The Last First Page

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by louiejcross

by louiejcross

Ding.

“Door!” Called my father from the barbeque on the back porch. The spices were strong, and almost overlapping the smell of smoke. I galloped down the stairs. I swung up the front door, and saw—

“Jason!” I chirped.

“Well, don’t you look beautiful today.” He grinned. His eyes twinkled at the sight of me.

“Yeah, um, it’s kind of my graduation party.” I nervously tugged on my yellow sundress and blushed.

“Really? Had no idea.” Jason swung his hand out from behind his back and handed me a pretty pink box with a gold bow on the top.

“You didn’t have to…” I cupped it in my hands. I glanced up at him, and met his brown eyes. “But I’m glad you did.”

When all my old friends started showing up, I was actually happy I hadn’t told my mom about anything that happened in high school. She would have never invited my old friends and my ex-boyfriend to my graduation party. Alexia showed up. It was the first time I had talked to her in two years. Tamera came with her a year and half old daughter.

“What’d you decide to name her?” Alexia asked, sticking her finger out to the little girl clinging to Tamera’s leg.

“Brooklyn. Brooke for short. Brooklyn Jane.” Tamera smiled at me. My jaw hit the floor. I was astonished. No homecoming queen crown could have replaced this moment.

“You’re lying.” I said. Tamera just shook her head. Jason hugged me from the side, and I felt the tears coming. But they were happy tears.

Happy tears for the new friends I made, for good memories I made, for the the person I became to be, for the healing that finally came, and for the best--no--craziest four years of my life. All thanks to high school.

So the #1 lie you hear about high school? “It was the best four years of my life”. And actually, that’s neither a lie nor a truth. It depends on your perspective and how you want to reflect back on those four years. At first, I had thought they were the worst four years of my life, but now, looking back, they were the best four years ending my childhood and the best four years beginning my adulthood.