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Chapter Two
June
*****
Katie
As we paired off like a kindergarten class getting ready to make their way down the hall to eat lunch in the cafeteria, the reality of today slammed into me. This would be the last time I did this with the people I had spent the last 13 years of my life with. It was surreal.
Every one of us was going off on our own journey after today. Now considered adults by society, we no longer could rely on our teachers for the answers. Mentors we once spent every day with were now on to help mold a new set of minds.
Having spent the last four years of my life with my nose buried in my books, the promise of freedom was so close I could taste it. I watched as my classmates stood around taking selfies to post on their social media. No doubt they would have some generic inspirational quotes about the future being ours.
Looking at my phone, I wondered whether my brother had made it in time.
Asher: don’t kill me, stuck in traffic.
It didn’t surprise me. He had tended to be a poor planner. It didn’t bother me if he didn’t show up. I could only hope that Nate was with him. It would spare me having to fake another smile around him.
Today was the culmination of my hard work. However, it meant nothing if I didn’t make it through college. I didn’t have my diploma yet and my mind was already racing about how I was going to handle my course load to make it through the first semester. I took a deep breath in and reminded myself I needed to take it one day at a time.
My mother had made big plans for tomorrow, a huge bash at my grandmother’s house celebrating all our graduations. If Asher missed it, he would hear about it until Christmas. The entire family would be there. It was just as much for him as it was for me.
As we walked towards the park where everyone was sitting anxiously awaiting our arrival, I shuffled my cards between my hands. I had worked hard for this moment. Being valedictorian wasn’t just given away. It took my blood, sweat, and tears to get a perfect score on all my tests and have the highest GPA in the class. My speech had taken so long to perfect, and I hoped that the delivery of it went well. The purpose of it was to be inspiring and remind each of my classmates how hard we worked and that this was just the first step in our journey. Every choice we made until today was molding us into the young productive adults that were ready to go change the world. I threw in a few anecdotes about our class prank, the hard ass teachers we all encountered, and of course our beloved science teacher who befriended everyone who walked through his door. Each step we took brought us closer to tossing our hats up in the air and being done with high school.
As I scanned the crowd, I didn’t see any of my family at first. When I finally noticed them, I couldn’t help but beam with excitement. Everyone had come; my parents, grandparents, aunt, uncles, cousins, and everyone who I knew and loved. Mrs. King stood next to my mother, tears rolling down her cheek as she waved at me. Both with cameras in hand snapping a dozen photos of me walking, which I could guarantee only a handful were going to be any good.
Getting through the ceremony seemed to take forever. Finally, after all the speeches and names had been called, the principal gave his final congratulations as we all grabbed onto our caps and threw them into the air. The tassels floated through the sky like confetti.
“Katie girl, we’re so proud of you!”
My Uncle Landon and Aunt Becca were the first ones to embrace me. Serena and Mikey, my cousins, followed right behind them, staying under their parents’ feet the whole time.
“Thanks, Uncle Landon. I’m so happy you guys came.”
He smiled, bringing me closer for another hug.
“We wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
My uncle wasn’t a part of my life for the longest time. Once my mother had finally forgiven him for my accident, I spent a lot of time at their house.
Serena and Mikey were much younger than me. I loved them both so much and offered to babysit any time they wanted to get away for the night. Every family member came over hugging and kissing me, giving me congratulations on a job well done.
My brother and Nate stood at the back talking with some of the faculty that whom they had grown close during their own years at the school. I expected them to run late and miss the entire thing. A pang of disappointment coursed through me when I saw them.
Maddie and Collin came running over, grabbing me, and dragging me off to take a few photos with some of our other classmates. Tonight, we would all be celebrating as a class during our last school-sanctioned event. We had raised enough money to rent out a sports arena in the city for the night. There was rock climbing, a pool, a basketball court; basically, everything that any of us would want to do to stay active for the night.
“Okay guys, let me just say goodbye to my family, and then we can get going.”
I pulled myself away from the group, knowing my family wouldn’t appreciate me just disappearing without a proper goodbye.
*****
Nate
“Nate?”
I looked back down at the phone, not recognizing the voice on the other end. Pulling my phone back to my ear, the voice continued.
