Moonlight

CH 1

Here it is, the last day of senior year. It had been a long 18 years but I was finally doing it, and I was doing it with honors. I slipped on my dark blue cap and gown and sat down at the end of my bed just staring at the bulletin board full of pictures of my friends and I from all throughout high school. Remember all the moments that had once made me laugh put a smile back on my face. I stood up and walked over to the mirror and stared at my own reflection. My long, blonde hair shined down from where the cap ended, my light blue eyes glistened as the light from the sun reflected upon them. I weighed about 115 pounds and stood at five feet exact but right now I was standing about five feet three inches thanks to the black high heeled boots that I was wearing underneath my gown. 

"Amaris, it's time to go" my mother shouted from downstairs. "I'm coming" I responded. She wasn't happy to see me go, to see me leave the small town of Safford, Arizona. My dreams were so much bigger than what this town could hold for me. Being a photographer was always my life goal and I couldn't wait to live it out. It wasn't like I was going far at all as I would be attending the University of Arizona in the fall but she still didn't like the idea of me being out of her sight. I grabbed my purse and my phone and began to head downstairs where I was greeted by my mother. She stood just as tall as me and only weighed a little bit more but her hair was dark black. She always looked like she was about to walk into the office, I don't think she even owns a pair of shorts or a tank top. 

"Amaris Bradbury" This was it, this was the moment that I worked so long and hard for. I walked up to the stage and received my High School Diploma that was presented to me by the principle. He gave me a soft smile and nodded his head. I walked over to the other side of the stage and held up the diploma as they took my picture and then I stepped down into the crowd of people that have already received their diploma. 

All the chairs were in alphabetical order so I didn't have to deal with a mess of people as my seat was in the front row. There were a couple more pictures that were taken from the photography of the entire graduation class and then all at once we stood up and threw our caps into the air. The cheers from not only us but the entire audience echoed through the gymnasium. I looked around at all of my classmates and admired all of their smiles and their laughters. We all had a giant group hug and I could see some tears falling from some of their eyes as the realization hit that today would be the last day that all of us would be congrigated in the same room, that after today we would all be going our separate ways and down different paths. Some were going to move to California and go to law school, some already had jobs lined up, and some had no plans at all. As for me, this summer I was going to travel. I wanted to see the world before I got consumed in books for the next few years. On the plus side, I will have my camera with me so that way I can document every single thing that I had seen. 

I didn't have many friends in high school. I didn't belong to any cliques and I was in no way one of the popular ones. I kept to myself and focused on making sure that I got the grades that would allow me to pursue anything that I wanted to. It wasn't until my junior year that I knew what that was. My father had bought me a camera for my birthday and I had just sat it to the side without even picking it up. A couple months later I dug it out of my drawer and held it in my hands and just glared at it. It would be the last thing that my father would ever give to me. 

I was in a gaze in the middle of the auditorium just thinking about my father and how much I wished he was here. He was a photographer much like myself and he went to a trip to the Grand Canyon. A couple days later we received a call that they had found his body laying at the bottom of it. My father was my best friend, the person that I told everything to. That is why I wanted to get into photography, to continue the legacy that he had started. I didn't even realize how out of it I was until I felt two arms wrap around my waist. 

"Adam" I said out loud with a small laugh. Adam was my boyfriend, and probably one of the most supportive and loving people that I know. He was 6 inches taller than me and had silky smooth dark blonde hair but my favorite thing about him was his brown eyes. Though he wasn't one, Adam had the body of a jock. He loved going to the gym and taking care of himself. Every time that I looked at him he took my breath away. We met in the hallways of school and our small conversations turned into deep conversation and we have been together now for almost a year because of it. 

"I don't have much time because my parents want to take me out for a surprise, but I just wanted to see you before we left so that way I could tell you how much I loved you." He pulled me placed his head on my shoulder blade and lightly kissed my cheek. To this day his touch still gave me butterflies. 

"And I love you, more than anything" I responded, closing my eyes to feel his warm embrace. He turned me around and placed a small but very deep kiss upon my lips and then he was gone, faded into the crowd.

"You guys make me sick" I turned around to see Becca walking my way. Her body was much like mine but the difference was her hair was a natural, copper red. She used to hate her hair and talk about how she was going to dye it the first chance that her mother let her but when that time came she had finally fallen in love with the uniqueness and decided to keep it. Unlike me though, she always dressed in black and always had dark black eye liner. Everyone wondered how we were such good friends because of how different we were. My dads death took a huge toll on her as well because he was like a second father to her. Her dad and my dad were best friends throughout high school and remained that way throughout the rest of his life, so much so that they had to buy their houses next door to each other. Her dad was with my dad when he passed and sadly his body was found just a few miles away from where my dads was found. 

"Oh shut up" I responded as I turned around with a grin on my face. Becca caught up to me and stood beside me. 

"I must go but I wanted to say congrats and I'll see you tomorrow." We exchanged a hug and just like Adam did earlier, she faded into the crowd. 

My mom had offered but I didn't want to go out for dinner, instead all I wanted was my favorite home cooked meal consisting of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and mac n cheese. Some people call it comfort food but I called it heaven, and since my mom made everything from scratch I knew that was exactly how food in heaven must taste like. It didn't take me long to scarf everything down, my mom even commented on whether or not I could even taste any of the food that I had just put into my mouth. 

It was almost midnight by the time that I finally laid down to go to bed. Some people fall asleep to the tv, some people fall asleep to the fan, and then there was me who had to fall asleep to the sound of thunderstorms. The sound of them relaxed me more than anything. The sound of the rain and thunder echoed my room and I was in pure bliss. I looked and glared at the bright full moon that was shining light through my opened window and feeling the breeze hit my skin. It didn't take much time at all and I was out. A few hours later I woke up staring around the room with my heart racing.