The next morning i'm sitting at the kitchen counter eating a bowl of cereal, my gaze moving to the empty living room, the only thing left being the TV on the wall as the last day in the house begins. I zone out on a spot of the wall thinking about what i'm going to have to tell Eli later. "GRADUATION DAY!" I jump in my seat, my spoon dropping into my bowl with a clatter, my gaze goes to Sierra who is smiling at me sheepishly, "oops" I laugh, "it's okay I zoned out" she looks relieved as she walks into the room completely to make her own breakfast. "How happy are you that your Graduation List has been completed?" she asks me, "it's kind of surprising, even if the list only had like four things on it" Sierra sits next to me, "well i'd say it was super beneficial, you wouldn't have met Eli if that list didn't happen" I smile thinking about the hockey player who has my heart, "yeah you're right" she starts eating her food as I clean my bowl, shoving it into my last packing box that I left open.
A few hours later when i'm getting ready for the graduation ceremony my bedroom door opens, I turn from the mirror to see Gwen holding something. "I know you ran out of time to decorate your cap so me and the girls did a little something" she holds the box out to me with a smile, I put my brush down before grabbing it gently, I place it on my lap taking the top off. I blink a few times to stop the tears as I admire my new grad cap, that has my graduation list on it, with big check marks next to each completed task with the addition of a heart that has mine and Eli's initials painted inside it, "Gwenny you guys didn't have to..." she holds up her hand to silence me, "of course we had to, your graduating and this list was such a game changer this year, and no matter what happens this is a reminder of some of the best memories of your college career" I smile as one tear rolls down my cheek. I stand up putting the cap on my vanity before pulling her into a tight hug, "I love you" she squeezes me, "love you too bestie" I let go with a laugh, "okay I need to fix this mess and get it together, we have a ceremony to go to" she smiles before leaving my room.
+
A half hour later we're all on campus waiting in line for our gowns, "this is crazy, I could've sworn we just started yesterday" Gwen exclaims while throwing her arms around me and Emily. I smile as the line of graduating students moves forward slightly, "time flies when we're having fun" Emily nods in agreement as I tilt my head up towards the sun, my eyes closing as I enjoy the warmth. Hands come to my hips making me jump in surprise as I spin around, I grin when I see that it's Eli who grabbed me, "hey superstar" he smiles before cradling my face bringing my lips to his. Once he pulls away seconds later I move my hands to his tie straightening it out, "I can't believe we're graduating darling" I peer up at him, "it's definitely been a long time coming" he kisses my head gently, "I gotta get back to the boys, but i'll see you once this is over" I nod and he walks away, leaving me to think about what's to come after the ceremony.
The four of us finally get our gowns before getting separated into our faculties and into our programs, where we are lined up alphabetically. I bite my lip as I place my cap onto my head gently to prevent it from ruining my hair, my gaze moves around taking in all of the graduating students in my faculty and program. A few minutes go by before we are told to start making our way into the gym being used for the ceremony, I take a deep breath as I follow the people ahead of me hoping that I can get through the graduation. When my name finally gets called I let out a sigh of relief as I ascend the stairs to get on the stage, I shake my professor's hand as she hands me my scroll, I thank her with a grin before walking off of the stage to take my seat again to listen to the hundreds of other names getting called.
+
Once we are all let out of the gym, I start my trek to where me and my roommates decided to meet. I see that Gwen is already standing at the spot with Graham by her side, I squeal as I run to her, we hug each other tightly before letting go, "we did it!" I exclaim she nods as she waves around her scroll. "GIRLS WE DID THE THING!" I hear someone yell, I turn to see Emily and Sierra coming towards us happily, we get into a group hug while giggling. When we pull away from each other I see that Eli has joined us and is talking to Graham, both of them looking our way, "babe I think its time to talk to him" Gwen tells me while placing a hand on my shoulder, I look over to see all of my friends nodding in agreement, I sigh knowing that they're right so I take a deep breath and approach my boyfriend. "Congrats Anna" I smile at Graham's statement, "you too G" he smiles, I look at Eli who is grinning at me, "I need to tell you something" his smile fades a bit when he hears the serious tone in my voice, "yeah okay lets go somewhere quieter" I nod as he takes my hand leading me away from the crowd.
"Whats wrong darling? What do you need to tell me?" I take both of Eli's hands in mine squeezing them gently as I look up at his worried expression. "I know that I should have told you this way sooner...I got a job offer..." he grins pulling me flush to him, "that's amazing Anna" I smile slightly, "only thing is that it's in Switzerland and I accepted it" Eli's grip on me loosens as the smile falls from his face, "what? are you serious?" I nod as I look down at my feet, a finger comes under my chin tilting my head up, "we are going to make this work" he says, I shake my head as my lip trembles, "Eli...I can't do that to you...I don't know how long i'll be there, I don't want to hold you back like that" his hands cradle my face gently as tears spill down my cheeks, "you wouldn't be, I love you and i'm willing to do this" I bring my hands onto his gently moving them away from my face, "I need to do this for me, I would not be able to live with myself if I knew you'd be waiting for me across a whole ocean for maybe years, that would kill me" he looks at me helplessly, "then i'll move to Switzerland with you, I can play hockey in Europe" I shake my head, "no you need to stay here and play for Columbus, your dream is the NHL, not European hockey" he lowers his hands to his sides looking away from me blinking quickly, "E i'll always love you, this past school year is something that I will NEVER forget and you are someone that I will never forget no matter how many years go by" he looks down at me and my heart breaks at his tear filled eyes. I close the distance between us slightly, going onto my toes to press my lips to his one last time, his hand goes to the back of my head keeping our lips locked for a few extra seconds.
I pull away slowly opening my eyes, "I love you superstar, you're going to do great things in the big leagues" he smiles sadly as I walk out of his grip tears spilling out of my eyes as I go further away from him to go find my parents. I peer over my shoulder one last time at the hockey player who changed my life, he blows me a kiss, I mimic catching it getting a laugh out of him, I smile slightly before turning away from him knowing that I made the best decision, or at least telling myself it was the best thing for our relationship.
THE END.
YOU ARE READING
The Graduation List
RomanceIt's senior year and Anna Emery can't help but feel like she missed out on college experiences because of her workload... Can one moment change that?
