GB1996 - Turn to Kris

It’s time to make an adult decision for once. It helps that you just got that talk from your mom. Going to Kris is the hardest option. It’ll take sacrifice and effort, two things that you struggle with. But it will be worth it. Do you really want to go to college? You don’t know. It’s not college that’s pulling you in, it’s the thought of spending all your time partying with a horny sorority. Going to CCL for help is what you would do if you were a child, because you know damn well that you wouldn’t get any studying done. On top of that, you’d lose your freedom. Being owned by CCL wouldn’t be all bad… but there’s a sense inside you that this summer is the end of an era. You want to have your hands on the wheel, not Lily’s.

Graduating High School the old-fashioned way will give you control over your summer, and time to figure out what to do. It’s way too late to try to make it to college in the fall anyway; it would take a miracle to get accepted and a place in a class this late in spring.

It’s a lot to face, but you don’t have to face it alone. Things might have gotten a little weird, but you and Stef have never been closer than you are right now.

One thing at a time. First you graduate. The rest can come after.

Mary appears on your right, climbing up the stairs. You watch her hurry to the doors and into the school, red hair bobbing, yellow skirt swishing and her white sneakers with pink socks squeaking gently.

You remember that view of her you got through your window of her touching herself.

You see her at the party with that guy. You remember how she smelled when you were in the car together. You remember seeing her with that same guy through her window, and Stef’s reaction.

A moment later another girl passes on your left. It’s Ellen in her ripped, tight jeans. She’s carrying her skateboard under her arm. You cringe, remembering the skateboard crashing into your windshield. But you also remember that look of profound gratitude on her face when you were there for her.

She heads into school.

You take a deep breath and turn to look back, seeing Stef approaching. She reaches you, breathing hard from running.

She gives you a sly, uncertain look.

“Good morning,” she says.

What are you supposed to do? Act cool? Say something back? Kiss her? You don’t know.

But you’ll have all summer to figure it out.

[ End of GB1996 Season 1 ]

Your decisions have led to certain outcomes in the soft, pliable canon of the multiverse.

…you have ensured that Carla will graduate from High School on time, bolstering her confidence.

…you have caused Carla and Stef’s relationship to be more than close friends.

…you have kept Carla on friendly terms with Mary.

…you have kept Carla on positive terms with Ellen.

…you have ensured that Carla deliberately turned her back on CCL.

…you have preserved Carla’s relationship with her mother.

…you have helped Carla mature in a direction that is more analytical than passionate.

…you have gained Kris’s respect.

Now you have to make a different kind of choice. The story will continue for a while without choices to establish the next season and advance the story before normal votes resume. The fates of Carla, Stef, and Ellen are canonically enmeshed. The outcomes are predetermined, but how we get there and how much pain and regret there future selves have to carry is still unwritten. Will you keep Carla as the POV character or make a change?

Stay with Carla and support the girl who will one day lead the Free Gurls?

Switch to Stef to see Carla in a whole new light?

Take control of Ellen and see the world through her eyes?

Or become a bystander with Mary and watch from the outside as Carla, Stef, and Ellen run recklessly toward their futures? Or maybe Mary does have some influence… when she’s not with her boyfriend.