The Tale of Your Ordinary Girl

Chapter 26- Ashton

Graduation (1 year later):

"Ashton come on dear, we're going to be late!" My mother calls as I stand in my room looking for my tie. Luciana had given it to me as our anniversary gift. I wore it every time we needed to get dressed up for something, like junior and senior prom. And now graduation. I finally find it on the door knob when I open my door to call down to my mother. "Ashton!" She calls again, "Don't make me come up there."

"Coming mom!" I call back looking for the little box with Luciana's graduation gift in it. I find it on my dresser with a neon sticky note reading "Don't leave me!" I put the box in my coat pocket and head downstairs with my tie in my hand. I pick up my cap and gown from the front table and head out to the car. I sit in the backseat while my parents sit in the front.

"This is it son." My father tells me. "Are you ready?"

"Nervous is more like it." I tell him. I play with the tassel on the hat and try to relax.

"We'll see you inside son." My father says, "The Sterlings are joining us for dinner later. You and Luciana will have to agree on somewhere to go."

"Okay dad." I tell him, "See you in a bit."

I climb out of the car cap and gown in hand, the box in my pocket digging into my leg. I reach in my pocket to readjust it when she jumps on my back.

"Hi!" She beams excitedly, I can't see her face, but I can feel her excitement radiating off her. Her arms wrap around my neck and she takes my cap and gown in her hand. I hold her legs to keep her up.

"Hi yourself." I greet her. I begin walking again as we head inside the football stadium where graduation will take place. My brilliant girlfriend the valedictorian. I'm giving a speech. And we're both wearing our honor's cords. She got full ride academic scholarships to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford. Then I got  full ride sports scholarships to Duke, Dartmouth, Columbia, and Princeton. She's going pre-law and I'm thinking more along the lines of sports athletic director. I'll still play basketball and baseball while in school but after that, I'll be purely focused on being a high school athletic director.

"Will you put my cord and cap on for me?" She asks me standing in front of me her gown over the dress that she absolutely fell in love with while we were in NYC for spring break with our parents. She wore it as prom queen. And she wore it to a wedding this past month. She holds out the white cap and her cord.

"Only if you do it for me as well." I agree. She beams and nods. I take the cord from her hand and everything else seems to fade away. I put it around her neck and make sure it's perfect. "And I need some help with my tie."

"Of course." She says with a smile taking my tie and tying it with ease. She then has me put on my graduation gown and puts my honors cord on for me. Her hand rests on the cords after she aligns them. She kisses my cheek before the rest of the seniors head to find their seats. She quickly fixes my hat on my head and I do the same for her.

"I love you." We both tell each other as pomp circumstance plays. We make our way to the stage where we'll be to make our speeches. The principal makes her speech before introducing me to speak.

"My name is Ashton Blake. This is the first time I've ever given a speech of any kind. My family spent much of my time growing up moving around. I always managed to excel in school because I never focused on much else. I worried that I would leave when I made friends. Until I got here. A place I learned to call home. All because of a physics class. One that brought me the tether I needed to relax into a life that I could enjoy if I opened up to it. And I did. I started sports. I joined clubs. And I made great friends. All because of a tether from a class where we learned about MC^2." I imagine Luciana smiling at the reference. "It proves that nothing is impossible with God. As a character in a book that I love asks. 'Tell me, what is impossible with God?' The answer was always nothing is impossible with God. God is always in your corner. This school brought me to the realization that it isn't about the tangibles. It's about the intangibles. The friendships you forge. The connections you make. The effort you put into what you try. And the people you love. Make your life something you'll be proud to look back on. I know I'll be proud to look back on mine and speak of it to my children when the time comes."

The names are called. I was at the beginning while Luciana was toward the end. Then it was time for her speech.

"Ashton you were brilliant!" She exclaims after the ceremony. She launches into my arms. Her hat falls off letting her dark luscious hair fall free.

"I loved your speech too." I tell her twirling her around a few times. We agree on going to a small Asian restaurant on the edge of town for post graduation dinner. We're walking and meeting our parents there. I lace our fingers together and we begin walking. I have both hangers with our caps, gowns, and cords on them. She smiles as we walk.

"I leave for school next month." She says. "I got the summer internship."

I make a quick detour to the bookstore. She keeps asking questions. I didn't even think of her internship. It doesn't really matter. We'll be on the same campus by fall. The small box in my pocket digging Ito my leg again.

"I have to ask you something," I tell her, she nods for me to continue. "How serious do you feel we'll be in the future?"

She says nothing for a while, she then smiles at me and spontaneously kisses me, a fiery passion that she'd never shown me before. "I hope," she begins, "That we'll be together forever."

"You know I love you with all my heart. So I'm going to ask you. Will you promise, that when we're older. After college. After we're settled with jobs. And when we're both ready to do it. That you'll do me the honor of becoming my wife? That we'll start our family together."

"I promise." She tells me. "I love you. I don't want to be with anyone else." I pull out the small box and open it. Her eyes are glassy when she agrees. I open the box revealing a simple solid silver ring with an infinity sign embedded with diamonds. I slip it on her ring finger before kissing her gently. We both smile as we pull back. "We need to head to dinner. Before our parents send out a search party."

She kisses my cheek before sending me a devious smile and taking off. I race after her. She's gotten faster. She opens the door to the restaurant when I finally catch up and wrap my arms around her waist. "Caught ya." I tell her as we join our parents. She sits on my right her left hand staying below the table.

"Did you guys get lost?" Mr. Sterling asks.

"No daddy, we just stopped by the bookstore a few minutes." She says her ring catches the light and sparkles a minute under the table.

Conversation flows smoothly and we both sit content with how things are going. High school is over, and now our story is starting a new chapter together. Amazing things are still to come, I can tell.