Class 101❖Jeff Winger

Dancing in the Moonlight || forty

"And with that, another year at Greendale has been completed. Thank you all, students and staff, alike, for the hard work you've put forward this year. I'll dean ya' next year!" the Dean said into the intercom.

"Good job, Craig. You really did do a great job this year," I smiled, patting him on the shoulder.

"Thank you, Ellouise! I've enjoyed having you here, and you did an amazing job! I can't believe you learned all of this here at Greendale," he laughed, giving me an awkwardly shocked look. I chuckled, nodding as I turned back to my computer to finish up the last bit of paperwork I had left.

"Hey, Lemondrop," Jeff said while pulling a chair up next to me.

"Can't talk right now, almost done," I muttered, not looking up from my screen. After a few minutes of nothing besides the sounds of me typing and Jeff texting, I was done with my paperwork. I shut down the computer and turned to face him. "Hi, baby!"

He looked up with a smile, leaning in to give me a quick kiss and asking, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yup! I'm ready to not have to be here for the next three weeks," I laughed, grabbing my purse and standing up. We headed out to his car and started driving, listening to the radio, and making small talk. It was a normal drive until we turned down a different road.

"That's the wrong way," I said, looking out the window.

"I know."

I looked over to Jeff, who had a small smile. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"It's a surprise," he replied, looking over at me for a second. I cocked an eyebrow, folding my arms as I tried to figure out what he was doing.

"Can I get a hint?" I asked.

"Sure! We'll be there in twenty minutes, and that'll be the hint," he laughed. I was really confused, and if it had been earlier in our relationship, I would have been sketched out. We weren't going the right way to be going to Maggie's, my parents lived on the other side of town, and all of our friends lived closer to Greendale. I couldn't figure it out.

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"Wake up, we're here," Jeff said, shaking me slightly. I stretched as best as I could. There was a limited amount of space because of our seats. The surprise ended up being him booking a surprise trip. We'd just landed in Phoenix, but Jeff assured me that we were going somewhere else.

"Can we grab some food first? I'm hungry," I whined, placing a hand on my stomach.

"Trust me, we'll be at our first stop in like thirty minutes. We'll get food after that, okay?" Jeff begged. I groaned, nodding in resignation. I went and got our bags. Jeff had made me one like I did for him for that camping trip in March. He went and got the rental car figured out. Once we were set, we set off to the next mystery destination.

"I have family that lives out here in Mesa, actually," I noted as we got to the familiar town.

"I know, your mom told me," Jeff nodded. I was too focused on the pretty scenery and looking at all of the different food places, even though I was set on In-N-Out Burger since it was always my favorite on family vacations, that I didn't notice when we pulled off into a subdivision.

"This looks really familiar," I said, trying to figure out why. It only took a second until I realized where we were, and I turned to Jeff with excitement. "Are we going to see my family?"

Jeff smiled, nodding as he looked over at me for a moment. I squealed with excitement, practically bouncing in my seat. I hadn't seen these cousins in five or six years, and they were always a hoot.

We parked on the street by their house, a plethora of cars nearby. It was clear that some of my cousins were here too, which made me even more excited. Jeff got out and opened my door for me, and we walked up to the door. I rang the doorbell, waiting for someone to answer it.

"Oh, hello!" Aunt Ophelia's quiet, high-pitched voice rang out after she opened the door. I quickly gave her a hug, ensuring I didn't accidentally break the frail woman.

"Mother, who is th-oh my word! LouLou!" Aunt Mandi, Ophelia's daughter, yelled, running up to hug me. Her announcement of my arrival got everyone's attention, as I was soon overcome with hugs from my cousins and their kids. Jeff stood awkwardly in the doorway until one of the kids, Rowan, pulled him inside to show him his monster truck racing. I tried to get away to save him, but I couldn't break free from the hugs I was currently entangled in.

"What brings you here? Jan mentioned you were coming but didn't say when!" Mandi laughed.

"Oh, Jeff planned a trip for us. I had no idea we were coming," I admitted. My cousin Corbin released me from his grasp, and we all sat talking for a bit.

"You work at a college? That's sick," Corbin said.

"Yeah! It's also the college I went to," I added.

"You're all grown up now," my cousin Dana sighed, resting her head on her hand. I laughed, shaking my head. Before I could respond, Jeff came running into the room with Rowan and his brother Ash on his back.

"Help me," Jeff mouthed, pausing for a moment to catch his breath.

"Faster! The zombies are coming!" Ash yelled, hitting Jeff in the head. Jeff groaned in pain but obliged, quickly walking to the backyard. A herd of the other small children came close behind, all walking like zombies and giggling.

"You should probably save him. Becca bites when they play zombies," Corbin laughed. I sighed, standing up and joining the herd of zombies, and made my way to the backyard.

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"Love you guys! Thanks for letting us eat your food and letting us see you!" I yelled out of the car window. My family laughed and replied with many good wishes, and I love you's, and I rolled the window up as we left for our next stop.

"That was something," Jeff said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, I never pictured you as someone who would willingly give piggyback rides to kids during a game of zombies," I teased him, nudging him slightly.

"Neither did I, but when a child demands you carry him away from a herd of child zombies, you have to. It's just the rules," Jeff laughed, shrugging.

"Well, I had fun. Thank you. Where are we going now?" I asked, placing my hand on his thigh.

"Well, we'll have to change plans if you don't move your hand. But we're I got us a hotel room in a town about two hours away. It's a surprise, but your mom said that you'd like it," Jeff said. He got this first part right, so I'm sure he'd get the next part right too.

"What made you decide to plan this trip?" I asked, looking through the window at the sun setting over the scenery.

"I remembered you mentioning that you were missing your family out here and how there was stuff here you wish you could see," he said.

"That's really thoughtful of you to remember that. You didn't have to do this, you know?" I laughed, turning to look at him.

"I know. But I wanted to," he shrugged.

"Thanks," I said, leaning over and resting my head on his shoulder, letting myself drift off into sleep.

author's note

I don't thank you guys enough. You are amazing and wonderful!

Thanks for 600 votes!! And 12k reads!! I never expected this story to get so many reads, and you all make me happy.

-Sam <3