Once Again

Chapter 30

May 1997. Senior year. Our last year. We are finished with high school. No more, I thought. No more homework, no more tests, no more learning, no more Enrique. I smile at the thought of that. Luis squeezes my hand. I turn to him. He is beautiful under the sunny morning. We are at our graduation and it is bright and humid outside. I turn to the left and see Mama and Papa, old and worn out. Chano sat next to Mama, with his daughter and wife. Daniel, now 15, was with girlfriend, next to Papa. I smiled and mouthed 'I love you' when they saw me.

"Gooooooooood morning, Class of 1997!" A short woman appeared at the podium with a microphone. People all around start screaming and clapping. Luis and I join in.

"Today is a very special and sad day for us all. Our seniors are leaving us and going into the world. We were glad to be able to work with them and educate them, readying them for the real world. We are very proud of our graduating seniors!" Claps arose from the back and reached the front. The lady leaves the stage and the principal, Mrs. Ross, now stands in front of us.

"Thank you, Ms. Morris. I couldn't have said it better myself. Now, lets begin with our graduation, shall we?" The assistant principal, Mr. Paul, and our counselor, Ms. Davis, now stand next to her with our diplomas.

"I now present to you our graduating class of 1997!" The crowd grows big with claps and cheers. The principal starts calling out names in alphabetical order. Since we weren't a big class, she was already half way through the list.

"Marcela Lozano!" I quickly get up, walk to the stage, and shake hands as I am given my diploma. I smile big as Luis claps big for me. I walk off and sit next to Luis. He holds my hand and gives my hand a kiss. I smile at him.

"Luis Martínez!" He gets up and I clap for him. I look over to see Don Seve looking at his nephew with pride. Doña Sarah looks as old as Mama. I smile as Luis comes back. He holds his diploma tight in one hand and holds my hand in the other. Mrs. Ross walks onto the stage.

"Congratulations Class of '97!" Everyone cheers and throw our caps up into the air. Luis grabs me by my waist, and looks into my eyes. I look into his, big and sparkling hazel eyes. He leans in to me and kisses my lips. I kiss him back. It was wonderful, and full of passion. This was our first time to ever kiss in 3 years of our relationship. He moves away and looks into my eyes again. He smiles and I smile back. Daisy and Leann come running to me hug me. George, Leann's boyfriend, shakes hands with Luis. Daisy hugs me carefully, making sure she doesn't press too hard on her stomach. I pull back and smile at her. She was dark skinned with big brown eyes with her hair to her shoulders. She looked like an adult. Tyler, her boyfriend, walks over to her and hugs her. I hug Leann now. She was tall and had gotten thick around her thighs and breasts. She also looked like an adult. I let go and shook hands with the guys.

"Mi'ja, you do it." I turn around and find Mama and Papa standing there. Chano and Daniel were also with them. So was Doña Sarah and Don Seve. Mama brings me into a hug and Papa, Chano, and Daniel join in. I feel tears coming down my cheeks. I had graduated. I couldn't get a scholarship but that didn't stop me to getting my diploma. Luis is hugging Doña Sarah. I felt something tap my shoulder.

"Hey Marcela. Congratulations." I was shocked to see who it was. Enrique. He had been arrested 3 years ago, because he turned himself to the police for admitting to shooting Luis. He was out of jail, but he wasn't able to graduate. I smile.

"Thank you, Enrique." He looks over to Luis. He shakes his hand and pats him on the back. He walks away and we continue to bicker. I look around at my family and memories come back to me. I remember as if it was all yesterday. I was just 5 and here I am, 12 years later, at 17, a high school graduate. I smile as I walk away with Luis. He smiles at me and gives me a kiss on the cheek.