Arkham High

Chapter 20

"There he is!" exclaimed Harley, spotting Joker through the swarm of people milling around the gym. She held her parents' hands as they pressed through the crowd. "Mr. J!" she cried, trying to get his attention. "Over here!"

He noticed her and smiled, heading over to her. "Quite a crowd!" he chuckled. "Who knew so many people would wanna sit through a boring graduation ceremony?"

"Are your parents here yet?" asked Harley, looking around.

"Nah, not yet. You look beautiful," he said, changing the subject quickly.

"Thanks," she said, smiling at him. "I'm still not used to dressing up."

"Well, no need to get used to it," he said, kissing her gently. "I like the old Harley better anyway."

She squeaked happily, kissing him. "Good to see you both again, Mr. and Mrs. Q," said Joker, nodding at her parents.

"You too, J," said Mrs. Quinzel, hugging him. "Do you know where your parents are gonna be sitting? We'd love to sit next to them."

"Uh...no, they didn't tell me," he said, frowning. "I wouldn't worry about it, Mrs. Q. But you'd better hurry if you wanna get good seats - it's a madhouse in here!"

"Ok. See you both after the ceremony," said Mrs. Quinzel, heading off into the audience with her husband.

"Your parents are coming, right, puddin'?" asked Harley, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm sure they'll be here," muttered Joker. "But they're late for a lotta things. C'mon, sweetheart, let's go find our seats," he said, heading toward the stage where the graduates sat.

Harley was going to press him for more information, but he didn't seem to want to talk about it. The ceremony began, with Principal Leland giving an encouraging speech about the graduates' future of possibilities. About halfway through this, the gym door opened and a man and a woman entered, shuffling to the back of the auditorium. Harley saw Joker's face harden into a frown as he noticed the pair, and then returned his attention to Principal Leland.

"And now I'd like to pass you on to our valedictorian, Jonathan Crane, who's prepared a short speech," said Principal Leland, nodding at Crane. He took the stand to rapturous applause.

"Thank you very much," he said. "I've been advised to make this brief by our class president, J," he said, nodding at Joker. "I think advised sounds better than threatened, anyway." There was laughter at this, and Crane smiled, continuing. "And actually I don't have much to say. My experience of life is dreadfully limited - I've just finished high school, for goodness sake, and I sincerely hope the rest of my life is better than that was. It would be difficult for it to be worse," he said, and the audience laughed again. "Anyway, I have no business trying to lecture my peers on how to live their lives," he continued. "One thing this school teaches you is that people come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and each one can be incredibly different from another. So no piece of advice is going to apply to everyone, since everyone's life is going to be individual, different, and unique. I have read a lot of books, and what I've learned from them is that life is whatever you make of it, but it can sometimes be a lot easier if you bear certain things in mind. Remember who you are at heart, and be proud of it. Don't let anyone change you into something you're not. Be truthful, and honest with yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks. And whatever happens, don't let fear hold you back from doing what you want. Find out what makes you special, and do it. I hope if we all do that, we can all find some measure of happiness in our lives. I wish everyone the greatest luck in that endeavor. Thank you."

The applause as Crane took his seat was deafening. "Great speech, Johnny," said Harley, leaning over to smile at him. "You're great at holding an audience. Have you ever thought of being a professor? You'd make a fantastic lecturer."