thought away, afraid to even think it, worried on some superstitious level that simply acknowledging the possibility might make it a reality.
She moved back to her seat for the remainder of the ceremony, putting warm hands on her grandmothers' cold, thin arms as prayers were said and speeches were read. Her dad remained in place, videotaping.
She went back down to the edge of the bleachers with her father when they started issuing diplomas, and she took a picture of Sam rising from her chair, another of her standing at the head of the line waiting to receive her diploma.
When they announced the name Samantha Davis over the loudspeaker, she couldn't resist, and even as she snapped a photo of Sam accepting the diploma from the principal, she whooped loudly, screamed.
Quite a few other people screamed and clapped as well. Sam was one of the most popular seniors in school, and while Shannon often found herself somewhat annoyed by that, she experienced a surge of pride today, and she was proud to be the sister of Samantha Davis.
After the ceremony, they were taking pictures in front of the Juniper Union High School sign, Samantha posing with both sets of grandparents, when Diane, breathless, came running up. She waved to Sam, nodded to her parents, then stood directly in front of Shannon. 'They need two people to work the punch bowl at Grad Night,' she said. 'You want to do it?'
'What?'
'Smith and Jimmy got caught trying to smuggle a bottle of scotch into the gym. I guess they were going to spike the punch. It's supposed to be a sober grad night, no alcohol, so they were automatically kicked out, and now they're looking for two replacements. Mr. Handy said it's ours if we want it.'
Shannon looked hopefully at her mother.
'Go ahead,' her mom said, smiling.
'Yes!' Diane pumped a fist in the air and grinned. 'I'll tell them we're in.' She started running back down the sloping grass toward the gymnasium.
'Where and when?' Shannon called.
Diane turned around, running backward. 'Meet me at the gym when you're through here!'
'We're going out to eat!'
'Eight o'clock, then! The gym!'
Shannon nodded, waved, and Diane disappeared into the crowd of still milling parents.
Dinner, Shannon thought, was somewhat depressing. They went to the Castle Creek Steakhouse, the closest thing to a decent restaurant in this area of the state, but so did half the graduating class. And although Sam spent most of the meal visiting with friends, talking to other kids, it was conspicuously obvious that she didn't have a boyfriend. Most of the other girls in the restaurant, except the losers, were eating out with their families and their boyfriends.
Shannon knew for a fact that at least six boys had asked Sam to Grad Night although she had decided to go stag -- but it wasn't the same as having one special person to share this special night with.
She missed Jake.
That's what it came down to, really, and she found herself wondering if she would have a boyfriend by the time she graduated or if she would end up going out to dinner with just her parents and her sister and her grandparents.
Maybe not even all of her grandparents.
God, this was turning out to be a depressing night.
Things improved greatly after dinner, though. They all went home, she and Sam quickly changed into party clothes . . . and then changed again into party clothes that were acceptable to their parents, and their dad dropped them off at school.
After he drove away, Shannon shyly gave her sister a special graduation present she'd bought herself. She'd contributed to the PC and printer that the whole family had chipped in on, but she'd wanted to get Samantha something more personal, less practical. Something that was just from her. So she'd gone down to Ellen's Attic and, with the allowance and baby-sitting money she'd saved all year, bought her sister an antique brooch.
'I know you like those things,' Shannon said. 'And I thought it would be a good graduation present.'
'It's a wonderful present!' Sam hugged her, awkwardly yet gratefully.
'Thank you so much.' She immediately pinned it to her blouse. 'What do Mom and Dad think?'
'I didn't tell them. It's from me to you, so I wanted you to see it first.'
Sam smiled. 'It may not seem like it sometimes, but I really am glad you're my sister.'
Shannon looked away, embarrassed. 'Me, too,' she said.
They split up after that, Sam walking over to where her friends were congregating for the last time at Senior Corner, Shannon heading straight to the gym, where Diane was already filling paper cups with red fruit punch.
'It's about time you got here,' she said. 'Help me fill these up before the rush starts.'
Grad Night this year was sponsored by The Store, all of the decorations and refreshments, even the entertainment donated or paid for by The Store. A big banner strung above the doorway announced WELCOME TO THE STORE'S FIRST ANNUAL
GRAD NIGHT CELEBRATION!
That was nice, Shannon supposed, but it also meant that they had to abide by rules and regulations imposed by The Store. Traditionally, Juniper's Grad Night parties lasted from dusk until dawn, with parent and teacher volunteers chaperoning the kids inside the gym and policemen monitoring the parking lot and the streets abutting the school in order to make sure there was no trouble. This year, however the chaperons had been scrapped. The Store had supplied its own security. And the police would probably have very little to do in the parking lot or on the street because once seniors entered the Grad Night party, they were not allowed to leave the gym.
This was all supposed to cut down on problems and troublemakers, but to Shannon it lent to the celebration an uneasy atmosphere. Teachers and administrators were still in attendance, but they were relegated to the sidelines: making lame announcements from the stage between songs, helping students serve refreshments. In contrast, stoic guards in green Store uniforms were conspicuously stationed around the gym to monitor the partiers' behavior and to block all exits. The guards were not people from town but part of the group of initial Store employees brought in from the corporate office. No one knew them, and they knew no one, and it made for an unsettling time. This was supposed to be a graduation party, a celebration of freedom from compulsory schooling, but it felt more like a dance at a prison, and long before midnight Shannon was sorry she'd agreed to help out. She felt like she was being watched all the time, monitored, and it was a feeling she didn't like.
Sam stopped by several times throughout the early evening, accompanied by different dance partners, but eventually Shannon lost track of her sister, and the next time she saw her, several hours later, Sam was huddled with a group of Store guards to the left of the bandstand.
During a break in the music, while Mr. Handy gave out joke awards that were supposed to be humorous but were merely embarrassing, Shannon made a quick trip to the bathroom. Sam was already in there with a bunch of other girls, and she put a hand on Shannon's shoulder. 'I've been promoted,' she said. 'I'm going to be lead in Housewares this summer. They're letting me out of Infants. I guess they like me.'
'What's a lead?'
'It's the lead salesperson. The department manager'll be over me, but I'm pretty much second in command. I'll be like the boss of all the Housewares part timers.'
'Who told you? One of those guys guarding the door?'
'Yeah. Ray.'
Shannon smiled teasingly. 'Ooh, first-name basis. Is there something going on here I should know about?'
'With Ray?' Sam laughed. 'I don't think so.'
'Well, I'm happy for you,' Shannon said. 'That's great.'
But it wasn't that great, and she wondered why her sister seemed so proud and excited over such a trivial thing. Sam had always disdained those girls at their school who set their career sights no higher than being a waitress or a sales clerk. She was adamant about getting out of this town and getting an education and becoming part of what she called 'the real world.' It seemed completely out of character for her to feel honored because some security guard told her she'd gotten a minor promotion in her menial part-time job.
Shannon wondered if she should tell her parents what she thought but decided that it would only make her
