Desert Moon

Chapter 30

Soon enough, it was time. We were all in our caps and gowns, one by one walking across the stage to accept our diplomas. I was first, with the last name Flynn. It didn't matter how many times this was rehearsed, I was still nervous. Yet I did it, I had my diploma. I had graduated. This was a place in my life where I had always talked about, yet I couldn't actually imagine it happening.

The other guys had gotten theirs and we all celebrated. My memories of this day are actually quite fuzzy, for whatever reason. I have memories of us all throwing our caps in the air, very coordinated, and we all went around thanking and saying goodbye to our favourite teachers. Jamie got his Mom to take a photo of us with Mrs Wells, because we were probably never going to see her again, after four straight years of seeing her almost daily.

Elliott and I watched as all the kids in my grade hugged their parents or their aunts and uncles, or whoever else came to celebrate with them. I had always imagined my mom at my graduation, how proud she would be when I got my diploma. And I had the playful thought that my dad would be there to see me too, but I was less confident in that to begin with. But until recently I thought my mom would at least be there to acknowledge that I was done with grade school.I felt a tear roll down my cheek, but at the same time, watching other people be happy with their families was quite nice. I used that moment to live vicariously through them, to imagine what it was like to have two parents who loved and supported you.

After the ceremony was over, we all hopped in Smith's truck to go to Desert Moon. We were hurried, so we sat quietly in the back for a while.

"Graduating is weird," George was thinking out loud, "it's something that happened to most people, and we all knew it would happen to us, yet the idea of it seems so surreal and unrealistic."

"Yeah," I agreed, "Until just months ago I always imagined coming off the stage with my diploma and my mom telling me how proud she was of me. All year I thought that would happen, I knew my dad wouldn't be there, I liked to think about how it would be if he was, but I knew it wouldn't happen. I didn't know about my mom though."

"I know exactly how you feel, I'm in the exact same situation," Smith said, "at the end of every school year, my mom told me how proud she was that I passed and how I chose to keep going. She dropped out when she was fifteen, and she knows how hard school can get for me. I know she's proud of me, and even if your mom wasn't great to you towards the end, I can guarantee she's looking down at you right now and is very proud that you're her son."

"Thank you" was all I could think to say, "I know your mom would be proud of you too, and Jamie's dad, I never knew him, but Jamie, if I was your dad I would be very proud," he just smiled.

No one said anything else until we arrived at our destination. We all ran up the hill where Desert Moon was located and threw ourselves down under the trees.

"We did it, little us" George said, "we fucking did it."

"I hope little me would be proud," Elliott said, which was something I'm sure we could all agree with.

"I'm sure she would be" Jamie said, "I know little Jamie is very proud of big Jamie, and little Jamie is proud of all of us."