Amidst The Stars

No Other Choice

[This chapter contains familial violence, or in other words, child abuse. This includes controlling behaviour and both physical and verbal abuse. Any readers made uncomfortable by these topics may want to refrain from reading, and a summary will be provided at the end of the chapter.]

...

  "Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here to celebrate the graduation of the class of 2019." Yao's high school principal smiled down at the audience. They were seated in the school's massive auditorium, staring up at the principal upon her podium. She continued, "each and every one of these students have left their mark at Redwood High, and I am sure that they will change the world in their own way after leaving."

  Leon yawned. Vicente reached over Kiku to jab him in the chest until his head stopped drooping and gestured towards their stepmother, who was eyeing them like a tiger would its prey. Leon prodded him back with an indignant huff. Their stepbrother remained quiet.

  A few more minutes of the principal's speech was enough to make him drift off; his middle school graduation ceremony hadn't been half as dull. Vicente looked at the banner behind the stage, where "CLASS OF 2019" was written in big bold letters. A row of teachers was seated on the stage, some of them looking just as bored as him. The principal droned on.

  After what could've been five or fifty-five minutes (he really hoped he hadn't fallen asleep midway), the principal ended her speech. "Now, let's welcome our graduating class with a huge round of applause!"

  The entire auditorium seemed to come awake at that sentence, clapping and clapping as the first twelfth-graders began to walk on stage in their gowns. Vicente craned his neck and shifted up as much as he could without actually standing up, trying to catch a glimpse of his brother amidst the sea of students.

  Yao was among the last of the students to go on stage, head held up high and carrying himself like an emperor. He stood at the very edge of the stage, where he was almost out of his family's sight. Then the principal continued talking, apparently inviting the valedictorian (what was that?) to deliver a speech.

  To Vicente's surprise, Yao began pushing his way through his classmates and towards the podium. He tapped the microphone a few times, then began to speak.

  Their father suddenly leaned over to whisper to the four siblings, "a valedictorian is the person who got the highest marks in the entire grade level. You should all be proud of your brother for achieving something like this."

  He couldn't help raising his eyebrows in surprise. Yao, at the top of his class? It hadn't been a surprise back in Taipei, but in Arlingdale, with subjects like French and a tougher English syllabus, it was way harder to get top grades. Yet Yao had done it anyways. Leon and Ling looked impressed, while Kiku remained stony-faced. Their stepmother's face seemed to darken.

  Yao delivered his speech in flawless English, without the accent that he'd been teased for when they first moved to the West. And when he finished, a few of the other high-school students — his friends, no doubt — clapped louder than the rest as he went to take his seat.

  Then came the process of receiving the diplomas. The principal started with the last name "Adams", then "Bresson", then on and on, until an hour passed. Then, right after somebody with the last name "Valdez" got their diploma, Yao's name was called. He stood up and crossed the stage again, taking the diploma with a huge smile. Vicente and his siblings clapped again, though he noticed that Kiku was glancing furtively at her mother while she did so.

  Soon after, the ceremony ended and the graduates went off the stage to talk to their families. Vicente reached Yao first, stopping him at the end of the stairs. "Congratulations."