A week after the senior prom, the graduation ceremony was held in the school auditorium. Ally and her friends were in the alphabetical queue of students waiting to get their diploma. They proudly showed off their blue graduation gowns and the caps awaited to be thrown off in the air. Students' parents sat on the back rows, smiling and waving their children. The place was buzzing with a variety of noises, of people screaming and talking to each other. The excitement, present in every person, in the room was real.
Her mother had arrived in time before the ceremony began but her father was as usual late. Her heart dulled a little but she kept smiling seeing the excited faces of her classmates. Cameron's parents were surprisingly present and on time. That was the first time she had seen them together. This made him feel even more ecstatic.
As the place turned quiet, signalling the beginning of the programme, her hope of seeing her father started dwindling. When the Principal's speech began, she turned around to look behind at her mother. Her father still wasn't there and she saw her mom giving a vague smile. She almost had tears in her eyes when the valedictorian's speech came to an end too.
But then like a miracle, when she had turned around for the tenth time, she saw her father trying to merge in the crowd of parents. Finally, he finds a place and sits there frantically looking around. She happily turned back to the stage, relieved to see he made it on time.
A farewell song starts after the end of all speeches along with a slideshow of the great moments of the school year. The music starts and her class goes 'Oh'. Every student turns to each other with a sense of familarity. She turns to the boy sitting beside her, Bart, he holds the same sentimental expressions as her. They were both unknown but they knew the deep meaning this song carried.
"They seriously had to choose this." The look on each students' face told.
The song was a popular and new one called 'See you again'. It was really an emotional and nostalgic moment for all of them. Seeing all the memories of the past year compressed into a three minute video, reminded her about the transient nature of life. The images of the girls smiling through their hair in the cafeteria, a group of friends sitting on the stairs fighting for food, random people talking happily to each other in the hallways... Every student's face held a bittersweet smile.
Then came a picture of Cameron and the basketball team, they were lifting the trophy in the air and screaming at the top of their lungs. Instantly, her head turned to her right to where he was sitting. He was smiling through his watered eyes staring at the image. He received a few pats on the shoulder too. And when it faded into another image he noticed her gaze.
A sad smile passed on his face and she replicated his actions. They were talking through their eyes. She just conveyed him a message saying that he had done a great job this year. And he replied with grateful eyes. It was crazy how they could telepathically know each other's thoughts without even saying a word.
They turned to the screen at the same time to watch the video till the end. It ended with the lyrics of the song being spelled out in a caligraphic font. They appeared on time syncing with the words of the song. And it was like she could feel the hearts of the 100 students pause for a moment.
"So let the light guide your way,
Hold every memory as you go and every road you take will always lead you home.
It's been a long day without you my friend. And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again.
We've come a long way from where we began. I'll tell you all about it when I see you again.
When I see you again.
When I see you again."
And it was like hearing and realizing for the first time that they were seeing these faces for the last time. The faces that they had grown to love or hate in these four years would just be gone from tomorrow.
As a tribute, a big collage of small images of the students, merged together in the end along with the background music and it all faded into black in the end.
She could hear the hushed up sighs of the students. The kind that were filled with a sense of loss. Thankfully, they started giving out diplomas right after it. She watched as people before her went up to the stage, happily shook hands with the veterans and got off the other side. Little bubbles of excitement and nervousness started rising in her as they came closer and closer to her name.
Finally, the moment she had been waiting for, for four years, had arrived. "Ally Parker!" She heard her name being announced and it all happened in a blur. She got up and walked to the stage and automatic smile lit up her face. She did exactly what others did, shook hands with the old people and took her diploma.
She went back to her seat in a daze. She was still in disbelief until they announced Cameron's name. That's when the reality of the situation hit her. She proudly smiled and watched as he went up to the stage to get his diploma. When she saw him on stage, all smiling and happy, she could feel her brain playing a replay of their first official date.
It had finally happened three days after prom when he suddenly discovered it was her birthday the next day. She recalled telling him about her birthday on the phone that day.
There was a long pause after he had finished up talking about his visit to Los Angeles which she decided to fill up with her news. "So... It's my birthday the day after tomorrow." She said very casually.
"What?! You're telling me this now!" He screamed into the phone.
"Well, it was not that important."
"Parker, it is very important to me." He said getting all serious and she attempted to hide the smile in her voice.
