Charlotte's POV
I curled my hair and put on the last of my makeup. Today is graduation. I was excited and scared. Excited because I was finally done with school. Scared because I wasn't ready to move on. My life had changed so much in the last four years. I never would have thought that I would have been adopted. I never thought I would find friends after Kaylee left me. I couldn't have asked anymore of Nate. It was his decision to leave the house that day to come to Mrs. Lane's Home for Girls. He could have picked any other girl, but he chose me. And it's because of me that Morgan is my mom. That I have a brother. Nate knocked on the bathroom door. "Are you ready to go?" He asked. I brushed off my dress and opened the door. Morgan had Nathan in the stroller and my garment bag with my cap and gown hanging off the back. I grabbed my bag and we got into the car. Nathan sat next to me in the back seat. I tickled his stomach and he giggled. We got to the venue and I went to find the rest of my class. Malia was wearing a dress that made her look like a slut. And of course, everyone was saying she was so pretty. I rolled my eyes and started to put of my graduation gown. I settled the cap on my bubblegum pink hair. Myka came up from behind me and grabbed my shoulders. "So excited! We're almost done!" I grabbed my phone and told Myka to pose. I took a picture of the two of us. "We are the cutest." I said to her. Amber came up to us with her cap in her hand. "Have you guys seen Kile or Lyanna? They were supposed to pick me up." "No clue." I said. As if on cue, they both ran in. We said nothing and continued to get ready. Soon, we were told to line up according to our last name. We had all known each other since middle school so knowing last names wasn't difficult. Of course, I was stuck next to Malia. She was behind me with my last name being Sharp and hers being Snell. We refused to talk to each other. We all walked together to our seats and the principal came out and started to talk. As he did, I thought back to some memories from the last four years.
Flashback
Nate opened a can of paint and poured it into a pan. We took our roller brushes and started to paint the walls. I then had an idea. With my smaller brush, I dipped it in the paint and painted a red line down Nate's arm. He didn't notice. We continued to paint when I heard him yell. "What's this?" He demanded. "I don't know. Maybe you brushed your arm against the wall." He shook his head, took his paint brush and painted a line down my arm. "Hey!" This started a war between us. He managed to get my forehead and I somehow managed to get the back of his t-shirt. The paint brushes tickled against my skin. "Alright, let's stop." I smiled and continued on my wall.
End
"Baker." I looked up and saw my fellow classmates standing up to get their diplomas. Lyanna walked up on stage soon after. I expected to hear the Caspers cheering, but heard nothing. We made it through all the last names before mine quickly. "Sharp." I stood up and walked onto the stage. The principal handed me my diploma and I shook his hand. In the distance, I could hear Nate and Morgan cheering. I walked off the stage and back to my seat. Malia went next. She never acknowledged her family cheering in the crowd. Last but not least in our class was Myka. Her last name was Zimmer. She was always last for everything. But that didn't mean she wanted to be ignored. Myka sat down and the principal talked again. "Congratulations Class of 2019. May your futures be bright." We all cheered and threw our caps into the air. I caught mine and we all left to find our families. Kile and Lyanna left together. They had barely talked to us all day and I was worried they wouldn't be at my graduation party tonight. Amber found me and we both cheered. We were both so happy we were done. Hale found me as well and kissed my lips. "Ahh, get a room!" Amber yelled. Myka hopped onto Amber's shoulders. Nate and Morgan met me outside with a camera. "Come on, just one." Morgan asked. I posed with my diploma in my hands and Morgan snapped the picture. She then asked my friends to get in with me. "You said only one!" I yelled. "Ha ha ha, I lied." Nathan had then crawled over to me and I picked him up in my arms. The picture was taken and we parted ways. They had promised to meet me at my house later for the party. We walked to the car and drove back home. I walked out to the mailbox when we parked. Most of it were bills. But one on the bottom had my name on it. I walked back into the house and placed the table next to the door. "Mom! Dad! Can you come here!" I yelled from the door. "Shh, Nathan just fell asleep." Morgan said. Nate followed close behind. "Sorry." I gripped onto the thick letter in my hand. "Charlotte, what's that?" Nate asked. "I don't know. But it has my name on it." I opened the seal and pulled out a letter and a thick packet. "Charlotte Sharp. We are pleased to tell you that you have recieved a scholorship to the Royal Academy of Music for the next semester. We look forward to seeing you at orientation next September." "Charlotte, that's great! We're so proud of you!" Morgan said, giving me a hug. "Mom, the Royal Academy is in England. I would have to leave the country" She let go when the words sunk in. "I can't take this. I don't want to leave you again." Nate shook his head. "Charlotte, do you know what this will to for you? This could jumpstart your career." I didn't want this. It felt like Laura and James were taking me back to London again. And I had no say in it. "You don't get it. I don't want to leave the country. I don't want to leave the state. I don't want to leave you or Nathan. I feel like I get no say on how my future will turn out. And that hurts." I started to walk up to my room. "Charlotte," Nate started. I put a hand up and went up to my room.
