Yearbook
A heroic marine, not for military reasons alone. All participants are over 18. For best enjoyment, please check your incredulity at the door. Completely fictional, meaning no real persons. No giant dicks nor watermelon-sized tits.
"The Unremarkable Return." So sayeth the yearbook. Guess that's what the yearbook would be saying if it could speak at our 10-year high school reunion.
Back then, the group of 18 year olds (plus or minus a few months), consisted of the six of us:
Myself, Gary. My twin, Mary. Penelope (Pen). Genevieve (Gee). Bennet (Ben) and his girlfriend, Shay.
We were unremarkable for many reasons: Nobody earned an athletic letter, nobody ever won any school award, not one of us was in the Honor Society and certainly not one of us received a scholarship. It was a little puzzling that Gee and Pen were so very bright but never seemed to apply themselves to scholarship. Mary was also smart, leaving me as the class goat. Ben and Shay were kind of outliers, mainly concerned with themselves.
We all lived in the same neighborhood and grew up together. Starting in kindergarten. So by the time we graduated we'd have been friends or better for 13 years. When I say "or better", it was we were much closer to siblings than friends. Especially since we tended to hang out/play at Mary's and my house. We had a big yard, bordering on the back of the big city park. So, in addition to our toys, we had the park's close by. We also had a big basement that was mostly uninhabited by our parents.
There was also some parent things. My folks were always helping us, being supportive in every crazy thing we did. Pen's and Ben's parents were divorced so they were raised by their single moms. Gee's parents were parents in name only. If it hadn't been for our mom, I think she would've starved to death. Shay's parents were part of the close-nit Vietnamese community. Shay, however, was kind of rebellious and wanted a social life outside of Little Saigon. So, our house became the center of our young universe.
Except for Ben and Shay, we dated outside of the group - what little there was of that. Within, it was casual with no overt sexuality. We were all like Mary and I: siblings. Needless to say, we weren't part of the in crowd. Lost in a class of 350 people.
After graduation from high school, I attended college receiving a degree in electrical engineering. Then joined the Marine Corps. Three years into my military career and in my second deployment, we got ambushed while in a small convoy. I jumped out and, as we'd been taught, assaulted out of the kill zone. It was a typical L-shaped ambush but I had made the unfortunate choice to assault a machine gun position. I took a round in the abdomen just below the armor, which quartered through me. Felt like somebody punched me. However, I was committed: In the open and with my buddies under heavy fire. Despite the pain, I crawled forward till I could throw a grenade. After silencing the machine gun, I was able to roll up their positions, one after the other. Received a Silver Star for gallantry, a Purple Heart and a three-month hospital stay. Fortunately, the bullet struck nothing very important but I was left with the scars of two holes, front and back.
The next time, the armor saved me from serious injury when a mortar round hit close by. I took shrapnel in both arms, right leg and left shoulder. Another Purple Heart.
Next time I wasn't so lucky. A bullet hit my right arm, shattered the humerus. My arm has never worked properly even after numerous surgeries. A titanium rod insured that I set off the metal detectors at every airport. Learned to do a lot of things left handed. I could use my right arm but there wasn't much strength in it. For example, I couldn't do pullups. Guess some people can do one-handed ones but I wasn't one of them. Pushups were basically one-handed. Big problem in the military. After many rounds of surgery, I was medically retired. My Marine Corps graduation presents consisted of a Silver Star, three Purple Hearts and a VA 50% disability rating. Since that wasn't enough to live on, I joined an electrical engineering firm that specialized in skyscraper electrical work.
I also got lucky by getting into the housing market when it was at a local low point. My GI Bill, together with my savings, allowed me to get a four bedroom ranch-style house complete with swimming pool and hot tub. My real estate agent couldn't believe how cheaply I got it for.
Mary went into nursing. She joined the army as a nurse and spent four years in after graduating from college. We overlapped in one of my deployments, although I wasn't able to meet up with her there. The two years prior to the reunion saw her as an emergency room nurse in a hospital a few hours away from the reunion site and my house.
Ben and Shay got married after graduating from the local college. In the middle of the night, their gas feed line on their clothes dryer broke open, due to years of vibrations. The house filled with gas and when the furnace turned on, the house exploded in a ball of fire. They, of course, probably never knew what happened as they were likely asphyxiated by the gas build up before the house went up.
Since Mary and I were deployed, neither of us could make the funeral. Pen was in the hospital at the time. Unfortunately, she had an unanticipated encounter with a rattlesnake, so she missed the funeral. Only Gee made it to represent the group.
Mary and I had semi-frequent get-togethers - several times a year starting after we exited the services. I had met with Pen maybe five years ago and with Gee at least eight years ago when we were both in college. So, both Mary and I were looking forward to seeing them at the reunion. Of course, I didn't know the three of them had much more frequent gatherings.
Since Mary and I were familiar with each other, we concluded that we hadn't changed much since high school. Mary still wore glasses that made her big blue eyes even larger. Mary would never be described as beautiful or very pretty (except to me). Her face was almost round with high cheek bones. She definitely was cute, like the girl next door. One of the things that made her a great nurse was her smile - it lit up the room and her eyes just pushed the smile over the top. Her blonde hair was shoulder length. Since her hair never curled and was very fine, it hung straight and moved in a wave when she turned her head.
Mary was and is 5'6" and still 120. D cup. A nice ass that even a brother can appreciate. She must have been very agile to avoid all those injured soldiers starting to feel their recovery progressing enough to try to pat her rear end.
Ten years ago Gee and Pen could almost have been twins except Pen was black and Gee was pale as a ghost. She never seemed to tan and even her eyebrows were light and blond as her hair. Both were right at 5'3" and 105 pounds. Both were easily C cups and both had firm asses. Pen's rear was higher, like many blacks, but it looked delicious to me. Of course, I never sampled it nor overtly admired it. Both also wore glasses and were quite pretty with regular features. Unfortunately, neither was pretty enough to be admitted to the "beautiful people" group.
There was a significant difference between the two in terms of attitude back then. Pen was always much more outgoing and with a thicker skin. She kind of needed that since she was one of the first blacks in the school district. Some people weren't very welcoming. She never let it bother her. If somebody gave her shit, she just returned it ten-fold.
Gee was much more reserved. It took a lot to get her mad but then she wasn't afraid to take on all comers. As blonde and light-skinned as she was, people sometimes caller her Casper, the ghost. She took it well but I could see that it affected her. I would step in when I saw it happen. I was certainly big enough, even in junior high school, to be taken seriously. Both Pen and Mary would also step in, as well.
Pen and Gee both went to the same university. Pen majored in history, actually pre-law. Gee majored in finance (accounting). Both had their career paths in mind at high school graduation.
Mary and I also went to the same university, not the same one Pen and Gee did, though. She majored in nursing and I in electrical engineering.
