The Unusual Suspects Book 2

Toya

I was a great ball of nerves as I walked up to the podium. I was used to being on a stage, in front of people, and the focus of attention. But this was the moment I had waited for all my life. I listened as Dom finished her speech and now was my turn.                                             
"It's been a heck of a 14 years. We start at Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary, Junior High, and then High School. Everything that we've done up until this point has made an impact on where we stand today. For some of us, this was the goal. For some of us, this is a stepping stool. Then there are some of us where this is just the beginning. See what I learned throughout these 14 years of school is that no matter what point it is that we are at right now, the next moment depends on the last moment. We are putting ourselves in a position for the rest of our lives. Some of our classmates didn't make it to see Graduation. Whether we lost them to the grave, to the penitentiary, or just for a lack of motivation and dedication to get here. So we stand here today, thankful and grateful for the journey. I, myself had doubts at one point. I became a mother before I became a high school graduate. Honestly I had a lot of people worried about me. Worried about if I could do it, would it change everything, would I dropout...all these concerns and here I am. I tell my story the way that I do, to let everyone know determination will take you everywhere. All you need is strength and willpower and the sky is the limit. It would've been easy to dropout. It would've been easy to be the statistic. But no, I'm here. My son is here. My grades didn't drop. I didn't miss class. I didn't make excuses. I kept it up. I remember we had a guest speaker come to us in Junior High that said 'We are standing on the shoulders of Giants' and I thought, Sir Isaac Newton made a valuable point.  Without the groundwork being laid out before us, the path would've been harder to pave. So...here I am, at the point where the path didn't lead and I am leaving a trail. High School was definitely meant to be the time of our lives. Pep rallies, games, camps, brutal morning workouts, late night cram sessions, candlelight vigils, winning championships, and the most talked about Prom in the last 20 years..." I paused as everyone applauded because our Casino night themed Prom was too lit. "...I want to extend a huge thank you to the teachers who taught us properly. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. Our parents who showed us in one way or another that this here is what was necessary to succeed. My fellow classmates, we all pushed each other to get to this point. Whether it was tutoring or encouragement, we worked as an unit. To my fiance, thank you for helping me through all of those late night study sessions and me obsessing over the outcome of Valedictorian. And last, but not least, we have to take the time to thank ourselves. Whether we aced our classes, just skated by, or we needed a tutor for multiple things. We made it yall! So today, before we throw our caps and celebrate, I want you to take a good look at yourselves and thank you for all the hard work you put in. So whether the next step is College, the workforce, you're undecided, or whatever it is; carry the same determination. Congratulations Graduates! Life begins now!" I exclaimed as we all erupted in claps and all. I respectfully took my spot back in line just before they finished up the ceremony. Before the caps were thrown Tony made it to my side and we tossed the caps in the air. Tony had grabbed me and kissed me as the caps were falling back down. But in that moment I felt like time literally stood still. He held onto me tightly.               "Thank you baby." he said as he spun me around before bringing me back down to my feet. We grabbed our caps and then headed to see where our friends were. We walked right into Charles and Iris. She came right over and hugged me.         "We did it Boo!" she yelled as we embraced each other.                               
"Yes we did!" I said agreeing with her. She let me go and I hugged Charles while she hugged Tony. We all looked around and saw Jay making his way to us. His smile widened as he came over.  "Congratulations family!" he said as he hugged me and Iris at the same time and then he shook hands with the guys.
"Nigga we made it!" We heard Mar scream as him, Nicole, and Erica walked over. He hugged us all one by one.            
"Looks like yall just missing me." Dom said as she slid into the group. We all kinda embraced each other in this moment. Man...we all had one hell of a ride up until this point. This was a moment for all of to finally exhale.           "Congrats yall!" Suki said as she walked over with this thing that shot out confetti in all of our directions. We all laughed and I was thankful for the happy energy around this circle. Then the whole label crew came over. Kev went straight to Dom. Paradox, Onyx, Riek, Araya, Depth, Aries, Rodney, and there were a few others I didn't quite recognize but they came through as an unit. I know we were definitely showered with love and this was before the biggest part happened. Our parents all gathered together and walked over to us. The embrace from my dad brought tears to my eyes. The biggest of my support was right here, never missed a beat and I adored his entire life for that. My mom and Maxwell had come as well and she hugged me too. Her embrace was even tighter than his.
"I'm sorry for everything baby, but I'm so happy for you. You've grown to be a beautiful, wise woman. I know you'll be the world's greatest mother. I love you." she said as she kissed my cheek. I needed to hear that.