white boys (river phoenix)

Sixty

Read chapter 59 if you haven't already!

Chapter Sixty

Throwing up her cap in the air was the most liberating thing. Robin's cheers got drowned in the rest of the students' cheers and cries of glory. They had finally made it. Four years of high school and they were finally done. It was like a lifetime was over, but a new one was right in front of them, just past that stage where Robin had the honor of giving a speech among other treasured students. Unabashedly, she promoted her book and its tour, but she also spoke about her entire high school career, and how this year shaped her in the most positive of ways. She was met with a roar of applause, so loud it ricocheted off the walls. Happy, nostalgia infused tears welled in her eyes as she walked off the podium, and walked into an entirely new world. One where she chose when she wanted to cry.

The ceremony ended soon after and Robin met up with her family. She'd meet up with River and the others later that day, since they were with their family too. Ariella, Jesus and her mother were there, they'd flown down from Georgia to surprise Robin at her graduation ceremony. She squealed with excitement when she saw them, her eyes wide with adoration and surprise.

"Oh my god, what are you guys doing here!" she pulled the three of them into a hug while her mom and dad smiled on wistfully on the sidelines.

Her mom was ready to pop soon, just about a month until her due date and Robin would be welcoming her new baby brother into the atmosphere. It was a big deal. Everything was going great, things were looking up more than Robin could even imagine. Even her situation with leaving River couldn't bring her down, because she knew, deep down, that they would work something out. She wasn't upset about it, because she knew she was leaving for bigger, better reasons.

She was leaving for things that were far bigger than her but somehow fit her perfectly, like a cozy sweater she didn't know she needed until it got freezing cold and materialized somehow in front of her. That was how she could best describe life right now- like a bunch of cozy sweaters were appearing in front of her and keeping her warm.

Her life felt like it was finally getting in order. First off, she had just graduated high school, which may not seem like the big whammy for most people but considering she was a black woman and the statistics were pit against her, it was. And it wasn't even just that fact, it was also the fact that Robin had absolutely been through it. She'd been through hell and back and humiliated by people so many times, and this year proved she was better than all the drama.

Her book was coming out, she was about to go on tour for that book. It was like a dream come true. Her mother was pregnant, which created a general feeling of happiness in the home at all times, even when things got tiring, just knowing that one little fact somehow made life so much more bearable. Everything seemed to be going almost perfectly.

"I missed you, it's been months," Ariella whined, and she pulled Robin even closer.

"I know, I missed you too Ari."

Jesus just gave her a lazy smile,

"You're done with high school. How does it feel?"

"It's definitely gonna take some getting used to. I feel like this place definitely... shaped me, if I can really say that. But, you know, right now? It's more good than bad," Robin reasoned, and hugged him separately too.

"Oh-kay, you guys ready for lunch?" Robin's mom cut their catching up session off short. She patted her protruding belly. "I'm starving!"

Robin's dad mouthed: "she's always starving" and pointed not so discreetly at her mother, which made her hit him in exasperation while everyone else laughed.