A Spark Of Hope (#Wattys2016)

Chapter 21: The End

Sarah's POV

3 years have passed. The day that I've been waiting after all these years has come.

"Sarah. Are you okay?" Scarlet whispered.

"Yeah. A little bit nervous though." I replied.

I glanced at my mom who is sitting near the stage. She smiled at me and gave me a thumbs up. I formed a faint smile on my face.

BRRRR-

I received a mail and I read it carefully. A smile formed on my face.

Mom: You can do it, sweetheart. I believe in you. Good luck. I love you.

Mom always know how to ease the mess in my mind. I took a deep breath and let it all out at once. My heart is throbbing. Beating so fast.

"And now, I would like to call one of our top students, Sarah Anderson to represent all of our students that have gone through years of studying in this high school to deliver her graduation speech." Principal Flyer called my name.

I took a deep breath. The time has come. I went on the stage.

''Hello, parents, teachers and fellow students, we only arrived here four short years ago, and now it's already time to leave. How did it all go so fast? It seems like only yesterday that we were skinny little freshmen fighting with the locks on our lockers, trying to figure out where our next class was, and looking generally clueless to all the upperclassmen. Now we are the upperclassmen, the seniors who stand here ready to graduate and move forward in the world. Yet at this seminal moment, we can't help looking back.

How do we measure the time we've spent in high school? In the beginning, we measured it in class periods, counting down the day to eventual freedom. As the days and weeks passed, we measured it in semesters, and later in years as we moved from being those clueless freshmen, to becoming sophisticated sophomores who thought they had it all figured out. By the time we reached our junior year, we were confident that we were prepared to take over for the graduating seniors, and we couldn't wait to "rule the school."

And now here we stand. Our rule is over, and it's up to the next class to step into our shoes and take over. I know that as I look out at all of you, I will measure my time here in a much different way. I will measure it in all the friendships I've enjoyed these last four years. Some were pretty casual and others were much closer, but I'll remember each one fondly, as I'm sure you all will, too. And when many of our high school memories begin to fade, that's how we'll ultimately measure the time we spent here, not in periods or semesters or years, but in the friendships that we made and the times we shared together. All of us had been through a lot of things together. Its sad that a really good friend of mine couldnt join us today.''

Tears start to fill up my eyes.

''Samantha Brian once studied in this school, everyone. But she didnt make it with all of us today due to the illness that took her last breath 3 years ago. She showed me the world in different point of view. She taught me that life can beat us down but its not over when you can still get up and keep moving forward. May we always remember Samantha Brian in our hearts. She's a good daughter, niece and a great person. Congratulations to everyone who made it till today and with that i end my speech. Thank you for your attention.''

I took a deep breath and smiled broadly. Tears in my eyes started to flow down. Everyone stood up and gave me a big applause. I turned around to my friends, Scarlet, Wendy, Anthony and others. They hugged me tightly. I could feel Sam watching over me from above with her cheeky smile saying ''Im proud of you, Sarah.''

I ran down the stage and hugged my mom. 

''That was great, sweetheart. Well done.'' she stroked my head.

''Hey, Sarah. Come on. The time has come.'' Scarlet tapped me on the shoulder.

Mom nodded with a smile. 

''Yeah, okay.'' I went with Scarlet.

We all gathered in circle and count to three. We throw our corner-cap into the air together. Everyone is having fun. I took a glance at everyone and I could see a figure looking at me.  A figure of someone I know. I saw Sam. Waving at me with peaceful smile on her face. I waved back even though I know that im the only one who could see her.

''At least, you're in a better place and not hurting anymore, Sam.''