"Oh really? Then let's go out tomorrow. That would be the best gift you could give me." She suggested. Since, they had been dating he was always busy with school, family and college preparations. Honestly she understood it and never tried to push him. But she was getting really tired of this, she wanted to be with him alone at least for one time.
"Uh..." He drawled. His silence made her feel angry. Couldn't he just get a few hours from his precious day to be with his girlfriend?
"You know what? It's okay. I get it. You're busy."
"I'm sorry, Ally. But my mom has especially requested that we should spend more time as a family. And she has been staying at home often." He sounded honest but her anger didn't dissipate.
"Okay. Good for you." She waited and added hurriedly, "Look, I got to go now. Bye." She hung up the phone, annoyed, when there was only silence on the other line.
But that moron called her up again only two minutes later. "I'm really sorry, Ally." He said.
"It's okay, Cameron."
"No, it isn't. This way I'm never gonna get to spend time with you." He took a long pause. "You know what? We'll go tomorrow. I don't care, it's your birthday and I just want to be with you."
"Are you sure? Your mom wouldn't mind? Look, you don't have to do this for me if you don't want to."
"Yeah. I'll take care of that." She loved the confidence in his voice. "I'll meet you at this place. It's a nice little cafe... Be ready by six."
She was on cloud nine finally being able to spend some quality time. After a month of being together, they finally get to go on a date and a day before her birthday. She couldn't be happier than this.
The next day she was ready as ever to go on her first date with Cameron. She didn't wear anything too dressy as her parents would become suspicious. And besides, it was just coffee. He called her up when he was on her street and she went out and joined him inside his car.
He looked cleaner, his hair were in the right place and he wore plain clothes like her. "You look nice." He said smiling. His cheeks were a shade of baby pink.
"Thanks. Cause I didn't even try to dress up all fancy and shit." She said shrugging.
"You know this is the point where you compliment me." He started driving holding a smug look on his face.
She chuckled and added, "Sure. You look great." That was the beauty of their relationship. They could joke about each others appearance without any hesitation. They had reached the level of comfort, where they could go out on dates in their pajamas and not even care about it.
They arrived at the small cafe located in downtown. It was decorated by pictures of singers, tv shows and movie quotes pasted on the brick wall located at the end of the cafe. The aura in that cafe was simply calming. There were a few youngsters and an elders group chatting in the close booths. A peppy pop song played at the right volume perfectly blending with the landscape in the cafe.
They took a seat in one of the booths, sitting across each other. "I got you a birthday present." He announced digging into the inner pockets of his denim jackets.
She was stunned at his sweet gesture. He took out a little photo frame with an image of the two of them at prom. She looked horrible and he looked fantastic. But she didn't mind it, the little purple hearts on the edge of the frame had her. Then he took out a marker like a magic wand of a magician and wrote 'I love you' and 'Happy Birthday' on the bottom of the white frame.
"Aww... Thank you so much, Miller. This is awesome. Although, I look stupid but it's great." She said admiring the frame and the picture and the handwritten words.
"I know this isn't much. But I'm glad you like it."
"Oh come on. I love this. You got me a present. And I don't get that a lot." To testify the sweetness of his gesture, she leaned and gave a small kiss on his lips.
They ordered some burgers and a cold frappucino for her. The food was great, the ambience was great, the conversation was great. She never imagined they could spend so many hours together without getting bored. They talked a lot about school memories, college, family and birthdays. He reminded her his birthday was on June 17. He said he loved birthdays because he gets presents, a cake and special attention from his family. Sometimes, he rambles like a little kid and she loves it. His immaturity in life and maturity about life is one of his best qualties.
He drank from her cup of coffee. This made her feel even closer to him, like they could share everything, from cold coffees to dark secrets.
Afterwards, the bill came up and she insisted to spilt it but he refused. Few protests later she let him pay. She would have tried harder if he wasn't so rich. Then, he wanted to get ice cream so she told him about her favorite ice cream truck. It was located near the other food carts in town and had the most unique combination of flavours.
They went up to the counter and ordered two salted caramels. "That'd be $9.50." The person behind the corner said.
Cameron dug in his pockets and produced a $100 bill. "I don't have change for a hundred."
Cameron stared at the shopkeeper as if he spoke alien. Before the matter was strecthed too much, she whispered to him, "It's okay. I'll pay."
