instantaneous ▲ tasm [SLOW UPDATES.]

t h i r t e e n ; lots and lots of ice cream

T H I R T E E N ; LOTS AND LOTS OF ICE CREAM

Peter Parker was dead. And Romina was pretty sure Gwen was going to be the one to kill him. He was twenty-five minutes late to the graduation ceremony and if he missed Gwen's valedictorian speech, she was going to be pissed.

The blonde girl had her cellphone pressed to her ear and she was whispering harshly to her boyfriend on the other end. Romina had her head tilted slightly towards her friend, hoping no one would notice them. She was trying to hear what Peter was saying but only heard faint murmurs and police sirens. Yeah, he was screwed.

Romina was only able to sit next to Gwen because she too had to give a speech. She had already given her salutatorian speech and the principal was giving a short introduction to Gwen. Romina had only ended up second in her class because Peter's grades a slipped a lot due to his web-slinging activities and Missy Kallenback had moved months before graduation, thus only making her second by default. Her speech was short and sweet and full of movie references. She was kind of pissed that Peter wasn't there to appreciate it.

"This year's valedictorian, Gwen Stacy," Principal Barton said into the microphone.

Romina clapped loudly and let a, 'Whoop!' as Gwen made her way to the stage. Her best friend's speech was inspiring; nothing unusual for the Stacy girl. Romina felt a sense of pride, knowing she had such great friends. Well, that is if Peter would get there on time.

When Gwen had finished, the diplomas were then handed out. Romina was grateful that her last name was toward the beginning of the alphabet so she didn't have to wait in line for too long. She had walked on stage confidentially, shaking both the principal and Gwen's hand before she curtsied to the crowd.

The minute Peter's name was called out, Romina held her breath, hoping her friend had made it. Luckily, the boy wonder appeared seemingly out of nowhere and sped onto the stage. He shook each of their hands but at the last moment, he pulled Gwen in for a long 'romantic-comedy' style kiss. Romina could only roll her eyes and clap. She was weirdly proud of her two best friends. 

After the ceremony, she found her mom and Nic, who both hugged her tightly. Her mother was on the verge of tears and kept blubbering on about how her 'baby had grown up.' Romina assured her that was not the case that she would probably never truly be an adult. Or at least, she hoped she wouldn't because adults were boring. 

"Ro! Come here!" She whipped around to see Gwen and Peter posing for a picture that Aunt May was taking. The three waved her over and she excused herself from her family, telling them she would see them later at the dim sum place. 

Romina walked towards them before pushing in between them, throwing her arms around their shoulders (even though she was shorter than both of them), and smiling for the camera.