[Veritas]

I decided to start a group story project. Since school will be starting soon for some of us, or already starting for a few of us, I decided to do a school-themed story. For those who don't know the rules, one person begins a story (in this case, myself), then another person adds onto it, then another person adds onto it, and so on, until we all come up with a complete story. Have fun!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

School days! School days!
Good old golden-rule days!
Reading and 'riting and 'rithmetic;
Talk to the tune of a hickory stick!
You were my queen in calico;
I was your bashful, barefoot beau;
You wrote on your slate, "I love you so!"
We were a couple of kids!

Criss shut off the driveling song on his car radio as he drove to the Luxor. Here it was, the beginning of August, and already the retailers were launching their back-to-school shopping campaigns. Everywhere he looked, he saw stores displaying notebooks, lunch boxes, and the latest in school clothing lines. Electronic stores touted SmartPhones, laptops and other computerized paraphenalia to aid students in their studies, though Criss knew from experience they would be used more to aid students in updating their Facebook status or texting the cute girl or boy in the next seat if she or he was available for a date.

It was almost as bad as Christmas, he thought. It seemed stores were pushing everything ahead weeks if not months in advance--Valentine's Day right after New Year's, Easter in late February, Fourth of July right after Memorial Day, Halloween before the first week of September, and Christmas six weeks before Thanksgiving. There was nothing he could do about it, he conceded. It was all about the bottom line, the profit margin, getting ahead of the competition. The early bird gets the worm and all that. Couldn't everyone just relax and enjoy the present season without having the next one shoved in their faces?

He passed a local elementary school, its sign announcing the commencement of classes on August 29th at 8:30 AM. Memories of his own school days crept into his mind: the misery of ending eight weeks of summer fun; the ordeal of shopping for school clothes with his mother; the mixture of anticipation and dread upon the first day of school, wondering if his new teacher would be nice; then the long, dreary routine of rising, dressing, eating breakfast, going to school and coming home again would begin all over again until the end of the term when June once again rolled around, and he would look forward to that happy day when he and his classmates would clean out their desks and be free until September, which seemed a long ways away but came rushing up without warning as it usually did.

Those days were decades behind him now. Instead, his time was spent in a whirlwind of rehersals, tapings, performances, interviews, and endless meetings, broken up only by nights of partying at Las Vegas's various clubs and other hot spots. He was lucky to have a week off for vacation instead of two months.

The black pyramid came into view. Criss turned his sleek black Viper into the drive and parked in front of the main entrance. An attendant trotted over and opened the door for him. Criss tossed him the keys and walked into the hotel, heading straight for the production office, his home away from home away from home, it seemed at times. As he walked across the carpeted lobby, that driveling school days song kept replaying in his head. Should have bought my iPod, he thought.

The MindFreak production office was just off a side corridor. He slipped into the office unannounced so as not to disturb the staff at work. The first person to notice him was his eldest brother, JD, who was chuckling over a flyer he had been perusing at his desk. Curious, Criss walked over to him. "Hey, JD," he said casually, "what's up?"

JD looked up. "Oh, hi, Criss," he said. He held up the flyer. "I was just reading this ad for the new health store that's opening up here at the Luxor."

"What's so funny about a health store?" Criss asked.

"Well, it's not the store that's funny," JD said, "it's who's running it. I don't know if you remember him or not, but do you remember Sydney Krupermann? We used to go to school with him?"

Criss ran the name through the memory banks of his brain: Sydney? Sydney Krupermann? Suddenly, a connection was made. "Oh, yeah! Sydney Krupermann! Wimpy kid with the glasses, allergic to everything under the sun? Yeah, I remember him!" He began to laugh. "God! I haven't thought of him in years! What about him, anyway?"

JD gave him the flyer. "Well, he's no wimp anymore," he said. "Seems he's got into body building, and now he's got a chain of health and vitamin stores. Check out his picture on the back."

Criss flipped over the flyer. "Whoa!" he gasped. "My God!"