He apologetically glanced at her and handed the $10 bill to the worker. "I know you're way too rich for this. No need to rub it in my face." She mocked him. What kind of teenager had a $100 in his pocket just like that? All she had was crumbled bills in her pocket which even collectively didn't make a hundred bucks.
"Stop it." He warned playfully and passed her a cup of ice cream. They sat on the benches and silently enjoyed their scoops. He was stunned by how delicious that inexpensive ice cream was.
Giving the perfect end to a perfect day, he dropped her on the street near her house. "So... It was a great day." He trailed off settling comfortably on the car seat. He twirled his neck to his side and gazed lovingly at her.
"I know. All thanks to you. You finally found time for me." She replicated his position and rested her neck on the seat to gaze back at him.
"Hey, it's not that I don't have time for you. You know how it is at my house..." She didn't say anything. He leaned forward and she stayed still eyeing his every movement. He stopped an inch away from her face and with a big smile, whispered on her lips, "Happy Birthday."
His soft lips and sporty cologne hit her at the same time igniting passion. He pressed his palm on her cheek making her lean back to the window. His half body had already left his own seat. With that passionate kiss that made her knees weak, he was giving her the best gift anyone had ever given her.
She was out of breadth keeping pace with him. She held his face between her hands and pulled away. "Someone's feeling a little hot today." She teased.
"Sorry, I got away with the flow." He was having a hard time controlling his hormones and it was quite visible.
"It's okay. You're not ready to do it, but I'm always ready to do it." With that she leaned to continue their make out session but he stopped her.
She could see the smirk clearly on his face even though it was dark outside. "Not yet, Parker." He placed a quick kiss on her cheeks and retrived back to his seat.
"Ah... Come on." She looked at him in disbelief.
He laughed annoyingly. "Happy birthday, Ally. Now, go home." She answered with a snort which only encouraged his giggles and walked back to her home. By the end of the walk, she sported a grin on her face that even she didn't know she had.
After the ceremony officially ended and it was time for the most awaited part of the day, they all stood up and screamed as they threw their caps in the air. One phase of life was over forever but many more exciting phases awaited at their doorsrep. In the drug of happiness students indulgened themselves in clicking pictures with everybody and around everywhere. Ally's father forced her to take one picture with her mother and ended up taking a dozens. He also photographed her with her group of friends only Cameron wasn't there. He left early to see off his parents who had especially flew in from Chicago to attend his graduation.
The formal excitement melted slowly and the informal, real excitement sizzled in every student as they patiently waited in their homes to attend the party they had been waiting for four years. She too begrudgingly sat through the early dinner with her family. It was at a fancy restaurant and her close relatives came to give her congratulations. It would've been hard to be patient if it wasn't for the great food and her cousins and the graduation presents she received.
The graduation party was organized by Haley's family. Almost everyone from her batch was there. Even the nerds. It was quite satisfying to see her whole batch together without the worry of the social ladder. Like they were in elementary school again, where no one cared about anyone's social status or money. They only cared about being together.
And she never knew they would all ever be like this again. But they were together at last. Even it was for one night, still it was worth it.
Undoubtedly, it was the best night of this school year. She enjoyed a few dances with Cameron and unlimited dances with her batch mates. She danced with a lot of people that night. A lot of people she didn't expect to be cool or fun were actually way more fun than the 'cool' ones. Particularly, she was stunned by the geeks who had decided to ditch their glasses and enjoy the last day of being together.
Whenever she turned back she saw, she always found Cameron smiling at her. He didn't dance much but he never stopped her from enjoying. He didn't make her spend the whole time with him like the other boyfriends.
When she was sure she had danced with everyone on the dance floor she went up to find Cameron. He was drinking beer and talking with one of his buddies. "Hey." She said cuddling to him for being so supportive.
"Hey, sweetheart." He wrapped a hand over her shoulder and pulled her closer. His friend, Ben, wore a smug look on his face.
"New couple. Uh-huh, I see." Ben teased.
"Shut up, Ben." He playfully said and turned to her, "Hey, do you want to go some place alone or do you want to dance some more?"
"Alone."
Ben howled at them as Cameron lead her up to the terrace. There was complete darkness around them and faded music from the ground hung in the relaxed aura. She went upto the edge and looked at the people below. They were scattered near the lawn, some danced, some sang, some were making out, some looked drunk, but all of them looked happy.
