The Life of Esther Jameson

Chapter Twenty Five

A/N: I'm back! I'm so sorry that it took me so long, but the gears have started turning again and I feel so refreshed in terms of writing now. Life has been quite hectic lately, but enough about me. Let's finally get back to our story. :D
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“Cap and gown?”

“Check.”

“Speech?”

“Check.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Really, Jackson?”

“I’m just making sure.”

“Fine. Check.”

“Then we’re all ready to go.” Jackson approached me from behind and draped a silvery tasseled rope around my neck. “Can’t forget this, too.”

“Right.” I exhaled nervously. “Gosh, I'm so scared. What do I say?”

“Um, I don't know. Your speech, maybe?” He gave me his half-moon smile. “Just go out there and show them what you’re made of.”

“But what if I’m made out of Jell-O?” I panicked.

“How about I give you a speech instead?”

“You have two minutes.”

“Noted.” Jackson sighed. “Okay, so I might have not graduated valedictorian, but I did graduate, and I know how scary that was. Just find me in the crowd. Pretend that no one else is there.”

“That sounds easy.” I laughed dryly. “Except for the fact that hundreds of people are there and they'll all be watching me. The world’s too big, Jackson.”

“Then make it small.” Jackson smiled from behind me. He brought his hands up to cup over my eyes, shielding them from the light of my room. “Just, um, focus on my voice. Pretend that it’s an…island.”

“You’re serious?” I giggled. “Of all the things, you chose an island.”

“Shh, you’re ruining the moment.” Jackson nudged me playfully. “But yes, imagine that my voice is an island, and try swimming towards it.”

“Are you really quoting Superman?” I laughed again. “Because it’s working.”

“I’m glad you noticed.” Jackson smiled and removed his hands, giving my shoulder a loving squeeze. “You’ll do fine. I believe in you.”

I was on stage before I knew it. Everything happened in a blur and then I was up in front of hundreds of people. They all looked at me with expectation, excitement, and boredom. I couldn’t blame them for the last one, my graduating class was pretty big and there were a lot of names to call. The last thing they needed was a long speech about education or memories.

Then the words flowed through me. I didn’t need the flash cards anymore.

“Hello, my name is Esther Jameson. I know that you’re all here because of some loved one and I’ll keep this speech short. You’re all probably thinking of the afterparties and food so I won’t keep you long.”

I managed to get the crowd laughing. Great.

“When I was asked by the school to give a speech, My first thought was to go running for the hills.” I laughed softly into the microphone. “But now I see it as an honor to be here in front of all of you. It’s an honor to be valedictorian, and even to be able to graduate. In recent years, my life has been a serious roller coaster ride, juggling school, work, and even an engagement that, sadly, didn’t work out in the end.”

The audience echoed with a unanimous and sympathetic “awe”.

“But times have changed.” I gently slammed the podium with my hand in affirmation. “I’ve been lucky to have met so many amazing people who helped me solve this life’s enigma. I admit that I made a lot of mistakes in this life, but we’ve all made mistakes, haven’t we?”