Always There - Part 2 || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 211: The Next Chapter

The day went by in a blur, as many of the greatest moments of our life do.

One by one our names were called, each followed by mumbled individual cheers from the friends and family in the crowd. I had already mentally prepared myself for a quiet stage when it was my turn to walk, knowing how small our group was. But that was okay. That's not what today was about.

"Jaime Adams" They finally called out. "Honorary Screenplay Adaption Finalist." My body went cold. I didn't know they were going to announce it before hand. And then in the distance, I could hear a loud cheer, followed by much more applause than I was expecting. After grabbing my diploma, I looked out into the crowd to our families standing, clapping as loudly as they could manage, but I'd know that voice anywhere. My heart jumped as Jake flashed me a toothy grin. I tried my best to hide my now blushing face, but was unable to contain the smile that came along with it.

"Joshua Kiszka." I then heard from behind me. I quickly turned around, clapping for him at the end of the stage, to which he didn't hesitate to quickly make his way over and pull me into a passionate kiss that was met with more cheers of its own.

Normally I would be embarrassed, but it was him, and this was the end of our journey here, and we deserved this moment. So I let him have it, wrapping my arms around him as he dipped me down, quickly pulling me back up and then making his way over to grab his own diploma.

He always knew how to make me feel so special.

I grabbed his hand, tightly intertwining our fingers as I guided us back to our seats.
"We did it." I whispered up to him. He smirked back at me.
"I always knew we would."
"I didn't know they were going to announce the competition though." He shrugged, gently rubbing his thumb across the top of my hand.
"Yeah, but did you hear how much applause you got?"
"I heard Jake." I laughed.
"Yeah, so did I." He muttered. I squeezed his hand tighter. His smile grew.

After the remainder of the students were called, the dean made her way back up to the stage, and the auditorium was overcome with an overwhelming silence, everyone knowing what was to come.

This was the biggest award of the year, and it was only a matter of minutes before someone's life changed forever. I peeked over at Josh who was already looking back at me with those same dazed eyes and familiar grin spread across his lips.

"And now for the final award of the night. Fellow students, it is my privilege to honor this next student with not only the opportunity to produce their screenplay into a fully funded feature film, allotted by the college's film production company, but the chance to jumpstart their career into this rigorous world of cinema that we all know and love. This student has shown such potential in a promising career, someone with such a deep-rooted understanding for storytelling and the ability to truly conceptualize and execute a story in a way that far exceeds their peers. We honor this student with complete creative and financial freedom to bring their world to life, and we cannot wait to see where this journey takes them, and are honored they have chosen to get their start here within our institution. Ladies and gentlemen, we are honored to present the recipient of the Honorary Screenplay Adaption award, Miss Jaime Adams."

It felt like my heart had stopped. The room erupted into a wave of cheers and applause that instantly became muffled in my ears, where all I could hear now was the loud beating of my own heart.

I did it.
I won.

I was instantaneously snapped out of my trance when I felt Josh's arms tightly wrap around me, pulling me into a tight hug.
"You did it!" He yelled, squeezing me tighter as he lifted me out of my chair. I was thankful, now seeming like I had lost feeling in my legs. I stared up at him in a daze, still in shock. His smile grew as he leaned into a gentle kiss, now motioning up to the stage.
"Go ahead." He said, his eyes now filling with tears. I nodded, trying my best to gain as much consciousness as I could before attempting to walk again.

The applause continued as I made my way up towards the stage. But as I reached the top of the steps, I looked out into the audience to see our families standing, somehow cheering above the rest of the crowd. I was so happy they were here.

There were so many nights I was worried that my mom wasn't going to make it to my graduation day, and over the course of this semester, I had mentally prepared myself for it. But now seeing her out there in the crowd, getting to witness me finally doing something for myself, if this was all she was able to witness, this could be enough.

If anything, this would let her know that I was going to be okay.

The walk across the stage felt like it was happening in slow motion, everyone looking at me, the murmurs in the crowd suddenly magnified, and yet somehow all I could hear were the loud clacking of my shoes against the hardwood.

The award was much heavier than I imagined, a large golden plaque with my name written in golden calligraphy. Part of me was happy that I had won it before getting married, knowing that this was something my dad would have been so excited about, and I wanted to share Josh's name eventually, but the other part of me wished that his name was on here too, knowing that I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him.

And then my whole body went cold as she moved out of the way, motioning towards the podium. A speech? She was expecting me to give a speech? I stared out into the audience, feeling like my heart was going to pound out of my chest. I hadn't prepared anything, not thinking that I actually had a chance at winning. I scanned the crowd until I finally found Josh who gave me an encouraging nod, pointing to his chest.

Just speak from the heart.

That's all I could do at this point.
And after all, that's what got me here in the first place.

I approached the podium, taking a deep breath as I looked out upon the thousands of eyes that stared back at me, waiting. Finally, I spotted Jake, who gave me an encouraging thumbs up. I tried my best to fight the tears that were already forming, keeping my attention locked on him.

"My fellow students.." I finally began, instantly feeling a weight lifting from my shoulders. "Like many of you, I've lived my life through movies, but I'm sure like many of you, I've come to learn that life is not always as grand as the movies we've come to know and love. We do not always get the happy ending, or get the girl, raising our fist in the air as the credits roll over us. Sometimes, life is hard. It is cruel. And it is unforgiving. And even so, all of us here today are proof that we keep going, holding onto that little inkling of hope that maybe one day, it can be. Because.. life imitates art all the time. Standing here today I can tell you that.. sometimes you do get the happy ending, you do get the girl, and the credits will one day roll over you, and I hope you've all created a story that you can be proud of. Thank you for this honor, I hope I do you all proud. Keep believing in fairytales because.. this right here is proof that.. sometimes they can come true. Thank you."

And with another eruption of applause and cheers, I could feel that the next chapter of my life had begun.