He occupied a position beside her and followed her gaze. "It's all ending so soon..." She snapped her head to look at him speaking with that bittersweet smile. He continued, "And I don't want it to end just yet... I just got you and now we'll all go separate ways. It's unfair."
"I know, right? Time passed by in a flash. I mean, look at us now... I never would've imagined us together in the middle of the night. You, me, Ryan, Luke. And Hales and Becky. Life's crazy that way." She felt his warm gaze on her but continued without any reluctance as words just flew from her mouth. "I guess... I guess... It's supposed to be this way. If it weren't we wouldn't be here."
She glanced at him knowingly and he stared like he had never seen her speak. "Wow... That was nice. I've never heard you speak like this."
"Well... I have my moments." Even couldn't understand the source of our insightful words. She never spoke her innermost thoughts with someone. But with him, it was like she was speaking from the heart.
Then he said something so beautiful and rare that made she forgot to breathe for a second. He tilted his head, bore into her eyes with utmost sincerity. He let out softly almost like a whisper, "I want to be with you forever."
She was too stunned to reply. She simply gaped at him but never doubted the genuinty in his words. It was like her heart knew when he was honest and when he wasn't. And this time he was honest. She was at a stage where she trusted him unconditonally.
"Forever seems like a long time." She slowly said coming closer to him.
"Hey, you didn't freak out. That's a progress." He swathed his hands around her waist pulling her closer.
"I wish we can be together always." Before she knew it, her heart had gained it's own voice. And it surprisingly felt good to say those heavy words out loud.
"Finally." He chuckled cutely on her lips. "I love you, Parker." His sweet voice sang in her ears. And she was falling deeply in love with everything that he was, even though she didn't know it.
They were both in the kissing position ready to suck the life out of each other but they were interrupted by four people staring at them. They slowly moved back from each other and faced the gang.
"I never thought I would be alive to see this." Ryan said pointing his drunken finger at the couple.
"Me too." Haley chimed in.
"Well, get used to it now." Ally replied. She was speaking confidently about their relationship without doubt or fear.
"Oh. Nice going, Ally. Already backing your boyfriend." Luke teased. The four of them moved closer to the couple forming a circle. Ryan distributed the beers to each one of them. They stood silently observing each other like they wanted to store the image in their minds forever.
"I can't believe high school is over." Haley said breaking the silence and now everyone gazed at nothing in particular, lost in their own meditation. "The rest of our lives start tomorrow." She said in an inaudible way but it was heard loud and clear by the rest of them. They all twisted their heads to look at her. Haley was the sentimental one, they knew that, but they didn't know she could produce such thought provoking statements.
"You're right. I feel scared now." Cameron meddled in being the second most sentimental in the group.
"Don't be scared. We finally get to be what we've always wanted to be." Ally encouraged feeling only positivity running in her body.
"Yeah. As long as we're together why do we need to be scared." Luke said.
"Stay in touch guys. I hope that we'll always be friends." Becky said and was subjected to a few nods. There was silence in the air as they reviewed Becky's words. They were aware of the bitter truth that it would be difficult but still there was a ray of hope that lingered in them. Telling them anything is possible.
"Hey, I wanna make a toast." Ryan raised his bottle in the air.
"I'm out of beer." Ally shrugged. "But what the hell, I'll toast with an empty bottle." She earned a few chuckles from her friends.
They raised and brought their bottles in the middle. All eyes were on the cluster of bottles in the middle.
"To the rest of our lives." Ryan finally said.
They smiled triumphantly and spoke together. "To the rest of our lives!"
The glass bottles clinked together speaking about new energies, hopes and dreams that were awaiting to meet them.
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A/n: So that's a wrap! Wow. Unbelievable. It has officially ended. How do you feel? Honestly, I feel a little sad it has ended. But I also feel happy for Ally and Cameron. It's weird.
And listen to the track that I used in this chapter. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this journey with me. It has been a whole year since I started this book and it has given me a long time to reflect upon my own life. As I have said many times before, this story is inspired by true life events. It will always be close to my heart. I only hope that it has affected you in some way or the other. If it has please don't hesitate to tell me, I'd love to hear your story too. Thanks again for your time, love and votes. This couldn't have been possible without you guys! I love each and every one of my few readers. Thank you so much. :-) Have a good life and wait for the sequel.
Guys check out my blog mysilentobservation.wordpress.com to read some awesome blog posts about love and being a young adult and introvert.