The Start Of A Good Thing (Book 1)

Chapter 47

Five minutes before the graduation ceremony officially started, the lower walkway of the coliseum was jam-packed. The students were suppose to be in alphabetical order, but clearly strayed away from it. Trevor was leaning on the side of the wall next to Tanesha, Miya, and a few other guys from their school.

Since India was graduating with honors, she was up front with a school administrator, unable to socialize with the rest of the pack. Trevor had his gown unzipped and his hands in his pockets, staring at his girlfriend. About the only people around him who were actually his friends were Tanesha and Miya. Everybody else was strictly an associate.

One kid started to act out and did the moonwalk in his church shoes. He stopped on a dime, grabbing his gown near the crotch area and tilted his head with his hand on his cap. Miya was still gloating about her heels, showing them to everyone who passed by. Tanesha stood next to Trevor, on the phone with her boyfriend in a seemingly unprovoked argument. Had it not been for their attire, one would never guess these kids were about to graduate.

“Ha! Aye I got you dog,” one guy exclaimed, laughing at his partner. “Aye pyro, whats yo class rank?”

Trevor bit his lower lip in thought, “Um, like 281,” he answered. The smile on the guys face faded.

“Dang, you higher than me,” he realized. “Oh… well, at least I got this nigga.” The teen pointed to another kid that stood next to him. “Aye this nigga like 330 somethin’.” Trevor didn’t think it was too funny because he himself was still pretty low on the list. With a little under 400 students graduating, 281 was far from a top percentage.

Out of nowhere, the loud talking and goofing off stopped. Mr. Higgins came walking down the hall wearing an expensive pen stripe suit. “Shhh,” he said, quieting down the students while he walked by. “Straighten up, the lines already moving.”

Trevor quickly zipped his gown up and straightened his hat. The teens around him had to rush to get back in order as the students in front of them began to walk forward. Tanesha slammed her phone shut and jumped in front of Trevor.

“Here we go,” she mumbled. Music from the coliseum’s auditorium seeped through the doors the students walked through. When Trevor fully came inside the large room, he glanced around. There were thousands of seats circling the main floor of the auditorium and most where full. Screams and shouts of joy could be heard echoing around him, but they were hard to make out.

The music continued to play as the graduates took their seats row by row. Trevor sat down next to Miya and Tanesha, still looking around. Ironically the first gradation he’s ever been too was his own. The principal, Dr. Darrel stood on the stage and greeted the audience and students, beginning the two hour-long ceremony.

About half way through the gradation and a fraction of the students were asleep, including Trevor. He sat straight up in his chair with his head hanging down. Tanesha nudged his arm to wake him; he jerked slightly in the seat, eyes barely open.

“Pryo, I think we bout to walk,” She stated, eyes forward. One of their fellow students stood at the podium adjusting the microphone. His gown was decorated with a number of extra drapes and bars. “Wait… Who’s that?” The students around them all shrugged their shoulders like they had no idea.

“I think that’s the valedictorian,” Trevor realized, rubbing his eyes. Tanesha scrunched her face in confusion.

“Valedic-who?” she questioned.

“The Valedictorian,” He reiterated. “Suppose to be like the smartest dude in our class.”

Tanesha pouted her lips, looking at the kid on the stage as he talked. “Oh…. Well how come I aint neva’ seen him before?”