𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐄𝐃

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

Twenty-Eight

Taking a deep breath, Nora walked up to her friends on their school's tennis court. Everyone had on the same deep green caps and gowns, some with ribbons, cords, all kinds of adornments. This day was finally here, but it didn't feel real. It couldn't be. This was a pipe dream and Nora was simply waiting for someone to pinch her. After four years of classes droning on and on, she was beginning to believe this day was never going to come. Yet, here she was wearing the same cap and gown as her friends, ready to graduate.

"I can't believe this," Kristen exclaimed as the three of them united amongst their school's meandering graduating class as they awaited instructions. "We did it, ladies. We're actually about to graduate. After today, we'll be college students!"

"Well, we technically have a few months before we're college students," Amarie corrected, but Kristen's only response was to stick her tongue out at her girlfriend.

Speaking of girlfriends, Nora felt someone come up behind her and wrap her arms around her. She turned around to face Edison, happily placing a chaste kiss to her lips. Here Nora was, graduating with her two best friends by her side and a caring girlfriend alongside with them. Nora had always counted on Kristen and Amarie being right there with her, but Edison was the unexpected part. Unexpected, but definitely not unwelcome.

"Hello, Miss Valedictorian," Edison greeted, squeezing her girlfriend tightly in a hug before letting her go to greet Kristen and Amarie, "It's good to see you girls again."

"No running away this time, Edison," Kristen spoke, her expression serious before she couldn't hold it anymore and broke into a grin. "I'm just messing..." her expression shifted back to serious, "but if you hurt her I will fly to New York to kick your ass. Quote me on that shit."

"Duly noted," was all Edison said as she tried to hold back from smiling. "How long until we need to line up?"

"Can't be too long now, right?" Amarie questioned as they looked around. "This still doesn't feel real. Like, we're actually going to be graduating. This is surreal. And Nora! I can't wait to hear your speech!"

The blonde groaned, "Don't remind me about that. I have no idea how I'm gonna get myself up on that stage without totally wigging out. I'm in way over my head with this. I don't even know how I got valedictorian in the first place!"

"Because you're amazing, duh," Kristen scoffed, grabbing her best friend's hands and making her look into her eyes, "We did not waste four years of our lives doing terrible powerpoint presentations and honing our public speaking skills for this to be the one you wimp out on. I did not puke during second period Spanish sophomore year and have you carry on solo for you to quit on us now. You're going to give an amazing speech and you're gonna own your title like the bad bitch you are. Got it?"

Taking a deep breath and exhaling in a nervous sigh, Nora nodded. She released her hands from Kristen's grip to run them through her hair like she always did. Usually, she could remain calm in a situation like this... well, at least she hoped she would. She tended to be quite dramatic about things, although she despised that word with a passion. Where these nerves were coming from she had no idea as she had been fine up until a moment ago.

Drawing their attention came the assistant principal, Mrs. Torrigan, over a megaphone, "Welcome class of 2019! Please get in your lines as rehearsed, starting with our Valedictorian and Salutatorian!"

"Good luck out there," Kristen mumbled as she pulled Nora into a hug. Amarie hugged her as well before the two of them went to find their correct spots.

Edison was next, who grabbed her in a hug tightly before pulling away to cup her cheeks gently, saying, "You're tough as shit. A speech has got nothing on you, you got this. Just don't run off the stage this time."

"Yeah, don't dump me this time," Nora spit back with a teasing smile on her face, pressing a brief kiss to her lips before ushering for her to go find her place in line.

Taking a deep breath, Nora moved to the front of her line, standing anxiously alone as she waited for further instruction. Although she stood alone, she knew her best friends supported her through all of this. Clutching her speech in one hand and her diploma card in the other, she stood ready as she'll ever be.

"All right, let's begin!" Mrs. Torrigan instructed as she stepped onto their football field with the first line of seniors following behind her. Nora was thankful their graduation ceremony took place outdoors because she needed the fresh air more than anything else.

Walking down the field and hearing her name called throughout the stadium warmed her heart, but at the same time, there was something so melancholy hanging in the air. No matter the story, there was always sadness at the end of something familiar. Nora took her place on stage and willed herself not to cry or otherwise freak out as she faced the crowds of seniors flooding into the seats in front of her. As she listened to the speeches and announcements from the principal and superintendent, Nora nervously waited for the moment they called her to speak.

Finally, the dreaded moment came. They announced her as the valedictorian, the crowd applauded, and she stood. As she stepped up to the podium, time slowed down. This was it. This was what all her hard work for the past four years had led to. This.

With a deep breath, she began, "There is no permanent state of the self. This is true throughout life, but especially in high school. When we were 14, we watched anime, crimped our hair, and probably said the words 'it's not a phase, mom!' A year later, as sophomores, we looked back and thought: Who let me leave the house looking like that? That year we figured out friend groups, kissed our first boys or girls, but at the same time we still had our parents dropping us off at each other's houses. By our junior year, I'm pretty sure everyone was stressed out 24/7. We looked back at who we were and we couldn't imagine not having our licenses or not leaving campus to go get burgers and milkshakes at Diane's. We looked back at who we were and we thought: How did I think I was so grown up? As seniors, we become more and more like the people we are going to be once we turn these tassels. This is the year we cry tears of joy and sadness as we hear back from colleges we have only dreamed of, this is the year we celebrate our lasts and we wonder how many more milkshakes we'll share at Diane's or who we'll stay in touch with after we graduate. We look back at the kids we were and we think that we will never be those kids again. We're reaching the point in our lives where we're tired of growing up and all we want to do is wake up and watch the Saturday morning cartoons. We have watched ourselves become completely different people over the course of the four years. We lost friends, we gained them. We fell in love and got heartbroken. We came out, we achieved things we never thought we would. The truth is, although we have shed who we were when we walked through these doors for the first time, we never stop growing. This day means everything now, but no matter how you did or what you went through these last four years, we are all sitting on this field together. We all made it. We made it through these four years and after today we will face the rest of our lives. I, for one, cannot wait for what's next. Now, in the words of Elle Woods, 'we did it!' Now, let's be who we were meant to be."

The End