couldn’t really wrap his
head around Miles doing any kind of serious work, but at least he hadn’t said
he was a lawyer now.
He and his wife made their way through the crowds and Sam just shook his head.
“Sam!”
The first real smile crossed his lips. “Mikaela!”
They hugged and he had to say she looked fantastic. It was what he said out
loud, too.
“Thank you,” she replied, laughing.
She really did. The dress looked amazing and there was no trace of pregnancy
left. She hadn’t gained an ounce.
“We left Hannah with Chris’ parents,” Mikaela explained. “How are you doing?”
Sam rolled his eyes. “How do you think?”
“Hey, it’s a great party. You should enjoy it.”
“I am.”
Mikaela frowned. “Suuure… Is Bee around?”
“Outside. I could hardly bring him along.”
Not that anyone even knew about alien life forms among them. Mikaela and Trent
were the only ones here, and in a way it felt good. He wasn’t so totally alone,
at least with that knowledge.
“Where’s Chris?”
“He got waylaid by Marsha. God. She’s as obnoxious as I remember her. I think
she quizzes every spouse. Oh, here he comes.”
Mikaela waved at her husband and Chris looked almost relived. Chris Speed was
still his handsome self, Sam noted absently. Tall, sun-tanned, athletic, and
looking even better in his suit, though he had left off the tie.
“Marsha?” Mikaela teased.
“She’s one insistent woman.” Chris fumbled with the badge that had his name on
it, as well as Mikaela’s below. “I feel like I’m someone’s groupie now.”
The badges were stupid in that regard, Sam had to agree. Whoever had come up
with the idea to put the spouse’s name underneath had probably been a bit drunk
at the time. His own badge had only his name, no one else’s. He wondered what
people would make of ‘Bumblebee’ scrawled on it.
That had him almost laugh out loud. Bumblebee radiated amusement.
Chris got them all something to drink, non-alcoholic, and they decided to sit
down and have dinner at one of the quieter tables at the back. Sam found it
rather relaxing to be around Chris and Mikaela. Despite the fact that Chris had
no idea about the secrets they shared – but was very well aware of who Sam had
been in Mikaela’s life before he had come long – they talked rather freely.
Sam talked work, disguising the Autobots as ‘colleagues’, and Mikaela brought
him up to speed on their family life, Chris’ business and so on. It felt
normal. Nice. Really good. Chris asked about ‘Bee’, who he didn’t know as
anyone other than Sam’s partner. It had been weird when Chris had, while Sam
had visited Mikaela and the baby, asked about ‘Bee’ and who he was. He must
have overheard something and Sam had fumbled a little.
“Boyfriend?” Chris had simply asked.
Sam had found out he still knew how to blush like a teenager. But that
misinterpreted information had led to their relationship changing. Chris had at
least subconsciously seen Sam as a potential rival for Mikaela, even after the
baby, and when he had heard Sam was in a relationship with a guy, he had
changed his behavior.
Weird, Sam thought, even today. But at least it had smoothed some waves.
“You didn’t bring him along?” Chris asked as he emptied his coke.
“He’s enjoying Vegas,” Sam replied vaguely.
::Am I?:: Bumblebee laughed.
::You’re spying, Bee::
::You’re not blocking::
So much was true.
Chris didn’t ask any further.
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Trent came over somewhere throughout the next hour, beer in hand, smiling
amiably.
“Got rid of your fan club?” Sam asked, almost laughing.
“Hey, what can I say? Popular.”
“And we keep wondering why,” Mikaela dead-panned. Then she got up and hugged him.
“So good to see you again, Trent.”
He hugged her back, shook hands with Chris, who was now looking at his wife’s
first boy-friend and still didn’t appear uncomfortable. Trent hadn’t made a
secret out of his brief high school involvement with Mikaela, but he had also
made it clear that it was the past.
“These reunions serve to remind me how lucky I was to not end up like those
guys,” DeMarco commented as he sat down.
“You were one of those guys,” Mikaela reminded him.
“And I got lucky.”
