Chippewa, Michigan - Wednesday [1981]
May. 5th, 2010 08:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mathletenomoreLindsay Weir looked around her bedroom. She considered taking her Journey poster down and replacing it with a Grateful Dead poster. Or maybe they could both take up wall space. Maybe she'd re-arrange her room completely. She'd have plenty of time since she was grounded forever. Or at least the entire summer. To a teenager, that was a lifetime.
All she wanted to do was get away from this town. Maybe she wanted to get away from who everyone wanted her to be.
Perhaps skipping an academic summit at University of Michigan to follow the Grateful Dead on tour wasn't the smartest decision she ever made, but it felt good to have fun again, something she forgot how to do for too long now. Telling her little brother her plans before taking off probably wasn't a smart idea either. Or maybe she subconsciously wanted him to mess up and accidentally let her parents know so they would drag her back home. That's exactly what happened, sort of. The last tour stop she'd been to had been in Philadelphia. After the concert, the police were waiting for her at the Volkswagen van. Next thing she knew, she was saying goodbye to her friend Kim, telling her it was okay to go on the rest of the tour without her. Kim needed to get away just as much as she did.
Now Lindsay was home in boring Chippewa, grounded for life. Not only that, Weir family dinner time was even more awkward than it was before. Her mother had once again mentioned how disappointed her grandmother would be if she were alive. Her father, as usual, was grumpy. Her little brother Sam was quiet. Lindsay just picked at her meatloaf, trying not to cry.
"Your mother and I made a decision," Harold Weir announced. "Simply grounding you isn't going to keep you from hanging out with those burnout friends of yours."
"So, what, are you gonna make me work at the store?" Lindsay asked, referring to her father's sporting goods store. She could probably handle that.
Jean, looking somewhat grave, spoke up. "There's a camp back east. We looked into it, and we think it'll be good for you to go. Starts Saturday."
"What?!" Lindsay was appalled by this revelation. "You're not serious, right? You want to send me away?"
"You ran away already," Harold pointed out. "Now you want to stay?"
"I don't want to go to some lame summer camp. I'd rather go to the academic summit," Lindsay protested.
"Too late for that," Harold remarked. You know, I had a friend once. He decided he didn't want to deal with his responsibilities. So he gallivanted all over the country instead. You know what happened to him?"
Dramatic pause.
"He died! Bear attack."
Lindsay resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was almost certain he made up all of these stories about his dead friends to try to scare her and Sam into never doing anything wrong ever. It didn't really work.
"Probably more likely to be attacked by a bear at summer camp," she muttered.
"It's only for a few weeks," Jean said, her voice softening. "It will go by so fast, you'll be home before you know it."
Sam, who had been quiet throughout, gave her an apologetic look. Lindsay just sighed, completely frustrated by all of this.
"Whatever," she said, slamming her fork on the plate. "I'll be in my room until it's time for me to leave."
Once back in her room, she flopped back onto the bed.
After awhile, Sam stopped by her room. "I'm really sorry, Lindsay. I didn't mean to get you in trouble."
Lindsay shrugged. "It's okay. Not your fault."
"So...you're not mad at me?"
"No," she quickly replied. "I'm just mad at this whole situation. I just...I wanted to be somewhere where I didn't have to live up to so many expectations, you know?"
"I get that." Sam nodded. "Sorta. Maybe I can call you sometimes, to keep you up to date with everything going on back here. I've even been hanging out with your friend Daniel."
"Daniel's been hanging out with you? Seriously?" That was a surprise.
"Yeah, he's been playing Dungeons and Dragons with me, Neal, Bill, Harris, and Gordon. And he's pretty good, too," Sam explained.
Lindsay was almost certain her jaw hit the floor. Daniel and D&D? The world suddenly felt off-kilter. "Wow."
"Anyway, I'll keep in touch."
Lindsay finally managed a slight smile. "Thanks, Sam."
Once he was gone, she buried her face in her pillow and screamed. This totally sucked. A lot.
[establishy! also, totally based on canon with a few tweaks]
All she wanted to do was get away from this town. Maybe she wanted to get away from who everyone wanted her to be.
Perhaps skipping an academic summit at University of Michigan to follow the Grateful Dead on tour wasn't the smartest decision she ever made, but it felt good to have fun again, something she forgot how to do for too long now. Telling her little brother her plans before taking off probably wasn't a smart idea either. Or maybe she subconsciously wanted him to mess up and accidentally let her parents know so they would drag her back home. That's exactly what happened, sort of. The last tour stop she'd been to had been in Philadelphia. After the concert, the police were waiting for her at the Volkswagen van. Next thing she knew, she was saying goodbye to her friend Kim, telling her it was okay to go on the rest of the tour without her. Kim needed to get away just as much as she did.
Now Lindsay was home in boring Chippewa, grounded for life. Not only that, Weir family dinner time was even more awkward than it was before. Her mother had once again mentioned how disappointed her grandmother would be if she were alive. Her father, as usual, was grumpy. Her little brother Sam was quiet. Lindsay just picked at her meatloaf, trying not to cry.
"Your mother and I made a decision," Harold Weir announced. "Simply grounding you isn't going to keep you from hanging out with those burnout friends of yours."
"So, what, are you gonna make me work at the store?" Lindsay asked, referring to her father's sporting goods store. She could probably handle that.
Jean, looking somewhat grave, spoke up. "There's a camp back east. We looked into it, and we think it'll be good for you to go. Starts Saturday."
"What?!" Lindsay was appalled by this revelation. "You're not serious, right? You want to send me away?"
"You ran away already," Harold pointed out. "Now you want to stay?"
"I don't want to go to some lame summer camp. I'd rather go to the academic summit," Lindsay protested.
"Too late for that," Harold remarked. You know, I had a friend once. He decided he didn't want to deal with his responsibilities. So he gallivanted all over the country instead. You know what happened to him?"
Dramatic pause.
"He died! Bear attack."
Lindsay resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was almost certain he made up all of these stories about his dead friends to try to scare her and Sam into never doing anything wrong ever. It didn't really work.
"Probably more likely to be attacked by a bear at summer camp," she muttered.
"It's only for a few weeks," Jean said, her voice softening. "It will go by so fast, you'll be home before you know it."
Sam, who had been quiet throughout, gave her an apologetic look. Lindsay just sighed, completely frustrated by all of this.
"Whatever," she said, slamming her fork on the plate. "I'll be in my room until it's time for me to leave."
Once back in her room, she flopped back onto the bed.
After awhile, Sam stopped by her room. "I'm really sorry, Lindsay. I didn't mean to get you in trouble."
Lindsay shrugged. "It's okay. Not your fault."
"So...you're not mad at me?"
"No," she quickly replied. "I'm just mad at this whole situation. I just...I wanted to be somewhere where I didn't have to live up to so many expectations, you know?"
"I get that." Sam nodded. "Sorta. Maybe I can call you sometimes, to keep you up to date with everything going on back here. I've even been hanging out with your friend Daniel."
"Daniel's been hanging out with you? Seriously?" That was a surprise.
"Yeah, he's been playing Dungeons and Dragons with me, Neal, Bill, Harris, and Gordon. And he's pretty good, too," Sam explained.
Lindsay was almost certain her jaw hit the floor. Daniel and D&D? The world suddenly felt off-kilter. "Wow."
"Anyway, I'll keep in touch."
Lindsay finally managed a slight smile. "Thanks, Sam."
Once he was gone, she buried her face in her pillow and screamed. This totally sucked. A lot.
[establishy! also, totally based on canon with a few tweaks]