The name at the bottom of the photo read Syd Krupermann, but the bleached blond hulking mass of muscle and tanned flesh bore no resemblance to the frail, sickly schoolmate from East Meadow Elementary School. "This can't be Sydney," he said, shaking his head.

"People can change a lot in thirty years, you know," JD pointed out.

"Yeah, but this!" Criss exclaimed. "I mean, kids at school used to beat him up just about every day. I didn't, of course, but I know a lot of kids who did. I mean, like, this kid was like Milhouse from The Simpsons. Now he's, like, Mr. Universe!"

"Like I said, people can change," JD repeated. "If you want to meet him, his grand opening is in a week; you can meet him then."

Criss handed the flyer back to JD. As he did so, another brochure caught his eye, this one from UNLV. He picked it up and said, "Hey, what's the deal with this?"

"Oh, that?" JD shrugged. "That's where Dimi's going to this fall."

Criss broke out into a wide smile. "She got in?" he asked excitedly.

JD nodded proudly. "Yep, she got in. My daughter, the college freshman!"

The brochure went flying up as Criss cheered. "YESSS!!" he crowed. "Dimi's going to UNLV!" He held up his hand. "High five!"

JD slapped Criss' hand. "So," Criss said, calming down a little, "is she gonna live on campus or what?"

"Well, she's gonna stay in a dorm--excuse me, 'residence hall'--for a while," JD replied, "but I think she's planning to pledge a sorority."

The latter half of that statement was tinged with a certain uneasiness that Criss sensed immediatly. "You got something against that?" he asked.

"Oh, no!" JD demurred. "No, no, not at all. It's just that, well..."

"Well, what?" Criss pressed.

"Well, it's just that I hear so many stories about these organizations, you know. Like hazing rituals, and beer bashes, things like that."

"That's fraternities, JD, not sororities."

"Well, I just don't want Dimi to get hurt, that's all. And some of those sororities are a bit...snobbish, you know, very exclusive."

Criss shook his head. "Man, you've been watching way too many made-for-TV movies, you know that?" he laughed. "Sororities aren't the snooty, cliquish places you think they are; there are probably some very nice girls in them. And I know for a fact that hazing is against the law." He laid a hand on JD's shoulder. "Relax, Dimi will be fine," he assured him. "You're just anxious because your only daughter is leaving home and going off to college. Everything will be fine, really!"

JD sighed. "Yeah, maybe you're right," he said. "Dimi's a levelheaded young lady. I'm sure she'll do the right thing."

"Of course she will," Criss said. "Now, let's get to work."

(anyone want to take it from here?)

[Veritas]

This is from Rachel:

After the meeting thoughts started to swirl in Criss's head about his niece going to college and seeing a guy who looked like he could be tackler for the New York Jets that he use to go to high school with. Criss got up and looked at himself in the mirror and remember what he looked like in high school. The only that changed in his mind were just some scars from many stunts and illusions he's done over the year and the tattoos he had on his hands. The door opened and Dimi came walking in with a book that he could use for a door stop. "What the heck is that?"Criss inquired as Dimi put it down. "It's a book of classes I can take I can take" showing the book to Criss. "Chemistry if I took that I'd probably blow up the place"Criss joked. "I'd probably make a stink bomb" Dimi remarked. "Here's one you're father would love Psychology". "Yea I can do a paper on why my uncle is adrenal junkie"she replied as Criss laugh. "What about business you're good with figures and numbers. You passed all your math classes including trig". "Yea that was a fun classes". "I got to tell you I looked at your trig book and I thought I was holding it upside down"Criss said as Dimi chuckled.

[Veritas]

Hm, no offers? Well, I'll just have to continue myself...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, you've got plenty of time to make up your mind about a major," Criss said. "I mean, classes don't start until...when?"

"August twenty-second," Dimi finished for him.

That startled Criss. "Whoa! That's next week! There's not much time to prepare."

Dimi laughed a little. "Uncle Criss, I've been preparing for the past three weeks now," she told him. "I've got all my stuff sorted out and packed, I've got whatever supplies I need for classes, and for my dorm, and, like you said, I've got plenty of time to choose a major."

