ENDLESS

S6 Chapter 14

JUNE

"I can't believe my baby is graduating!" Bridget sniffled, wiping the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

"Shut up! He's about to give his speech!" Aria hissed, leaning forward in her seat with anticipation.

The long-awaited ceremony was here. After a decade in the school system, the seniors were finally receiving a formal recognition of their efforts.

Unsurprisingly to his parents, Carter managed to finish his high school career ranked number one, the valedictorian. Scarlett climbed from number three to salutatorian.

Bridget and Nate expected nothing less from their obsessively smart son, but for Carter, the title still felt surreal. Even as he stands straight, facing towards the crowd with confidence, he can't help the way his heart races faster and his panicked nerves shoot up from his toes.

He adjusts the microphone and looks out to the sea of people. "Welcome everyone, how are we all doing this morning? Hopefully better than ever since we've finally crossed the finish line!"

The graduates erupt in an overwhelming cacophony of cheer, prompting a smile to grow on Carter's face. He feels a bit more at ease now, continuing on.

"It's been a long road here. That's true for all of us. No matter how different our problems, our advantages and disadvantages, we all had to overcome something to get here. Many people will say that this was the easiest time of our lives. Maybe it's true, I haven't lived enough yet to know. But what I can say is that adolescence is never easy. We've grappled with harsh realities, struggled to form our identities, questioned the world over and over, felt lost, confused, misunderstood, heartbroken. All of these new experiences we've had to learn how to internalize it, to learn how to push through. Maybe you're still learning like I am. Maybe we always will be. But it's without a doubt that this is the first time we've been confronted with it, and those first times are the most difficult."

Silence filled the stadium as both graduates and guests alike listened, and the hundreds of eyes on the valedictorian prompted him to keep going with his speech. "And yet, despite it all, we made it here. Today, our class stands looking back at all the memories, good and bad. We made it through, and our collective effort deserves a celebration! So I urge you all to take pride in your accomplishments, no matter how little or big, and let us walk forward! Let's make the future bright!"

Roars, claps and whistles suddenly broke the veil of silence, the emergence of sounds shaking the ground beneath them like a weak earthquake. Carter smiled and raised two fists into the air before taking his seat amongst the top ten students that were assigned chairs on stage.

"That ovation was louder than the one they gave you guys when Nate interrupted our graduation ceremony with his proposal." Aria brought up teasingly.

Bridget smiled proudly, playfully punching her in the arm. "Shut up."

. . .

After the ceremony was concluded, the graduates flowed out of the stadium, rushing to meet up with their loved ones. Laughter and happy cries added to the upbeat atmosphere.

Carter and Scarlett walked hand in hand, the several cords draped around their shoulders hitting against their robes. Nate immediately spotted them, "over there!"