Random Short Stories

Graduation

Mitch stood at the podium, wearing his usual shit eating grin. He had a special golden cloth draped around his neck, the kind that's saved for the valedictorian. There he was, looking straight at me, his teeth recently whitened, his hair slicked back, his eyes narrowed and beady. Like an evil rat in a sewer. Mitch had been trying to compete against me since 3rd grade when our teacher said I had the best poem of the whole class. Mitch always strived to be the best, to be perfect, which made me think he had some sort of daddy issues driving him. We were tied for the highest GPA and highest average, and I had almost awarded the valedictorian title. That is until his father claimed that Mitch deserves it more because of certain factors. Factors which were not disclosed to me, of course, which made me wonder if it was because of race. Either way there I was, sitting politely with my classmates, watching Mitch bask in the glory.
"My fellow classmates," he began "it is a great honor to accept the role of valedictorian of the class of 2019. It is an even greater honor to make my parents proud, as well as beat my competition."
I rolled my eyes, knowing the line was going to come out somewhere.
"That's what I'd like to talk about today, actually. Competition. You see, competition is an important part of our lives. It drives us to be the best we can be. It drives us to..."
He trailed on for what felt like an eternity. Kids tried to listen politely but I noticed the boy next to me start to doze off. I almost did too until I heard my name.
"I'm glad to finally have beat you Zack. How does it feel to be sitting down there? How does it feel to not come on top? I couldn't imagine it, or wait. Maybe I can. You beat me at everything since we were kids, and now I get to take this title and hold it over your head. Finally!"
Everyone's eyes were on me. They were shocked, surprised, not even knowing of the hatred that had brewed in Mitch's heart. I didn't even bother to look surprised, or look like I had any emotions at all. I held his gaze, the crazy look in his eye, and waited.
"I've been in your shoes for years now, and you never gave me any thought. You just kept winning, one after the other. I've hated you my entire life, and I still do now. This time it's different though. Watching you sit down there, all pathetic looking. I have no pity at all, you fucking loser!"
Apparently this wasn't the script the school had approved. A few of the teachers dragged him away from the podium, to his surprise of course.
"That's quite enough Mitch." The superintendent of the school said, loud enough for it to be picked up by the mic and heard throughout the convocation center.
They removed every single one of his cords. They removed his medallion. They removed his golden cloth. They escorted him off the stage. Once they had done that, our principal took to the podium.
"Sorry about that folks, that was not the speech that we had approved. Mitch was chosen as the valedictorian because of a race allegation, but as he has shown, he is clearly not a good representative of our school. Zack, can we have you come up here please?"
I was a little shocked by this, but stood and made my way to the stage anyway.
"Zack was our original pick for the valedictorian of the class. I think he's far more deserving of this title than anyone."
Everyone could hear Mitch's parents making a scene in the back. I stood before the principal as he draped the golden cloth around my neck. The crowd began to cheer, drowning out the sound of Mitch and his extra large family being escorted out of the building.
"Go ahead. Why don't you give a little speech." He encouraged me.
So I stepped up to the podium with trembling hands and looked out at the crowd. I had everyone's full attention.
"Well, I'll try to make this brief. Considering I don't really have anything planned out. I always hated school, which made me only want to try harder. My freshman year my parents threw me out. They viewed me as a disappointment. I lived on the streets for two years, getting straight A's and perfect test scores, trying to get them back. Each week I'd slip a printed copy of my grades into the mailbox but never heard anything back. Finally I got a job, found a roommate, and I live happily now. I've made myself proud, which is the only thing I can strive for. It was never about anyone else in the end. Just about what makes me happy. I don't let people influence my decisions, because then they're deciding my life, in a way. And that's not their job to decide. It's mine. I know, it's easier said than done. But if you can push everyone else's thoughts out of your head for a moment and think about what you really want for yourself, you'll find that you're more successful in the end than you think. Thank you for this great honor. I couldn't be more proud of myself for earning it."
I stepped back from the podium, feeling truly proud of myself that day. Everyone clapped and cheered wildly. Was I really inspiring? That I'll never truly know. But that night I felt amazing, and I felt more confident than ever.