Opposite Force

Chapter Thirty-Four

Mikaela Martin | Present (June, Graduation Day)

"Peyton, can you please remind Micky that she's got this?" Annalise sighs.

"She knows," he replies, shrugging.

Objectively, I know that I do, in fact, got this. I've practiced the speech a million times. I'll have it on paper and a teleprompter, but I still memorized every word. I even made Peyton pretend to boo the entire time I recited it so I'd be prepared for the worst case scenario.

Doesn't mean I'm not absolutely terrified and shaking in my cute but impractical wedges.

"Next up," Principal Davis booms, "is our salutatorian, Mikaela Martin. Mikaela, please join me on stage."

Annalise releases that world's loudest whoop while Peyton lets out a massive "Yeah, Mikaela!"

My trembling legs carry me onto the stage. I feel myself shaking hands with Principal Davis and some other Ramsey School District bigwigs. I step up to the podium and force my eyes to take in the crowd of students in caps and gowns and their proud parents. My eyes find Denise sitting with Mom, Aunt Elaina, and the twins, and then they lock on Peyton's in the first row, just like we practiced.

"Thank you, Principal Davis," I start. With a deep breath I'm careful to take far from the microphone, I launch into my speech.

"In my four years at Ramsey High School, I've learned a lot. I learned that mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. I learned how to find the library if I ever need one in a Spanish-speaking country. I learned that if you read closely enough, every line in a good book has a deeper meaning. I will always be grateful to our teachers for giving us the foundation we need for the next step in our lives.

"As we know, not all of our lessons took place in a classroom. In the hallways and after school, we learned about each other. RHS taught us friendship and teamwork and understanding.

"One particular lesson took me a very long time to grasp. Over my time at RHS, I slowly learned to love myself, and I recently realized that this is the most important lesson of all, because this is the lesson we need to move forward with college, full-time jobs, and whatever our next steps are.

"I learned that I should value myself. I learned not to underestimate my knowledge, kindness, or compassion, and I learned that my flaws don't diminish these qualities. And because I learned this, I'm ready to pursue my dreams, because in the end, we all want what's best for our loved ones.

"To all my fellow graduates, I hope that you love yourselves too. I hope that you take the world by storm, because you deserve it. We've earned it.

"Thank you all for listening, and congratulations, class! We did it."

Applause breaks out around the auditorium. Evan stands on his seat, shaking Ava's pompoms above his head while she tries to wrestle one from his grasp. Mom and Denise's screams carry all the way across the room. I hear both friends and classmates I barely know cheering my name.

I miraculously don't trip on the walk back to the seat between my best friend and boyfriend. I'm out of breath, but not in a panicking way. I did it. I gave a speech, a heartfelt speech that I wrote myself, to my entire class.

And I killed it. I stood up and presented the Mikaela Martin I'm proud of to a sea of onlookers, and minus the occasional bored sibling or rude (former) classmate, they paid attention and maybe even enjoyed what I had to say. I know I did, because that's the most important thing I've learned in my eighteen years on this planet.

Peyton kisses my cheek while Annalise shouts in my ear, and I feel so incredibly loved. Not just by the wonderful people in my life, but by myself, too.