Sam knew what those four words truly translated into. Trent had gotten lucky in
many ways, mainly because he had joined the Army, had become a top-notch
logistician, which had in turn put him on the radar of the right people, and in
the end he had been recruited by Lennox to work for the Autobots. If someone
had told Sam that his former high school pain would somehow end up as a really
good and trusted friend, he would have laughed. But Trent was all that. He was
a good friend, Sam trusted him, and his position with the Autobots was an
important one.
“Brad’s still a brat,” Trent explained. “He got into his father’s business and
I think the old man is still not over that.”
Brad Coolings’s father Henry owned a small building company, Sam remembered. And
Brad was one of those muscle guys whose brain usually kicked in too late. He
had been good at football, bowling over who got into his way, but the rest of
school had somehow passed him by.
The others weren’t all that hot either. They had mundane jobs. For all their posturing
in school they had not amounted to much. Office employees, two with occasional
jobs, one who worked at a clothing company and emptied the trash bins. Trent
and Sam had somehow been the exception, aside from about half the girls, who
had either married well or gone off to college to become lawyers, business
women or had opened their own little stores. Sam wasn’t surprised to hear that
Tina and Ellen had thrown their money together and opened a needlework shop in San Francisco. Those two had always been knitting or stitching something or other. Therese
had married her high school sweetheart and they lived in Detroit where he
worked for some car dealership or other.
Everything was just so… mundane, so normal, Sam mused as he sipped at his first
beer of the night. His life had been so extraordinary after he had bought his
‘car’, but no one else had been affected. Normal people, normal lives.
Weird, he mused. Freaky.
Even Mikaela, her involvement aside, had become a normal mother and wife. Her
husband worked his own business, he was successful, they planned to have
another kid, move into their own little house…
::Do you miss this?:: Bumblebee asked softly.
::I don’t know. I never had it. How can I miss it?::
::You could be married now, work a normal job, have children::
Sam chuckled. ::I have a normal job, Bee. I work as an engineer. As for family…
you are. All of you. Even Will. We’re not married, but I see us as bonded.:: He
almost blushed. ::Well, not that way. Not like you’re used to::
Bumblebee seemed closer now, like standing next to him. He had had the feeling
before and it always warmed him in a way.
::What we share is something of both our backgrounds mixed together::
Yes. So much was true. He didn’t confuse Bumblebee with a human being and the
mech had never viewed him as one of his kind either. Their relationship was
beyond what another human could understand, unless the human in question was
called Will Lennox.
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Mikaela more or less threatened him into two dances, much to Trent’s amusement,
but then he had to dance with her as well.
Some of Trent’s old buddies came over, shooting Sam almost suspicious looks
that turned slightly freaky when Trent declared Sam and he were working
together. Since Trent had made no secret of his Army career, it left the
impression that Sam was a soldier, too.
“Hey, in a way you are,” Trent remarked as they watched Mikaela and Chris
dance.
“Am not.”
It got him a snort. “Right.”
Sam only glared, but it had felt good to see their stupid faces when Trent had made that remark to his old buddies.
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The evening wore on a lot more pleasantly than Sam had thought it might and
while the intoxication level at one table rose with the hours, there were no
incidents. The dance floor was still crowded and Mikaela harassed him into one
last dance. Chris had only chuckled. Trent entertained two former cheerleaders,
who had also swooned over the former football star in the past. Both were
married with children now. It didn’t stop them from giving him appreciative
looks. That he was an Army lieutenant had its pull, too.
“Wait till I tell them you’re a double-doctor, Witwicky,” Trent muttered at
Sam’s grin.
“Don’t you dare!”
“Watch me…”
He didn’t tell, for which Sam was grateful. He had avoided mentioning his
degrees whenever conversation drifted to jobs, and only said he was an engineer
and worked for the government. Even the latter he only mentioned reluctantly.
He couldn’t keep the former jocks from approaching him, though. At least two.
He could hardly remember their names; Toby, Tom, something and a guy named Jeff
or John or Jim.
“Hey, Witwicky,” the taller one, probably a Tom, Sam mused, said casually. “Trent’s been telling us you and he are working together. So you’re Army now, huh? Never
figured.”
Sam gave a mental sigh. “No, I’m not Army.”
