Wearing Her Shoes

Don't let me go

 Sara's POV

The afternoon's burning sun caressed my cheek that was reddened by the heat. The crowd cheered and clapped as name after name was announced. Samilia gave me a look and giggled.

"Hey! Stop it!" I argued fixing my hat. A strand of my silky hair flew to my face driving me crazy. I tied it back in place and turned to Mike. "Why am I wearing this again?"

"You don't want those crowds to be cheering for you instead, babe," he raised an eyebrow.

I huffed. "God! What kind of brother calls his sister babe?! Besides, they won't even notice my existence!"

"Yeah, right, no one will notice the legendary Samantha Williams. Do you not realize who you are, sweetie?" he mocked.

"I think this would be the first time I ever agree with Mikey, but the guy's got a point. You have thousands, if not millions of fans. It will just take one of them noticing to get everyone's attention to you. We'd probably not leave the playground alive!" Natallie reasoned.

"You see! Even "Ms. Iron woman" agrees with me!" Mike laughed. Natallie glared at him.

 "But don't you think this is a bit overdone?! I bet everyone's looking to check out the weirdo with the Victorian gown! And it's just an afternoon casual occasion!" I waved my arms furiously.

"That's the point! No one is going to even doubt that you're Samantha Williams. Besides, the dress is very suitable for the afternoon!" Natallie argued stressing her point.

I sighed. "Who's idea was this again?!"

"Mine, of course!" Mike grined.

My palm rushed to my face. I shook my head with frustration. "You two indeed fit each other," I whispered.

"What?" Mike asked raising an eye brow. I think he was acting dumb. He smirked and gave Natallie a mischievous look.

She blushed. "It's nothing," Natallie hissed and shoved her elbow into my stomach.

"Ouch!" I yelped as I was engrossed in laughter.

"Guys! Stop it! I'm trying to hear Adam's name!" Samilia huffed.

"Which letter did they reach?" Natallie asked satisfied with the change of topic.

"They're in letter 'U'. A couple of names to go," Samilia replied.

            We sat silently afterwards waiting for Adam's turn to walk across the stage and receive his high school diploma. Although I was melting from the heat, I was happy.  We all needed something to keep our minds distracted for a while. We've been very grave since Jamal's incident. Each of us had a million things haunting his or her mind. Sam, Mike, and Adam barely talked as if they finally realized how much they've lost in the past few days. I was worried the most for Adam who didn't eat for the next day and was turning into a living ghost. I forced him to pay the psychiatrist another visit and insisted he joined me for a walk afterwards. Samilia was crying her heart out every single day and rarely left her room. I was glad when she agreed to go out today. Mike, who should've been resting after he left the hospital, barely stayed at home. He'd wake up every day around seven and hang out with his friends until the next morning. Natallie and I just had a fight with him yesterday when he returned drunk. All in all, things were getting chaotic but I was glad they were distracting me from thinking about my own problems. Tomorrow is Jamal's funeral, and I thought making it to Adam's graduation would change everyone's mood. Fortunately, it did.

"…. Adam Williams," a voice called pulling me out of my reverie. The four of us stood up, clapped, and cheered as Adam walked on the stage. After shaking the principal's hand and taking his diploma, Adam looked at our direction. I knew he wouldn't miss the three idiots waving cheerfully, and if he did, he wouldn't miss the crazy lady coming from the eighties. I bet he felt humiliated but managed to throw us a wide grin anyhow.