"You gonna be living in a dorm?" Criss echoed. "I mean, with a bunch of other girls?"

"Well, duh!" Dimi sneered, laughing. "That's what a dorm is, right?"

"But what about privacy?" Criss wanted to know. "All your life you've had your own room, with your own bath and everything, and now you're going to be sharing one with a complete stranger in a building full of complete strangers. It's gonna be like a prison in there."

Dimi shrugged. "Yeah, well, maybe in the beginning of the first semester," she said, "but I'm hoping to pledge a sorority and move into their house. I'm sure I'll get my own room then. Meanwhile, it'll be a temporary inconvenience."

JD's words regarding sororities and fraternities replayed in Criss's mind, growing more convincing with every moment: ...it's just that I hear so many stories about these organizations, you know. Like hazing rituals, and beer bashes, things like that. I just don't want Dimi to get hurt, that's all. And some of those sororities are a bit...snobbish, you know, very exclusive. "Uh, say, Dimi, how's about I find you an apartment somewhere near campus," he quickly suggested. "I'll cover the rent, and you'll have your own bedroom, bathroom, kitchen--everything! You won't have to worry about your roommates borrowing your stuff, or making a mess in the john, or anything like that. A lot of these apartment complexes have really good security, and--"

Dimi held up her hand. "Uncle Criss," she said calmly, "I know what you're trying to do, and I really appreciate it, but it's already a done deal. I got my dorm room assignment last week, and I'm going to try and pledge a sorority. It's not that I'm ungrateful--I really am--but I need to live my own life on my own terms now. I've got to call the shots in my own life, just like you do. You understand, don't you?"

For that one instant, Criss looked at his niece with different eyes. No longer was she the cute, cuddly little girl he used to entertain with lollipops and coins pulled out of thin air. Before him stood a grown woman, confident in her own judgement regarding her life. It saddened him a little, but he stoically accepted reality and said with a brave smile, "Okay, Dimi, you obviously know what you're doing. You're right, you should make your own decisions about your life. You're and adult now, and you should do what you think is best."

Then the brave front crumbled. Criss swallowed hard. "Just promise me, and your dad, one thing, okay? If this sorority thing doesn't work out, or if you get in any sort of trouble, don't hesistate to call on your family for help. That's the one thing you can always count on when things go wrong--your family. We'll always be there for you, no matter what happens. I know you've got everything planned out, but, as they say, the best laid plans often go awry. I should know, I've had it happen to me hundreds of times. So, think carefully about what you'll be getting yourself into, whether it's a sorority or a relationship with some guy you've just met or whatever, and if it blows up in your face, let us know. Promise?"

Dimi sighed, half acknowledging her uncle's wisdom and half irritated at still being treated like a child. "Okay, I promise," she said.

"Good."

Criss reached over and hugged his niece. "You'll do great, Dimi," he said, beaming with pride. "I want your college years to be the best of your life."

"Hey!" a man's voice cried out. "What're you doing with my best girl?"

Dimi and Criss pulled apart and saw JD standing in the doorway with an indignant expression on his face but a twinkle in his eye.

(okay, your turn, whoever you are)

[Veritas]

Hey, come on here! This is a GROUP story project, meaning anyone can add their own post to it. It's open to everyone, so join in! Let's get some more contributors already!

[RACHEL02189]

I like these reminds me of Mad Libs

"Very funny dad I should get going need to pick up one more thing". She gave her father a kiss and left. "God where did the time go it seems only yesterday she was taking her first step,"JD stated. "Makes you want to have one Criss" looking at him. "I'm not ready for that just yet" Criss replied sitting down. "Come on Criss you're half way to fifty what are you waiting for?". "JD I would like to be married before kids if you don't mind"Criss replied. "How long have you and Sandra been dating?". "A year and just to let you know she's not ready either"Criss said knowing where his brother was going. "Well unless you want to be the oldest guy with a kid in high school-". Criss threw some paper balls at JD. "All right all right I'll shut up"JD stated. "God you're worse than mom she keep hinting that she wants more grandchildren. Maybe that's why Costa hasn't had a steady girlfriend since we were at The Alladdin" as Criss snickered.

