This was it. Graduation day was finally here. I stood in front of my mirror wearing a cute light blue sundress and a pair of nude colored heels. My hair was curled into perfect ringlets and my makeup was well applied.
There was a knock on my door. "I'll been down in a minute Mom!" I called through the closed door. But when the door opened, it wasn't my mom. Zach stood there in a crisp white button down, black slacks and a blue tie that matched my dress. He had a gray suit jacket slung over his arm.
"Don't you look handsome," I say, unable to hold back my smile.
"I'm not as beautiful as you," he compliments. I flip my hair dramatically over my shoulder.
"Well of course not," I reply with a giggle. Zach comes closer and wraps his arms around my waist. He pulls me closer and kisses me. Softly at first and then getting more intense. I'm left breathless once again when we finally pull apart.
"God damn it Zach, now I have to reapply my lipstick," I joke. Zach laughs and plants another kiss on my cheek before I break from his grasp and head over to the mirror. I apply my lipstick swiftly and drop it in my clutch. I pat my hair and smooth my dress one last time before turning back to Zach.
He offers his hand to me. "Ready?"
I nod and intertwine my fingers with his.
We descend down the stairs hand in hand and we're greeted by a crowd when we reach the kitchen.
"There they are! The graduates!" My grandmother gushes as she pulls me in for a hug. I hug her back tightly. When we break apart, I look around at the familiar faces. My parents, my younger brother, my grandparents, my aunt and uncle and my two baby cousins have all come to see me graduate.
"And now we'll only have the summer with you before you're shipped off to New York," my aunt murmurs as she takes her turn to hug me.
A wave of guilt washes over me as her words sink in. I was leaving sooner than that but my family didn't know yet.
As if sensing my apprehension, Zach pats my back reassuringly. Just the little things he does makes me feel so much better.
My mother claps twice to get everyone's attention. "We better get going people," she announces. "Let's move on out!"
With that, we all pile into our various cars and drive the short distance to the high school. I decided to go in the car with Zach. Everyone else squeezed into two cars and we headed off. Zach and I were quiet for the first two minutes of the drive. But he finally broke the silence.
"This is our last drive to high school together," he murmurs. I suddenly feel myself tearing up. Zach smirks and grabs my hand, squeezing it reassuringly.
"Babe, don't cry." I can tell he's holding back a laugh. I smack his arm and this time he does laugh. We drive the rest of the way hand in hand. When we pull up at the school, Leah, Rob and Victoria are waiting for us. All had been settled between me and my girls and Rob and Victoria have been talking like old friends again. We climb out of the car and head over to where they're standing. "We'll see you guys later!" I call over my shoulder at my family emerging from the cars.
"Hey, glad you finally made it," Leah greets us when we reach them.
"Someone took to long to get ready," Zach says playfully flashing me a look.
I roll my eyes at him. "Shut up, Zach," I giggle.
"You shut up," he retorts with a smile. I laugh and reach up to kiss him.
"Ew," Victoria says, giggling. This is her famous line and it never gets old. An announcement is made over the loud speaker that all seniors should report to homeroom with their belongings. The five of us make our way into the building and take off in separate directions to get our things from our lockers. Leah and I are the only ones who have homeroom together.
