Work This Out

Chapter 50 ~ Graduation

"I present to you the graduating class of 2016." Principal Jim Morita says on the stage as music plays in the background.

All heads turn to the doorway where my class and I are making our way into the grand hall where the ceremony is being held. They have all of us in alphabetical order by last names so I'm kinda towards the end of the line and Roy is somewhere up further than me.

We all take our seats up on the stage, overlooking the people in the crowd. The music then stops which indicates the start of the ceremony. We all watch as the president of Midtown High comes up to the podium.

"Today we're here to celebrate the ending of a chapter for our young graduates and the start of a new one." The president waits for the crowd to go silent again before speaking once more. "I would just like to say how much it has been an honor to see these children grow up and grow close over the last four years of their high school career. I am also honored to introduce the class of 2016 valedictorian, (Y/n) Rogers, up to receive her award."

Ah shit, here we go. Yeah so the thing is I don't like talking in front of crowds. I tend to stutter a lot when I do or forget what I'm going to say even though I have the whole speech planned.

I get up from my seat. Roy gives me a smile, looking dorky in his red cap and gown. I sigh and go to the podium where the president is and receive my award. Now it's time for the speech which I have to say I will bomb. God I hate public speaking.

The president steps back to let me have the podium. My eyes scan the crowd and find Tony, Vision, and Rhodey sitting in the front with disguises on. I smile at how stupid they look before I remember everyone's waiting on me.

I clear my throat before I begin. "It has been a difficult four years here, I'm not gonna lie. The battle of New York, HYDRA in D.C., Sokovia, Lagos, and finally the breakup of the Avengers. The last one being very recent. But I still managed to get through it all and stay at the top of my class. Almost got myself arrested and ruined all that though." I murmur the last part which earns a laugh from the crowd. "Now I don't really talk to anyone in my class except for Roy Jones who's sitting over there," I point Roy out to the crowd and he waves. "But I know that all of us in this class will go off and do bigger things in this world. We will go off and do better things, but it still saddens me that we're leaving it all behind as we finish this chapter in our lives. But you know the saying, 'If one door closes another one opens.' There won't be any more fights to see because come on we all know that was the only entertaining thing at school or accidentally blowing up the science lab. Guilty as charged." I say and raise my hand. There are a few muffled laughs at that. "As we move on with our lives we must remember where we came from and remember the experiences we had here at Midtown High. Congratulations class of 2016 and best of luck to what life has planned for you."

The sound of applause fills the room as I look out at the people gathered here. I smile out at all of them, but before I turn to take my seat I spot someone in the crowd that I thought wouldn't be here. In the way back, in the corner of the room with a baseball cap on, I spot Steven Rogers, aka Captain America, aka my frickin' father, in the crowd, applauding along with everyone else with a wide and proud smile on his face. There are people around him with baseball caps, sunglasses, or hoodies on and I can only guess who they are. Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanoff, and Wanda Maximoff.

My smile drops and I put my hands over my mouth as tears start to form in my eyes. I turn around quickly and go to walk back to my seat. Roy sees me on the verge of tears and automatically stands up to comfort me before I could take my seat. We stand there in the middle of the stage hugging each other as I cry softly on his gown.

"He's here. He actually came." I whisper to Roy over the crowd's chorus of awwww's.

He rubs my back reassuringly. "I know. I see him too now."

The president and principal come over to check on me and I reassure them that I'm okay as I pull away from Roy and wipe my tears. Roy and I both walk back to our seats. He looks back to check on me every now and then as the ceremony continues. We all receive our diplomas, doing weird poses or dancing as we walk up to get them. Once the ceremony is over, the class walks out and into the lobby where there are snacks waiting to be eaten and parents start to fill the lobby to congratulate their young graduate.

"You did it, kiddo!" Tony says as he wraps an arm around me and ruffles my hair.

"Congrats, (Y/n)." Vision says to me, he's phased to look like a human being so he can blend in with the crowd.

Rhodey gives me a high five and a hug.

I spot Dad, Sam, Nat, and Wanda in the corner of the room, looking directly at me as Wanda munches on a cookie and Sam a brownie.

"Hey uh, I'll be right back," I say to them as I weave through the crowd to make it to them.

Hugs go all around as soon as I go over to them. I give Nat, Wanda, and Sam one before turning to Dad. He's looking at someone in the distance and I turn to see who his gaze is on. Tony is looking back over here and looking directly at Dad. The two men stare at each other before Tony looks at me then back at Dad. He turns the other way, acting like he hasn't seen anything. I look back at Dad who's now looking down at me with a smile. I lunge at him and hug him tightly and he hugs back, not wanting to let go.

That's the last time I saw Dad before everything happened. Before Thanos...

                                                                               The End

So this is the end of book two! Thank you for sticking around and for reading. I will be posting the first chapter of the third book tomorrow so look out for that! 

—ASE715