Unforgettable (JG)

20. Graduation

25 June 2014

-Matt

I was sitting beside Sara in Gilinsky's Jeep, that he bought a couple of months ago in Los Angeles.

I could feel a leg shake but it wasn't mine.

"Hey, why are you shaking?" I ask with a bit of concern. She spins her head towards mine.

"I'm stress. I'm not even sure my speech is good enough. I shouldn't have agreed to do this. I'm talking in front of 100 people and more."

I pull her closer, being careful not to mess her hair up, "don't worry princess. Imagine it's you at Magcon, talking in front of millions of people."

The shaking stops, "you're right. I can do it, although I'm scared that people will recognize you and then it starts drama."

"Don't worry about that. We bought shades." Gilinsky said while lowering the music down.

I let out a laugh, so did Johnson and Sammy.

"Oh. I just thought about something. Princess, you know Madison Beer, right?" I ask Sara who seems confused.

"The name seems familiar, wanna refresh my memory?"

"Justin's artist. She's 15." Her small green eyes widen, and she nods. "Well, she wants to meet you. When I was with Justin yesterday she was there and asked me to ask you if you wanna meet her someday."

"Oh, er-sure. But why? I'm 17, what would she want to do with me?" Her voice croaks, when she says that.

"Mads? Oh, she's pretty chill, you should meet her." Gilinsky told Sara, and she agreed that she would.

-Johnson

I couldn't help myself to smile when Sara's voice croaked. She totally doesn't want to meet Madison.

Gosh, I like her so much. Not the same way Jack does but as a close friend even as a best friend. She's just so natural.

I can't wait for the tour to continue, the adventure's going to be back! Considering we're all pretty close now.

What could possibly happen to break us apart?

The speaker on the football field made us jump.

"All graduates, please report to your assigned seats. I repeat all graduates, please report to your assigned seats. Thank you."

All the boys, Chad and Nila turned towards the girls. They breathe in and out. They pass around giving hugs to every boy even Nate, that they just met.

I whisper, "good luck." When I hug Sara and Beth, they smile and walk up on the stage with their robes on.

I take a seat next to Jack and Nate.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Fellow graduates, teachers." The principal spoke, "we are here to celebrate these student's accomplishment at West High. Leaving our school with pride. Everyone of them showed great role models, intellectuals although like every graduation there is one who honors our school."

I could see Sara tense up, and Annie smiled at her. "Please welcome, Sara Elena Grier, valedictorian for the class of 2014."

Immediately the whole gang started to cheer and clap, making Sara and Beth laugh. I wait impatiently to hear the speech she wrote, that's when she started speaking.

"Good afternoon, teachers, parents, fellow graduates, students of West High and friends.

Well, here we are. We have now all been together for four years. As everyone knows high school is the best years of our lives. We shared laughs and created memories. I look over at my peers and see something in their eyes, a dream. Everyone has a dream, and it's never too late to live it. Why would I say such a thing?

Because wherever we're going to be, there will be an open door and that door is our new career and our school has ably prepared us for it. As we bid farewell to the old school this evening, never again to enter as students, we will not say goodbye, but au revoir, for, we will meet again, as visitors.

In the years to follow we shall have many happy homecomings, but this, our graduation, will remain the brightest memory amongst them and will be symbolic of our hopes-dreams- and ambitions. May they all come true.

Thank you, and congratulations to West High's class of 2014!"

The crowd stands up and claps, we do the same, how can she write something so beautiful and meaningful? I see Nila cry with a spark of joy, Chad is smiling and clapping like a fool.

An hour later, the principal finally asked them to stand in line. The next thing I saw was hats being thrown in the air, and Cam took a picture.

Bethany runs down first, then Sara. She went over to her parents, while Sara went to us.

"I did it! I'm done high school!" She hugs every one of us including Nate.

We were talking about her speech when a girl walked to us. The parents were gone, to bring Hayes over at Alex's.

"Well well, isn't it Sara and her little friends." The girl said the boys were staring at her with confused faces.

"What do you want? Can you leave us alone, please?"

"No, I want to meet your friends Sara. Don't worry I won't steal any of them, I still have Wes." That redhead girl smirks and Sara shook her head.

"I'm glad for you. You know, I don't like him anymore so even if you say this, I don't fucking care. Now leave us alone Madison." Madison?

Madison just rolls her eyes and looked over at Nate. She winks at him and walks away swaying her hips.

"Ugly ass bitch," Nate said under his breath, but everyone heard him. Especially Sara.

"Haha, I like you already Nate." She said that's when I decided to ask something.

"What the hell just happened?"

Beth comes rushing to Sara and hugged her, we all look at her. "What? What did I miss?"

"Madison Fucking Bowman," was all she needed to hear to know what just happened.