Caught in Between

-23-

- Graduation Day -

The morning of graduation day was extremely frustrating. I tried curling my hair, and after spending about an hour on it, I gave up. The curls looked absolutely awful, my hair had no volume, and the curls did not want to stay. So then, I decided to straighten my hair and it seemed decent enough.

On the other hand, attempting my makeup was even more irritating. I couldn't get my eyeliner symmetrical and the lines kept coming out crooked, so I completely wiped it off and decided not to wear eyeliner at all. My mascara, of all days, came out clumpy and my eyelashes chose the option of taking a break and not staying up when I curled them over a hundred times.

I wholeheartedly wanted to rip the skin off my face since it would not cooperate with me. Even after applying a large amount of lotion, ensuring that I was fully rubbing it into my skin, allowing the pores to absorb the moisture, when applying foundation, which was hydrating foundation by the way, it was coming out completely cake-y.

"A bare face kind of day. Wow. I truly hate myself," I spoke to my reflection in the mirror as I squirted facial cleanser into my hand and began to vigorously scrub off the makeup I spent a lot of time doing from my face. Once all the products were completely gone, I dabbed my skin with a towel until it was dry. I sighed as I grabbed my phone, tapping the screen and seeing the lock screen photo that was of Debby and I.

If she was with me, we'd be getting ready together, she'd be doing my makeup, we'd have music blaring on a speaker while we sang along and laughed at how terrible our singing skills were. We would be talking about how we were glad to be graduating and being away from certain people at our school, we'd be reminiscing about all the times together throughout the years. We'd be planning our next goals in life, always making sure we included each other.

But, she wasn't with me. Whether she was dead or transitioning into a vampire, I couldn't hold her hand. We couldn't throw our caps into the air together, or be taking a million selfies of us in our gowns in different locations. Deep down, there was always a sense of guilt that had a grip on me, and it would never let me go. Not until I could see Debby again.

"Becky, you almost ready to go?" My mother called from downstairs. Although, she was always at work, always busy, and I never got to see her face half my life, she made the time to attend my graduation. I didn't know if I should feel grateful or not. It was hard to decide with all the mixed feelings brewing inside of me.

"Yes!" I yelled from the top of my lungs so she could hear. I rushed out of the bathroom and into my bedroom, grabbing a pair of black heels to go with my black dress. It was long sleeve and went down to my mid thigh. It was basic and bland, because I couldn't bring myself to get something to stand out. I also chose black, because I thought of today as my funeral, saying goodbye to the old me since I had my heart set on becoming a vampire. And the Korren brothers said they'd respect my decision, as long as it was after graduation.

I took my graduation gown from my bed where I had laid it earlier, and I slipped into it. I snatched my cap that was sitting right next to the spot where my gown was, and I rushed down the stairs, my heels still in my hand. My mother was in the living room, sitting on the couch with her phone in her hands, scrolling through the internet.

"Okay, I'm ready," I announced and she stood up, turning to look at me. A big smile appeared on her face as she approached me, her arms opening up. She embraced me tightly, letting out a sigh as she rubbed my back.