Sleeping With My Best Friend - (Complete)

Chapter 32 - The Valedictorian Speech

*** 3 Years Later - Senior Year of College ***

Berkley looked down to see the time on her phone and gasped. She couldn't be late to her own college graduation. She snatched her cap and gown off of her bed and made a mad dash to the door, rushing across campus and putting them on as she went. Luckily, she made it down to the auditorium and got to her seat just in time, right before the ceremony started.

"Phew, that was close," she said with a sigh of relief.

Right as she sat down she heard a loud booming voice yell out, "Berkley!" and she looked around in the direction it came from, spotting her Dad, Keagan, his wife and their little girl up in the stands waving at her. She smiled and waved back, shaking her head with a laugh.

"Everyone please take a seat. We're gonna go ahead and get started," a woman on the stage said into the microphone.

She couldn't believe how close she had come to walking in late. That would've been really embarrassing.

The school choir came out and sang the national anthem and then the marching band played the school fight song. Berkley looked over at the empty seat beside her, letting out an exhale and wishing Dean was sitting there next to her.

There were several speeches before the Dean of the University, Professor Lindquist, walked over to the podium, straightening out his tie and giving the crowd a warm smile. He was a handsome older guy in his mid 50's, with dark brown hair streaked with grey at the temples.

He smiled out at the crowd and cleared his throat before saying, "This is the day I always look forward to the most every year, when the graduates get to celebrate, knowing that all their years of hard work have finally paid off. Seeing the feeling of accomplishment they get and the way their faces light up when I put that degree in their hand, there's nothing better. You'll all get to find out how that feels soon enough," he said with a smile, as the crowd of graduates cheered and clapped.

He waited for them to quiet down again before saying, "But there's one person among you that will be feeling even more accomplished today than all the rest, because he has risen to the top of the class, and at a school like Yale, that's something to be very proud of."

There was more clapping before he said, "I always have a face-to-face meeting with our valedictorian to help them prepare for their graduation speech, and when I first met this young man, I thought there had to have been a mistake. There was no way this guy that looked like a young, brunette Brad Pitt was the valedictorian of Yale," he looked down, chuckling to himself at the memory.

Then he raised his head and smiled. "In my twenty one years of being the Dean here, I've had plenty of valedictorians come and go through my door and they're typically all the same; shy and quiet, with no social skills. Most of them barely left their dorm room all four years," he laughed and the crowd started laughing too.

He shook his head, looking over at Dean that was standing a few feet away. "That's definitely not the case with Dean Bradshaw. This guy oozes confidence and charisma. He looks like the type that would be more comfortable doing keg stands at a frat party than writing a Quantum Physics paper. You might look at him and be surprised he even got into Yale," he laughed lightheartedly, with a smile, "but here he is today, graduating as our valedictorian."

The crowd started cheering and clapping and Berkley clapped too, whistling through her fingers, before yelling, "Woo hoo!" She was so proud of him.

"I learned an important lesson from him that day, about not judging a book by its cover," the Dean continued. "After you've spent five minutes talking to the guy, you find out how incredibly smart and impressive he really is. He's humble about his intelligence though. During our time together, he didn't brag about all of his accomplishments, grades, internships and test scores like all the other valedictorians I've met with. Instead, he spotted the picture of my old muscle car on my desk and that led to us talking about engines and how to find vintage car parts. Then he saw the picture of my family and asked about my wife and kids. He told me about his beautiful girlfriend and his family's fishing boat business. From our short time together, he got to know me and I felt like I really got to know him too, as a person, not just as a student. I'd say I know him better than any of the other valedictorians I've met with over the past twenty years. He's one of those people that you meet once and walk away feeling like you've known them for years. He's not just book smart. He's good with people and he has emotional intelligence too, and that's why I know he's going to be successful with whatever he chooses to do in life." He turned his head and looked over at Dean before saying, "Before you come up here and give your speech, I'd just like to say one last thing. I truly believe the sky is the limit for you son, and you've got a bright future ahead of you. I expect great things," he said with a smile. "Oh, and anytime you want to come over and work on cars or cook my family some of your famous Italian Grinders, we'll be ready."