Three hours later
I smoothed out my dress and fixed my makeup. My friends were going to be over any minute and I had to look like I hadn't been crying for the last two hours. I walked downstairs to see my acceptance letter on the fridge. I took it off and set it on the counter. Morgan had left to take Nathan to see our grandparents. Nate would be in the basement in his recording room. The Scene showed up first at seven. Some of my orphanage friends were coming over later. Lyanna and Kile did show up. She came before he did. "Char, can I talk with you for a minute?" She asked. I nodded and brought her up to my room. "What's wrong?" I asked her. "You can't tell anyone. Please?" I nodded. "Charlotte, I'm pregnant." My eyes widened and I had us sit down. "What, how?" She started crying and her mascara ran down her cheeks. "It happened a month ago. We were dumb and we thought it would be fun. I told my mom and she hasn't acknowlegded me since." I held her close and she cried on my shoulder. "Is that why no one was cheering for you at graduation?" She nodded. "Lyanna, I promise you have my full support." She wiped her tears and sat up. "You clearly have some wait on your shoulders. What's wrong?" "I got accepted into a famous music college on a scholarship." "Char, that's awesome!" "And that college is in England." Her face fell. "I want to go, but it doesn't feel right. I want to stay here. You guys are here. My family is here." "Charlotte, I'm going to say this once. If you have a once in a lifetime chance, take it. And getting into a music school is what you wanted. You are an amazing artist. And I think Nate and Morgan will be here when you get back. They were last time. Please don't ignore this opportunity." The doorbell rang again. "Just think about it. I think Nate will be extremely proud of you for going." She got up and pulled me up with her. "Come on, we have a party to go to." We ran downstairs to greet our guest. It turned out to be Malia. "Is this where the party is?" she asked, clearly thinking the party was for her. And for some reason at my house. "Why would it be? This is my party." I said to her. "But I thought we were friends." she said with a sad face. "What possesed your mind to think that. You've hated me and my friends since the beginning of high school. So don't act like that." "Fine. I didn't want to party with the orphan and the slut anyway." She stomped away almost breaking her designer heels. I was honestly hoping one of them would. "You must be talking to the mirror!" Lyanna yelled back at her. I high fived her and she returned it. Myka and Amber came running down the street as Malia stomped away. Myka was on Amber's back. Hale for some reason was behind me and able to tickle my side. I jumped and shrieked. "Don't do that!" I yelled, smacking his chest. "I brought the tunes!" Myka yelled, a CD case in her hand. "Horrible dancing for the win!" Lyanna said. I pulled them inside and slipped the disc into the stereo. As we were dancing, I had time to think. I knew Lyanna was right when it came to school. It was a once in a lifetime thing and I couldn't pass that up. I had nothing to worry about. Except for my relationship with Hale. He had said he was going to school in New York in August. I had made my decision and I knew I couldn't go back. I walked over to the stereo and turned the music off. "Guys, I just wanted to say something." They all looked straight at my eyes. "I got a letter today from the Royal Academy for Music saying I had recieved a scholorship." Myka and Hale celebrated while Lyanna and Kile didn't. She had told him everything and he said nothing to me. "Charlotte, that's in England." Amber said. Hale and Myka stopped. "I know that. And after serious consideration, I have decided to take advantage of it." I paused to let it sink in. "I'm proud of you Char." I turned around to see Nate standing at the top of the stairs to the basement. "That was a tough decision and you made your choice based on what you wanted." I walked over to him. "I know it's going to be tough on you and Mom for me to leave." "I think we'll do just fine. And we have another one to look after." Myka came over and gave me a hug. "If you want, you could stay with me. I'll need a roommate." I smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I think that might work." We got back to the party and it went on for a few hours. Hale pulled me over after it ended. "I know this will be hard on our relationship," I started. "Charlotte, I made you a promise. A promise that I will love you forever. And no amount of distance will make me break it." He pulled me into a hug. "I love you Hale. I promise." We parted ways, promising we would meet at Starbucks tomorrow. I cleaned up and went upstairs to bed. Before I got in, I ran back downstairs and put the letter back onto the fridge. I ran back upstairs, slipped on my silk pajamas and crawled into bed. As I fell asleep, my mind sent through my memories.
Flashback
The waves crashed onto the surf in front of me. The cool water was refreshing on my feet. The day was really warm and the sun was beating down onto my pale skin. I was going to get a nice tan today. Suddenly, Nate came up from behind me and scooped me up in his arms. "Ahh! Why!" I asked. "Just because." "Nate, over here!" Morgan called. She had a camera in her hands. I posed in Nate's arms and he laughed. Morgan snapped the picture and Nate carried me into the ocean. The waves crashed onto my legs as he set me down. The force was so strong that it made me fall into the water. Nate then followed. We both started laughing.
End
Our laughs echoed in my ears. I got out of bed and turned the light on. Over my desk was the picture. Our faces were perfect. Nate was still laughing. I had a silly face on. A slight tan was on my skin. I could feel the water on my ankles. I searched through my jewelry box and found my locket. The treble clef was smooth under my thumb. I undid the clasp and redid it after I put it around my neck. I laid back down in bed with my memories hanging around my neck.