Servo 18:1
Servo 18:1
The month of May melded into June. Before I gave it any thought, we were faced with Suz’s high school graduation. It seemed like the last year flew by. Rory and I were now anticipating summer vacation. Work on the bot had slowed once again in favor of studying for final exams. But after next week, that would all be over. I was confident Mrs. Graham would give us high marks. Today, it was Suz’s day. The senior class was allowed to graduate a week early. The Cranwinkle house was in total upheaval as Suz primmed for the occasion. The remainder of the household stayed quietly out of her way. I was in my room getting dressed when I heard knocking on the door. “Yes?”“It’s me,” Rory said.“Come on in.”He opened the door and stood in the doorway. “Do I look stupid?”I glanced over and saw him clothed in a smart suit made of dark gray material. His hair was combed back, and he even wore a tie. “No, you look good.”“It itches!”“Where’d you get the suit?”“Grandma bought it for me.”“Did you pick it out?”“Kind of.”“Did you even try it on?”“Yes. But it didn’t feel itchy then.”“Maybe you were wearing a different shirt when you tried it on.”Rory wiggled. “It’s not super bad; I suppose I can make it through the day.”I slid into a dark blue twill jacket. It had a satin lining and felt nice against my bare arms. The weather had improved greatly and the warmth of summer was now making an appearance. Outside my bedroom window, behind the old barn, I could see little sprouts of green in the once dusty field. Life seemed to be coming back to the despondent farming community. “Come on, boys!” Grandpa called from the bottom of the stairs. I guess that meant Suz was finally ready. Rory said nothing and made his way downstairs. I paused for a moment, looking at myself in the mirror which hung inside the wardrobe door. Someone very different was staring back at me. Who is this kid? My hair was longer than I’d ever kept it, and my face didn’t even seem to be my own. I looked older. Could a year make that much difference? I stretched my arms forward to straighten the jacket and realized the sleeves were now a bit short. Somewhere in the last year, I’d grown too. “Jonah!” Grandpa hollered.For a moment, I pretended I didn’t hear him. I just stared in the mirror. “Jonah!”I broke my gaze and hurried out. The whole family was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Suz gave me a dirty look as I neared them. “And I’m always being accused of making us late!” she scoffed.“Sorry.”Little more was said as we left the house and piled into the truck. Grandpa drove, Grandma sat next to him, and the three of us occupied the backseat. We traveled the five-and-a-half miles to school. The commencement ceremony was to be held in the auditorium. Upon our arrival, we found every available parking space filled. Of course there weren’t many, it wasn’t a particularly large school. The majority of campus took less than a square block. Across a street was the athletic field which took up almost another block. Grandpa circled the area like a vulture and finally had to park on a side street three blocks away. Rory and I didn’t mind the walk, but Suz grumbled because she was wearing new shoes. Grandma took it all in stride. She looped arms with Grandpa and they strolled along in the warm sunshine. As we neared the school, the noise of hundreds of voices filled the air. Rounding the corner of the main building, we beheld the small courtyard jam-packed with people. “Oh, dear,” Grandma said, obviously taken aback by the scene. Being a Saturday, there wasn’t the same amount of school children as during the week. There seemed to be ten times more! Elementary and middle school kids darted between the throngs of high-schoolers, babies screamed and cried as their mothers tried to placate them, and parents did their best to maintain control over the situation. It was utter chaos. Suz excused herself to head “backstage” for the event. The rest of us hung on the fringes of the mob, not wanting to get mixed up in the bedlam. Grandpa put his hand on my shoulder. “When I graduated high school, there were just fifteen of us in the entire senior class.”“Why so few?” I replied.“The Philadelphia Science Academy only accepted the best and brightest. Not many were admitted each year.”“You went to the Science Academy?!” In all my life, I’d wanted to go there. But I didn’t have a high enough IQ to get in the door. Suz could have gone, but she decided to stay in school with us. Secretly, I was jealous of grandpa.“Four years of hard work followed by four more at Bryn Mawr Bio-Technical.”“Wow,” I said softly. My very own father had onlybeen a graduate of the Philadelphia School for Enlightened Students, and went on to Thomas Edison Industrial College where he majored in robotics. Grandpa was light-years ahead of my dad. He’d attended the finest schools in the country for technology and robotics. Now I was seriously jealous. If I was lucky and kept my grades immaculate, I might get accepted to one of the lower-end technical colleges in the Inner States. Coming from the Outer States, with a plain high school education, and an IQ of 170, I had a severe deficit compared to the other students that were enrolled in Inner States schools. This just heightened my resolve to succeed. Static crackled and hissed through the air. The next thing we heard was the booming voice of the principal, Mr. Simmons: “Everyone please make your way to the auditorium. Commencement will start in ten minutes.”Again we hung back and let the surge of families go ahead of us. There was a mass bottle-neck at the doors as everyone tried to elbow their way in. Frankly, I was happy to stand in the sun. It felt good warming the dark twill jacket, seeping through and touching my skin. I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to picture my parents’ faces. They would be proud of us—all of us, even Suz. Something disturbed me deeply. I could no longer see their faces. Only a few months ago, I could see them—plain as day. Now, they were dim and blurry. What was happening? Was I losing their memories? “Come, Jonah, let’s go. Most of the crowd has gone in,” Grandma said, giving me a gentle nudge. I opened my eyes and looked around, sad that I was forgetting. After graduation, I’d go home and find some images of my parents on my tablet. I refused to let their faces fade. The love I had for my parents, especially my father, would extend beyond their graves. And there was still the question of why would such a brilliant man die so suddenly?