“But Trent is.”
“Yes.”
“So what do you do now?” the second one wanted to know.
“I consult,” Sam answered vaguely, holding on to his luke-warm coke.
“For the Army?” Tom-something-or-other seemed impressed.
“Kinda.”
“As what?”
Man, they didn’t give up.
“I’m an engineer,” Sam shrugged.
“Cool. Never figured you as one. So what kind of engineer?”
“Mechanical engineering.”
And Biomedical, Industrial and Human Factors Engineering, he added silently. His
second doctorate. It was a wide area and it challenged his technopathic mind,
but it was fun. Sam could absorb himself in those areas for hours, especially
when it involved Cybertronian tech.
“Taylor!” a voice called and Taylor-formerly-thought-to-be-Tom turned, smiling as
a woman in her late twenties approached. She had a name tag. It said ‘Billie’.
“Oh, hey, Sam,” she greeted Sam. “Saw you around. How are you?”
“Fine.”
“He’s an engineer,” Taylor pointed out.
“Oh, that sounds interesting.”
Billie…. Right! Cheerleader Billie Roberts. She had never even given him the
time of day back then.
Taylor wrapped an arm around her, making it clear they were involved. “Well,
see you around, Witwicky.”
He and Billie and probably-not-Jeff walked off.
Sam sighed with relief, left the now too warm coke on a table, and walked back
to the table where Trent sat, talking with a girl he recalled from their senior
class. Becky, Sam reminded himself. Not to disturb them, he walked past the
table and left the room, heading for the men’s room.
In the end he migrated to a small area where some of his former class mates
were gambling at a row of eight one-armed bandits, watched for a while, and
finally went back. His shields were holding fine and he felt no compulsion to
slide along wiring into complex security networks or explore the multitude of
technological devices and machines everywhere. Still, he was tired. And
slightly headachy.
Trent only shot him a knowing look when he returned and pushed a bowl of
something chocolaty his way.
“Bad?” he only asked, voice low.
“Nah. I’m fine.”
Trent knew about his abilities and he had learned, like all others, to keep
an eye on Sam, carry high-caloric food, and if necessary get Sam somewhere he
could gather his shields again.
“This is far from the complexities of the machines I usually work with,” Sam
explained. “I’m just tired.”
Trent nodded, eyes drifting briefly through the room. “Just checking.”
And it was appreciated. Very much so.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sam, Trent, Mikaela and Chris left the whole reunion party past midnight and
drifted through the casino. They played at a poker table and lost some rounds,
but not much money, then won a little at the machines. Chris and Mikaela went
to their room in the Luxor around two, after they had all made a breakfast date
for ten a.m.
Sam didn’t feel all too tired and Trent was fidgeting a little, as if he was
undecided what to do next.
“I think I’ll go for a ride,” he finally said.
::Arcee:: Bumblebee supplied. ::She gave Lieutenant DeMarco a ride::
Sam grinned to himself. Arcee had taken to Trent for some reason. Probably
because he had a motorbike himself and loved driving fast. She had more in
common with the rest of the unit than Trent, who wasn’t the
front-line-defense-fully-armed-and-god-h
::She likes him:: Bumblebee supplied helpfully.
::I figured as much::
::But it’s not like us or Ironhide with Will::
Sam almost laughed. ::Good to know:: He really didn’t figure Trent as pursuing
a relationship with an alien life form. Then again, some girls he had dated in
high school would have fit that category as well.
::Arcee has met many humans in her time on Earth, she told me. She was never
able to interact with them.::
::So now she has chosen Trent?::
::Apparently. They get along quite well::
Sam walked out into the parking lot and wasn’t very surprised to find Bumblebee
and Arcee parked together. A bright green helmet lay on Arcee’s seat and she
ignited the engine, sounding almost impatient.
Sam raised an eyebrow at Trent, who only shrugged. He zipped his jacket shut
and donned the helmet.
“See you at breakfast,” he said in ways of a good-bye, then they were off into
the night.
Sam chuckled and slid into the driver’s seat.
“Where to?” Bumblebee asked out loud.
“Just drive. I have nothing planned.”
