Diana didn’t return to school.
Not even for Senior slide show, which held one picture of the two of us, under the best friends category. It was the perfect shot, her and I under our tree, laughing at a poem from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
It had been a week since I saw the video and the moment I saw it, I knew that I needed to talk to her, but I still couldn’t bring myself to do so. She had lied to me, and I mean really lied to me. For six months! One does not forgive so easily a lie of that magnitude.
But today was graduation day, it was the day that everything ended. And yet, it was the day that everything began. It was like being a caterpillar, one hour your inside of this nice comfy shell and the next you being thrown out into the world and you’re expected to learn how to fly.
I kept staring over at the R section, and finally, finally I saw her. She looked… Better. As though she had finally begun to eat again, and eyes seemed to have a slight amount of light put back in them.
As the ceremony proceeded, I did not take my eyes off of her. I guess I did owe her something… Well, everything I suppose. After the video of her fight with Lily was posted, Harry and I had gone almost completely back to normal and he broke up with that crazy woman. We weren’t just repairing Rome, we were tearing it down and rebuilding it bigger and better than ever. If it wasn’t for Diana, that might never have happened.
And so I was determined to catch her afterwards and at least thank her, if it didn’t break my heart to do so.
An hour later, I was no longer a High Schooler. I quickly made my way off the stand to try find her, desperate to hear her voice again. Maybe even to hear her mess up my name one more time. But the moment the ceremony is over, she’s gone. I don’t know where she went.
I was going to search for her, not realizing until then just how desperate I really was to see her up close once more, to feel her skin under my fingertips, to smell her familiar scent of fish and moroccan oils. But I suddenly was grabbed by different hands. “Marcel Styles?” I hear a woman ask and I turn around. When I do, I see not Diana but the brand new Guidance Counselor, Mrs. Margo. Mrs. Margo had replaced Ms. Perrywinkle about two weeks ago after Ms. Perry was found to be sleeping with one of her students. Gross if you ask me. Mrs. Margo seemed to care more the students and everyone liked her, but I had refused to go see her, though I had been called up many times.
“Hi, Mrs. Margo.” I say, rubbing the back of my neck as my eyes flickered back and forth, trying to spot that wonderful, terrible girl.
“You won’t find her, Marcel, that’s why I’m here.” My eyes snap up to the younger woman, wide in shock.
“How did you-”
“You would know how I know that if you hadn’t been ignoring my summons.” She chastised me and I blush sheepishly.
“Sorry about that Mrs. Margo-”
“Marcel, please shut up and come speak to me in private.” She led me off the football field where our graduation had taken place and into the school to her office. I was unsure as to why she was being so brazen as I sat down in an office that no longer held pictures of cats, but instead of a young family. “I need you to listen to me very carefully, Marcel. Not one word out of you, you may only reply in shakes and nods of your head, do you understand?”
