BOND

58.

Then I wrote about how I wish you'd stayed

I said all the things that I never got to say

Maybe when it's done, I will feel okay

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Trying something new in this chapter, a first person POV. Tell me how you like and if it works better or worse than the third person one.

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I stuck my hand under the itchy gown and stumbled around, straightening the centuries old shirt we had managed to find in the boys locker room, that did a barely passable job of making me look even halfway appropriate of giving a speech, till the collar stopped digging into my neck.

The cap slipped off my head and I almost dived face first into the ground trying to catch it. Pushing it onto my head, I adjusted the tassel and looked around to see if anybody had caught the wardrobe malfunction.

Most of them hadn't, their heads turned towards the stage, but Ben was pointing at me, laughing, his head tilted far behind his back, no doubt relaying the incident to Alex and Mark a few seats away.

The stage was blocking my view of them but by Ben's scrunched up, breathless and pleased face I knew they had received a complete play by play.

Before I could flip him off or mouth something more inventive, Principal Flitwick was ushering me up the wobbly wooden stairs and onto the stage.

I shook his hand, purely for show, like he had not just lectured me on all the topics I shouldn't mention, and took my place behind the podium. Expectant, happy faces were staring up at me and far in the back were parents, beyond bored and wanting the ceremony to get to the point.

Coach Harley chuckled behind my back and with a punch in the gut I realized that I had flashed my underage leg tattoo to the entire faculty.

Okay, flip flops had definitely been a bad idea.

I swore quietly, masking my amusement and horror behind my hand, rubbing it across my face like I was wiping off sweat and not pain and quickly tugged the sleeve back down.

I saw Mark's mouth fall open as he connected the dots. He gave a short burst of laughter that made the people around him look back.

I cleared my throat and adjusted the sleeve properly. The one on my leg, a small caricature of the sun was a tiny, still very illegal, one nothing that would cost me more than a couple of minutes of reprimanding.

The new one on my hand, a large swooping angel wing, not so much.

They wouldn't give me detention for it or anything, couldn't anymore really, but getting scolded by the entire staff on day of my high school graduation wasn't very compelling.

I coughed once, tapped my hand on the microphone slightly and then smiled easily. It didn't take much effort sometimes.

It wasn't taking much right now.

"Hi, everybody."

Principal Flitwick groaned and I winced, remembering that his first words had been, do not say hi.

"For those who don't know me, my name is Joey Parker. I've been the captain of the basketball team for the last six years."

There were scattered shouts and hollers as the people I had spent endless hours in the gym with, cheered me on. It made me sentimental, not a lot, I was definitely going to miss all of them but I was more excited for the future, but it did.