He leaned back, hands on the wheel without actually being in control, and
Bumblebee headed down the strip with the other cars, enjoying the lights. It
wasn’t as crowded this time of the night – or early morning – and soon they
were past Freemont Street and heading toward Lake Mead.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Bumblebee parked at a dark and silent overlook of Lake Mead. There had been no
one at the park entrance and they had simply slid inside. Silent and dark, too.
Sam got out and hoisted himself up on the hood, leaning back against the
windshield. He crossed his arms behind him and gazed into the sky. Bumblebee’s
presence in his mind was very close and he enjoyed them being this… intimate –
without actually doing anything.
::Are you glad you came?” Bumblebee asked.
::In a way. It’s different from what I expected. Mikaela and Trent helped::
::Why didn’t you like school?::
::Oh, I liked school. I was just never popular. The girls were looking for
muscle. Those who weren’t, were looking for brain. I was neither. I was
average. In everything. Until you guys arrived::
Bumblebee mulled that over. ::But no one knows about us, about what you have
done, what you are, who you have become. So you’re still just average?::
::Kinda. After tonight I know everyone’s just average. Whatever they were in
school, they aren’t today. Aside from one or two assholes who think they’re
god’s gift to the world, that is:: He laughed a little at that.
::You could have told them about your degrees:: the mech suggested.
::And then what? That sounds like showing off because I’m desperate. I’m not. Look
at Trent. He didn’t brandish his career into anyone’s face. And he can’t talk
about a lot either::
Bumblebee sent agreement.
::Where are they?:: Sam wanted to know.
The mech chuckled. ::According to Arcee, halfway to Mexico. In reality they’re
cruising around and will soon head back.::
“And so should we,” Sam said out loud and got off the hood. “I’ve got a
breakfast date tomorrow.”
Bumblebee started the engine, but he let Sam drive back to Las Vegas and park
the car in the hotel car park. Sam gave him a pat on the roof as he left the
Camaro in the lot and walked back into the hotel. The casino was still busy and
it was never really quiet or without customers. He smiled a little to himself
as he waited in front of the elevators.
It had been a good night. Not perfect, but no reunion ever would be.
His room was silent and dark as he came in and he stripped quickly and crawled
between the sheets, feeling more tired than he had really registered. Sam fell
asleep within minutes and didn’t wake until his alarm went off a few hours
later.
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Sam couldn’t hide the knowing smile as he watched Trent DeMarco shuffle over to
the table and almost inhale his coffee in one go. The hot liquid had barely
time to touch his nerves, it seemed.
“Late night?”
“Shut it, Witwicky,” came the growl.
“Speed addict,” Sam teased.
There was a glint in Trent’s eyes that told Sam he had hit bull’s eye. Arcee
loved speed, just like Trent loved to drive fast. To drive fast on a bike had
to be the ultimate kick for the other man.
“When did you get back?”
Trent smothered a yawn. “Three hours ago. I didn’t believe her when she said
we could go all the way to LA and back before dawn.”
“Bet anything?”
Trent chuckled. “I’m not that stupid.”
Mikaela and Chris arrived not five minutes later and Mikaela took one look at Trent and started her own teasing. Chris, who had no idea, was under the impression Trent had found a girl.
Breakfast consisted of a lot of coffee, pancakes, fruit, more coffee, eggs,
cereal, additional coffee, and finally, coffee. People from the reunion drifted
by, said their helloes, talked a little, then had their own breakfast.
Sam was pleasantly full and when he said good-bye to Mikaela and Chris he was a
bit emotional. It had been good to see his friend, even some of the other
former students.
“Come see us this summer,” Chris offered.
“Sure. Will do.”
And then it was only him and Trent, who was packed and ready to go.
“See you at the base,” the other said jovially. “Arcee and I are taking the
scenic route.”
Sam grinned and waved him good-bye, then packed his own bag and stuffed it into
Bumblebee’s trunk.
“Ready?” the mech asked.
“Yeah. Ready. Let’s go home.”
The yellow Camaro pulled away from the parking lot and joined the traffic
leading to the I-15.
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End of the interlude fic :) Hope you enjoyed it.