SAMUEL WEBB HAD DIED IN THE SPRING.
As spring bordered on summer, the Edgewood third-years gathered on the courtyard and prepared to say goodbye. Since the illustrious Samuel Webb was no longer with them to give a speech, the mourning graduating class sat through address after address from the faculty. Samuel's face had been printed on a poster along with Benjamin's that hung behind the stage as the ceremony progressed. It was the same photo that hung in the Hill household, except Archer was cut out of it.
Samuel's gaze or Benjamin's sad eyes no longer felt so intense as she received her diploma and felt the well of accomplishment overflow in her. The second she walked across the stage, Sylvi felt an immense weight lift off her shoulders.
Above all, she was glad to finally be done.
Once it was time for student speeches, Sylvi walked onto the stage. She found April in the crowd, screaming the loudest while her classmates clapped. Rhamah, seated in the very back, clapped politely, a small smile on her mouth. Bracketing the students, parents cheered. Her mother and father sat side by side. Lorraine was standing, hands cupped around her mouth and screaming, while Syed encouraged her.
The microphone squealed as Sylvi adjusted it. She cleared her throat and gripped the head of her cane. Her limp was more exaggerated now, but for the first time, she didn't mind.
"Thank you all so much. As some of you may or may not know, I am Sylvia Frances Carson. Beginning of first semester, I partially witnessed the death of the beloved Benjamin Hill. And just two months ago, our Samuel Webb fell from his Tower, unknown to me or my fellow Kingsmen until it was too late."
In the front row, Archer gave her a weak smile as Roman clapped him on the shoulder in reassurance and Sienna hooked her pinkie with his. She still looked slightly haggard, her eyes dark with bags, but she clapped and smiled and cheered anyway.
"This year has been filled with grief and turmoil. But, despite it all, I can proudly say that though I wish things had gone differently and I wish certain people were still with us— I am proud of all of us for making it through."
Sylvi found herself smiling as she gazed towards the wrought-iron gates and the possibility of what might lay beyond. She looked back at the photographs of Samuel and Benjamin.
"And at the end of it all, I've found all I wish to say is: Farewell, Edgewood."
FIN.
YOU ARE READING
KINGSMAN
General Fiction"Though they were meant to be Kingsmen, Samuel Webb was not one at all. He was a King." Until Samuel Webb falls out of a window. The question is: Did he fall or was he pushed? Edgewood College is an institution for the elite, presided over by The Ki...