[Veritas]

Thanks, Rachel. Now, let's get some fresh blood on this thread, okay?

[Veritas]

Bump!

[Veritas]

Hm, no takers again? Well, I guess it's up to me once more to fill in the gap...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Criss and JD weren't the only ones musing about Dimi as a child. Her mother, Lyn, was feeling nostalgic as she went through her daughter's belongings stored in the attic. She sat on a rickety stool, sifting through a large box with DIMI'S STUFF scrawled on the top in black marker. Each item she picked up--a stuffed toy, a teen novel, a small photo album containing pictures of Dimi with friends and family--triggered a memory which filled her eyes with tears and her heart with longing.

There's a photo here of Dimi as a toddler, sitting on her Uncle Chris's lap next to her daddy. They're all wearing sunglasses and giving the thumbs up. She looks so cute! And here's Dimi's rubber duck, the one she always insisted on having with her for bath time. Here's her communion-confirmation certificate--I wondered what happened to it! Here's her old grade reports from elementary school--good grief, they're so smudged I can barely read them! Why did they have to switch to carbon copies instead of using paperboard like I had when I went to school?

She picked up a little white porcelain piggy bank and shook it. Dimi's baby bank! Hm! We were going to use it to save for her college education! She laughed to herself. It'll take several million of these to cover her tuition!

Tuition. College. Lyn set the piggy bank gently into the box. She had long accepted the fact that Dimi was growing up and would someday leave for college, but that day seemed so far off in the future that she had given it no thought. Now, that day was barely a week away, and she found herself totally unprepared for the changes to come. It seemed like only yesterday she was dressing her daughter for her first day of kindergarten; in a few days, she would helping her pack for college.

I'm going to be strong, she vowed. I'm not going to be clingy or weepy about it when she leaves. I'm going to show her how proud of her I am by smiling every step of the way there. When she moves into her dorm room, I'm going to leave and not look back! She's an adult now, not a child. Strong words, indeed, but they failed to lift her spirits. Lyn's maternal side still cried out My baby! My baby! I'm losing my baby!

The sharp sound of a door slam startled her out of her sorrowful mood.

[Veritas]

bump!

[RACHEL02189]

She turned around and saw Dimi. "I knew you were going to pull out the old stuff mom". Lynn got up as she wiped the tears from her face. "I just can't believe my little Dimi is off to col-". Tears started to fall down her face as she gave Dimi a hug. "Mom I'n not going to another state or country for that matter. I'll be here in Nevdad at NVU"she assured her mother. "I just can't believe this it felt like only yesterday me and your father were bringing you home from the hospital now you're off to college". The phone rang and Dimi picked it up. "Hello". "Ms. Sarantakos this is the dorm organizer we wanted to inform you that the college has decided to make the dorms coed but we will give you the opotion of either a man or a woman roommate". "Let me think about it I'll give you my answer tomorrow" and hung up.

"Who was that Dimi?"Lynn asked. "The school it seems the dorms are going to be coed and I have a choice of a man or a woman roommate" she replied. Lynn felt like her jaw was on the floor. "So what are you going to do?". "Easy see if Jordan wants to roommate" and went upstairs. At The Luxor Criss was looking over some stuff with JD when the phone rang. "Hello hey Lynn what are you serious we'll talk about this when I get home" and hung up. JD sat down and ran his fingers through his hair. "I know that look you had it when Dimi wanted to start dating"Criss stated. "Dimi's college decided to go coed and Lynn's ready to go postal". "Come on JD she's eighteen she knows how to deal with guys especially those guys who won't take no for an answer". "I can't let her have a male roommate I'll go crazy". "JD you went crazy when you found out you were having a girl eighteen years ago. Just trust Dimi will you". "I trust Dimi it's the bos I don't trust"JD replied as Criss started to muffle a laugh. That's probably what ever father said when we started dating their daughters Criss thought