This High School sophomore has finally found his niche. Not only do these kids think like him, have similar interests and enjoy learning, they also love to dress up as much as he does. Mock Trial is the place to be - at least for Gavin. He feels comfortable with these kids. They enjoy the brain stimulation, the challenge and the verbal back and forth that comes with the territory. You must love what you're doing if you write and memorize a 5 minute closing argument and pull it off like a real lawyer - all for fun. They are all highly intellectual, articulate, conscientious students.
My "Mocklete" (a term his group coined and call themselves), I'm so proud of him. During this time of adolescence your friends carry a high degree of importance in your life. You are gaining more and more independence and finding out where you fit in this world (albeit the small world of high school). I'm so happy for Gavin that he found these kids. If you know Gavin, you know this is huge. He has always been a loyal, one-on-one friend. He doesn't need a group of people around him to feel good about himself. But he has just blossomed since joining this Mock Trial Club. It certainly makes a difference when you find like-minded friends. He was even nominated and voted for Junior Team Captain next year.
But all that isn't the purpose of this story, that was just the background. The purpose is the re-telling of the Mock Trial Banquet. A couple of weeks ago Gavin came home and announced that there would be a banquet and I was to write it in my calendar. But alas, it was not for families - just Mockletes. And it wasn't going to be at the school, but at somebody's house.
So I said, "Oh. So it's a party."
And he said, "No. It's a Banquet."
So I said, "Will there be food?"
And he said, "Yes."
So I said, "Then it's a party."
And he said, "No. It's a Banquet."
I'm going to cut our conversation short due to space and boredom, but it did go on for a while longer with just as much enthusiasm and short answers as above. And since I was arguing with a Mocklete, he won. My objections weren't strong enough.
So, he's invited to his first ever high school party at someone's house and he is calling it a banquet. In my book - that's funny! Then he realizes he's supposed to bring something to this banquet and he begins to panic.
"Mom, what should I bring to the banquet?"
"What do you know how to make?"
"Um. Nothing."
"Ok then....how about some pop?" (Minnesotan for soda)
Unfortunately for him, the hostess of the banquet was providing the pop so he had to work extra hard to come up with a passable banquet food item he could make and bring. We finally came up with homemade chocolate chip cookies. You know, the kind from the back of the Nestle Toll House bag.
He rocked the cookies. Everyone at the banquet loved them. The hostess even asked for the recipe. He asked me if he could bring her a mimeographed copy.
I asked him what he did at the banquet. Apparently they stood around and talked. Then they played a Wii Dance Off game. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that! Then they passed out homemade awards (and as in homemade I mean a piece of ripped construction paper with quickly written words scribbled across the page). Gavin won the award for "Most Likely To Say I Love You Back". It must hold some weight because he even taped it to his door when he got home.
I think next year I'm going to hold a banquet at my house for my birthday. They sound so much more fun than regular old parties.
