The Sun, The Moon, and Their Stars

35 : Home

Benjamin

If someone told me last June that this is how the school year ends for me, I would've laughed and said, no way. And my sister was right. This year is more momentous, probably 'cause it's a sort of conclusion. It's like in songs, most of the best lines come in toward the end.

We're in the very last part of the program now. Two of our batchmates are leading the batch song that our student council picked. I can see some people hugging each other, and others are even wiping their eyes while doing so. I don't get why they're being so dramatic. It's not like they're not going to see each other tomorrow or on Monday, or when one of them hosts a party later on.

I remove the cap and fix my hair. Then I start walking out of the row. I shake the hands of my classmates who offer them along the way, and even Erick congratulates me.

I finally get out of the traffic of people, and I'm walking toward the last rows of chairs. Then I feel Jay's skinny arm around my shoulders. He's pushing me to go the other way, to the front of the gym instead.

"There's Cap," Jay points near the front row, where Steve is waving at us and going to meet us halfway through.

I'm still clueless about how he sneaked himself into the top ten. I spent a lot of time with these guys, but I had no idea that he seriously studied his way throughout the year.

I pat Steve's back, and Jay messes with his hair.

Daryl appears from somewhere behind me. "Hey, guys," he says. "My whole family is here, so I'll just return these," he raises the cap and gown in his hand. "'Grats, guys." He waves at us and hurries on his way to the back of the gym.

I turn around toward the empty chairs, but she's no longer there. So, I scan the rest of the gym.

"Tuesday. My house. You guys game?" I hear Steve.

"Game," Jay says.

I look past him, to the middle of the front row, where I finally see Kim and Lawrence, with their hands on each other's arms and jumping there like children. Darlynne runs to them. And those three are now posing for a picture, with what looks like Darlynne's mom taking it.

"Sure," I tell my friends. "I'll see you guys on Tuesday."

I excuse myself while Steve pushes me. I nearly stumble, but I quickly hold onto a misplaced chair.

I stand on the side and wait until she breaks free from her friends. Then she starts walking toward me.

"Kim Possible, my favorite partner in crime."

"That looks nice on you," she points at the 'Best in Math' ribbon pinned on me.

"Thanks," I nod. "You're well-decorated yourself."

"Thanks." But she doesn't sound celebratory.

"Hey, you were late earlier. I almost thought you're not going to make it."

"There's a minor drama. Nothing out of the ordinary."

She starts removing those ribbons pinned on her and puts them inside the dark green diploma holder. I do the same with mine. Then we line up near the bleachers where our teachers are collecting the caps and gowns.

"Kim!" Althea storms out of a sea of people and stands in front of us.

Kim sits down on a chair to level with my sister. "Hey, kid," she says.

"Where's Jessy?" I quickly search around for my older sister, who's supposed to be watching her. Althea points to her left side, not far from us, where Jessy is talking to Sir Archie. And I let out a sigh of relief.