Continued from here part 2
Wayne Manor, 1993
Alfred stands before an annoyed Bruce in a tuxedo, "I'm not doing this."
Alfred crossed his arms, "Its tradition, this is Wayne Manor and you are a Wayne."
"I have no interest in Christmas parties."
Alfred raised an eye brow, "The Wayne Foundation Christmas gala has happened every year since your Grand Father established it, and you've missed four. Now you are going, you will be polite and smile, and if at all possible you will have a good time. Understood?"
"Fine."
***
As guests begin to arrive Alfred stands beside a maid looking on Bruce, "If I didn't know any better it would look as though he actually wanted to be here."
The maid nodded, "He does have that fake smile down."
Alfred then went to answer the door and called Bruce over, "Master Bruce, allow me to introduce Robert and Moira Queen and their son Oliver. Bruce shook their hands and greeted them as Robert and Moira went off to mingle. The two boys stood in awkward silence for a second before Oliver shrugged, "So you got this house all to yourself? Looks like an awesome party pad."
Bruce's eyes narrowed a bit, "Not big on parties."
Oliver then gave an uncomfortable fake laugh, "This must be hell for you then."
The awkward silence returned for a second before Oliver broke it, "I'm... gonna go over there."
Bruce nodded and the two walked away in different directions, Oliver muttered under his breath, "Weirdo."
Bruce gave a shrug, "Douche."
Bruce then noticed a boy named Tommy Elliot who gave a passing glare. Bruce sighed remembering they used to be friends before Tommy's dad died, since then Tommy stopped having anything to do with him. Bruce had attempted to reconnect with him after his own parent's death but that just seemed to make it worse.
He shrugged and walked over to greet more guests.
***
As the last of the guests left Bruce dropped his smile and gave a sigh as Alfred came up, "You have a remarkable poker face my boy, perhaps I should take you to Las Vegas when you're old enough."
Bruce gave an annoyed look, "Ha, Ha."
He then dropped down on the couch and flipped on the TV as a channel was doing a special on UFOs. The narrator spoke, "In 1980 some believe a mysterious object crashed down on this farm in the town of Smallville Kansas, the Kents refused to allow our cameras on their land. Do they have something to hide?"
Bruce rolled his eyes as he flipped the channel, "People will believe anything now days."
***
GCPD station house, 1994
Sargent Harvey Bullock looked down on Bruce Wayne, "Its the third time this month, kids your age are supposed to be out partying and getting us called on them not hoping on ride a longs every other Thursday."
His superior officer glared as Bullock shrugged, "You're lucky you're a rich kid."
"I just want to see how you catch crooks."
Bullock laughed, "You ain't gonna see that on a guided tour kid. Hell you probably ain't gonna come within five miles of an actual crime scene while you're living up in that mansion."
Bruce nodded, "You know what, you're right. Sorry for wasting your time Sargent."
Bullock looked to his annoyed superior, "What?"
***
Wayne Manor a month later
Alfred marched into Bruce's room, "So what did you need to tell me?"
Bruce handed him a slip of paper, "I have enough credits to graduate early, I need a legal guardian's signature to go ahead with it."
Alfred smiled, "I'd throw you a party but I know..."
He looked over to Bruce's bed and saw a half packed suit case, "Are you planning a trip?"
Bruce nodded, "I'm heading to Europe for a while, then Asia."
"We're you planning on telling me before hand?"
Bruce sighed, "I have a lot to learn and I can't do it here."
"I don't doubt the experience will be good for you, but you're 15."
Bruce put a hand on his shoulder, "I'll be sure to write when I can but I need to do this."
Alfred saw his serious expression, "I'll arrange some reservations."
Bruce shook his head, "Its all taken care of. I know exactly what I'm doing."
(To be continued)
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