Never Too Late

Chapter 1.1: High School Is Over!

It all came together nicely. Graduation was upon us, and Alex and I were just as excited and nostalgic about it as everyone else. There we were, sitting on those chairs they put together. We were seated alphabetically, the class of 2011. Alex was one seat away from me because from "Johnson" to "Loveworth" there was a last name "Lee" between us. Kim Lee, he was an Asian genius. I think he was two years younger than us because he looked like a kid, and he was short. Anyway, he sat between me and Alex, so he had to go through the annoying time of me and Alex flirting.

"You good?" Alex asked me despite Lee being there. Lee was still, like he didn't care.

"Pay attention, Alex." I chuckled. The principal was calling names to go to the stage because they were starting to give out the diplomas. "They're calling the names."

"They're still at the letter C, so chill."

Suddenly, I heard the principal call out Nick Cassidy. Alex and I turned to see. Nick walked up to the stage, and he ecstatically received his diploma. While on the stage, Nick stopped and looked at us, the crowd. I saw him smile while he looked at me, and I smiled back. Somehow, I was proud of him. Nick was one of the best friends I had, and I may not have always appreciated him, but I know he was an incredible person. All the times Nick and I spent, they all came back to me like flashbacks, images appearing in my head in loop, and I could hear in my head this calm goodbye song. I just knew that it was going to hurt to let go of the people I adored, but life always demands change. Nick went offstage as the principal moved on to the next.

I turned to Alex, and he was smiling at me. I mouthed an 'I love you too him'. He chuckled at first, then he mouthed back an 'I love you too' and blinked at me.

"Stop flirting with me, old man." I laughed.

"Old man?" he raised a brow and chuckled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know." I couldn't stop laughing and smiling. For the first time, I felt happy. "That was so random."

"Random, Classic Liyah Loveworth!" he seemed like he couldn't stop laughing instead. Is that how it is when you're in love? You just can't help but laugh and smile at everything he says?

I stared at Alex, and he was staring back at me. We just smiled at each other. As creepy as it may sound, we kept on staring for about ten seconds. We were so carried away that we didn't notice Kim Lee was getting uncomfortable.

"I feel like I'm holding you two back." Kim commented with a bit of a humorous tone, nothing sarcastic.

"We're so sorry." I laughed. "I'm sorry we were distracting you."

"It's okay." He smiled. "Would you like to switch seats?"

"Sure. Thank you." I laughed as Kim stood and switched seats with me. Alex was laughing at us.

"I'm sorry, sir." Alex tried to stop his laughs.

"That was embarrassing." I said.

"I'm sorry. My fault..." Alex replied.

As I was there, sitting next to Alex, I felt the comfort and the warmth. I couldn't stop smiling. Alex snuck his hand down and held mine. It was amazing. I've never felt so complete before. It was all I could ask for, and I was contented.

I was preoccupied, thinking of Alex and what our future holds. Of course, there's the fear of breaking up, but at that time, I couldn't come up with anything that could possibly break us up. Everything was going so well. It felt like a forever. I was so deep into my thoughts when Alex and the rest of the people in our line of seats stood up because it was our range already, and we had to line up beside the stage, so we did.

"Come on." Alex pulled me up and walked me to the line. Unfortunately, we really had to be in order this time, so Lee got between us again.

"Too bad." Kim laughed at us as he squeezed between us.

"I don't mind." I smiled. I took a short moment to lean, and I saw Steve a person ahead of Alex. I guess there was still a person between Jobbs and Johnson. "Steve!"

Steve turned to see, and he saw me. I smiled and waved at him, and he waved back. I didn't know why I did that, but it seemed friendly, and I was in a good mood, so...

It didn't come too long when it was Alex's turn. He walked up the stage, and I heard a handful of people cheer and clap. Alex really was popular. I still couldn't believe that he was my boyfriend. Of all the girls in Neptune, he chose the train wreck girl that has the hardest time controlling her feelings. I was a sucker, but I felt like the happiest bitch in the world to be with someone like Alex. Again, I could hear a climaxing song in my head as everything was coming to an end. It was overwhelming.

"Liyah Loveworth." The principal announced my turn. I felt everything go slow. It was like my eyes were videotaping that moment, and that song that was going on my head kept getting louder and louder. I took steps 'til I got to the stage, and there was the principal, smiling at me, one of the many pathetic graduate students.

"Thank you." I said as I took my diploma. He nodded and smiled at me.

I bent my neck and turned to the crowd, and I saw everyone. Alex, Nick, Laura, Winnie, Harvey, Steve, Franchesca, Jason, Sam, my parents, and everyone else... they were all smiling at me and applauding. It felt like heaven. It was a moment I couldn't forget. The slow moment got even slower as I felt the light passing through the windows shine brighter. I felt the wind as it gave me a little shove. I looked at the windows and saw the light.

"Thank you, Sharon." I whispered to myself, and I walked down the stage. It was official: High School is over!