The month of May melded into June. Before I gave it any thought, we were faced with Suz’s high school graduation. It seemed like the last year flew by. Rory and I were now anticipating summer vacation. Work on the bot had slowed once again in favor of studying for final exams. But after next week, that would all be over. I was confident Mrs. Graham would give us high marks. Today, it was Suz’s day. The senior class was allowed to graduate a week early. The Cranwinkle house was in total upheaval as Suz primmed for the occasion. The remainder of the household stayed quietly out of her way. I was in my room getting dressed when I heard knocking on the door. “Yes?”“It’s me,” Rory said.“Come on in.”He opened the door and stood in the doorway. “Do I look stupid?”I glanced over and saw him clothed in a smart suit made of dark gray material. His hair was combed back, and he even wore a tie. “No, you look good.”“It itches!”“Where’d you get the suit?”“Grandma bought it for me.”“Did you pick it out?”“Kind of.”“Did you even try it on?”“Yes. But it didn’t feel itchy then.”“Maybe you were wearing a different shirt when you tried it on.”Rory wiggled. “It’s not super bad; I suppose I can make it through the day.”I slid into a dark blue twill jacket. It had a satin lining and felt nice against my bare arms. The weather had improved greatly and the warmth of summer was now making an appearance. Outside my bedroom window, behind the old barn, I could see little sprouts of green in the once dusty field. Life seemed to be coming back to the despondent farming community. “Come on, boys!” Grandpa called from the bottom of the stairs. I guess that meant Suz was finally ready. Rory said nothing and made his way downstairs. I paused for a moment, looking at myself in the mirror which hung inside the wardrobe door. Someone very different was staring back at me. Who is this kid? My hair was longer than I’d ever kept it, and my face didn’t even seem to be my own. I looked older. Could a year make that much difference? I stretched my arms forward to straighten the jacket and realized the sleeves were now a bit short. Somewhere in the last year, I’d grown too. “Jonah!” Grandpa hollered.For a moment, I pretended I didn’t hear him. I just stared in the mirror. “Jonah!”I broke my gaze and hurried out. The whole family was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Suz gave me a dirty look as I neared them. “And I’m always being accused of making us late!” she scoffed.“Sorry.”Little more was said as we left the house and piled into the truck. Grandpa drove, Grandma sat next to him, and the three of us occupied the backseat. We traveled the five-and-a-half miles to school. The commencement ceremony was to be held in the auditorium. Upon our arrival, we found every available parking space filled. Of course there weren’t many, it wasn’t a particularly large school. The majority of campus took less than a square block. Across a street was the athletic field which took up almost another block. Grandpa circled the area like a vulture and finally had to park on a side street three blocks away. Rory and I didn’t mind the walk, but Suz grumbled because she was wearing new shoes. Grandma took it all in stride. She looped arms with Grandpa and they strolled along in the warm sunshine. As we neared the school, the noise of hundreds of voices filled the air. Rounding the corner of the main building, we beheld the small courtyard jam-packed with people. “Oh, dear,” Grandma said, obviously taken aback by the scene. Being a Saturday, there wasn’t the same amount of school children as during the week. There seemed to be ten times more! Elementary and middle school kids darted between the throngs of high-schoolers, babies screamed and cried as their mothers tried to placate them, and parents did their best to maintain control over the situation. It was utter chaos. Suz excused herself to head “backstage” for the event. The rest of us hung on the fringes of the mob, not wanting to get mixed up in the bedlam. Grandpa put his hand on my shoulder. “When I graduated high school, there were just fifteen of us in the entire senior class.”“Why so few?” I replied.“The Philadelphia Science Academy only accepted the best and brightest. Not many were admitted each year.”“You went to the Science Academy?!” In all my life, I’d wanted to go there. But I didn’t have a high enough IQ to get in the door. Suz could have gone, but she decided to stay in school with us. Secretly, I was jealous of grandpa.“Four years of hard work followed by four more at Bryn Mawr Bio-Technical.”“Wow,” I said softly. My very own father had onlybeen a graduate of the Philadelphia School for Enlightened Students, and went on to Thomas Edison Industrial College where he majored in robotics. Grandpa was light-years ahead of my dad. He’d attended the finest schools in the country for technology and robotics. Now I was seriously jealous. If I was lucky and kept my grades immaculate, I might get accepted to one of the lower-end technical colleges in the Inner States. Coming from the Outer States, with a plain high school education, and an IQ of 170, I had a severe deficit compared to the other students that were enrolled in Inner States schools. This just heightened my resolve to succeed. Static crackled and hissed through the air. The next thing we heard was the booming voice of the principal, Mr. Simmons: “Everyone please make your way to the auditorium. Commencement will start in ten minutes.”Again we hung back and let the surge of families go ahead of us. There was a mass bottle-neck at the doors as everyone tried to elbow their way in. Frankly, I was happy to stand in the sun. It felt good warming the dark twill jacket, seeping through and touching my skin. I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to picture my parents’ faces. They would be proud of us—all of us, even Suz. Something disturbed me deeply. I could no longer see their faces. Only a few months ago, I could see them—plain as day. Now, they were dim and blurry. What was happening? Was I losing their memories? “Come, Jonah, let’s go. Most of the crowd has gone in,” Grandma said, giving me a gentle nudge. I opened my eyes and looked around, sad that I was forgetting. After graduation, I’d go home and find some images of my parents on my tablet. I refused to let their faces fade. The love I had for my parents, especially my father, would extend beyond their graves. And there was still the question of why would such a brilliant man die so suddenly?
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