Rooming With my Brother's Best Friend

Chapter 1

"Cheyne Miller."

This is it. This is the last time I will ever have to be associated with this school. No more classes, no more early morning wake ups. No more exams or assignments that mean nothing. No more bullies or bitches, so why am I so afraid to leave?

"Cheyne Miller."

Oh that's right I'm meant to be on stage right about now. I look back to my best friend Sam and see that she's nodding up to the stage. By the look she gave me she knows that I'm having second thoughts about walking up onto that stage. I look out into the crowd feeling like I need more reassurance that everything will be okay. It's only then do I realise that Parker Chambers, my brother's best friend, is staring straight at me with a questioning look on his face. Once he realises I am looking at him, a soft smile appears on his lips and he nods to the stage just like Sam did. I'm not too sure why, but for some unknown reason this awakens a swarm of butterflies in my stomach and causes my feet to move on their own accord up onto the stage.

"Ah, there you are Cheyne. I was beginning to think you had run away." My principal said whilst shaking my hand.

"Well, I was certainly contemplating the decision, but here I am."

I walked to the centre of the stage, stood there for three seconds and then walked down the stairs on the opposite side just like we rehearsed. When I walked down, I had to sit in the front row and wait for all of the graduates to be announced. When Sam was called she would come and sit next to me because we both had to perform a speech being school captain/ valedictorian and school vice-captain. Once everyone had been called Sam was recalled to the stage to say her vice-captain speech. It was really good and the crowd went wild once she had finished. God I hope I get that response when I'm finished.

"And again, I'd like to invite your school captain and valedictorian of 2015, Cheyne Miller everybody."

I didn't hesitate this time, public speaking wasn't something I was good at but I had rehearsed this speech multiple times and I was presenting it in front of all of my friends. I knew that this speech meant a lot so I knew that I would do great.

"So as you all know, I'm Cheyne Miller. While I know that I may not be the most popular student or the smartest student here, I have learnt a few things and I'm so happy that I've been able to learn them with all of you." At this moment, it felt like I was being compelled. My eyes slowly gazed over the crowd and then looked right over to Parker and locked eyes with him. This somehow gave me the courage to continue with my speech.

"When we were five, they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. Our answers were things like, Astronaut, President or in my case, a Princess. When we were ten, they asked again. We answered rock star, cowboy or in my case, a gold medallist. But now that we've grown up, they wanted a serious answer. Well, how about this - who the hell knows? This isn't the time to make hard and fast decisions, this is the time to make mistakes. Take the wrong train and get stuck somewhere. Fall in love - a lot. Major in all the wrong courses. Change your mind and change it again because nothing's permanent. So make as many mistakes as you can. That way someday when they asked what we want to be, we won't have to guess - we'll know. It's easy to feel hopeful on a beautiful day like today, but there will be dark days ahead of us too. There will be days where you feel all alone and that's when hope is needed most. No matter how buried it gets or how lost you feel, you must promise me that you will hold on to hope. Keep it alive! We have to be greater than what we suffer. My wish for you is to become hope. People need that. And even if we fail... What better way is there to live? I know that we all think we're immortal, we're supposed to feel that way we're graduating. The future is and should be bright, but, like our brief five years in high school, what makes life valuable is that it doesn't last forever, what makes it precious is that it ends. I know that now more than ever. And I say it today of all days to remind us that time is luck. So don't waste it living someone else's life, make yours count for something. Fight for what matters to you, no matter what. Because even if you fall short, what better way is there to live? As we look around here today at all the people who helped make us who we are, I know it feels like we're saying goodbye but we will carry a piece of each other into everything we do next... To remind us of who we are... and if we were meant to be."