It was Thursday morning and Dana did not want to go to school. She saw no point in going, anyway. She was Valedictorian after all, and besides, Joyana was dead. It would just be another unsettling day of mourning, surrounded by people she hated but felt compelled to cry with.
The morning was gray. Clouds plastered the sky like a white canopy covering all of creation. It was the kind of day that you would stay in bed all morning long, reading a book and daydreaming. Dana wanted so badly to crawl back in bed and sleep away the pain of yesterday. She took a seat on her freshly made bed and stared at the blank white wall as if there were hidden words within its paint strokes and scratches. She knew that something was happening and she knew that Sam, her pen pal, was right. She was involved. But how? And if she was involved, who would she go to for help? She had no friends. How could she solve a mystery, let alone on her own?
Tieing her titian hair into a messy ponytail behind her head, Dana sat at her desk and began to write her valedictorian speech. She scanned books and her past journal entries for inspiration. She desperately wanted to make an impact on the crowd, but then again, nobody even knew her name. What was the use of trying to create one for herself out of thin air?
---
She was running. Down sandy hills, through noxious seagrass and golden brush, Dana was stumbling along the treacherous seashore. Why was she running? Why did her heart feel like it was going to explode? Her mind was in shock. She was lost. She was being chased. By whom, she did not know.
Searching for relief, a place to stop and catch her shallow breath, Dana's eyes scanned the moonlit shore. Anywhere. Anyplace to hide, she did not care. She needed to find refuge and she needed to find it fast. The suspenseful feeling of someone following her was filling her gut. The knots twisted and turned inside of her. Anxiety shot through her veins like a drug. Her tired eyes blazed in and out of focus. The silvery moon shone above her like a searchlight from a helicopter. Being found, she thought, was much worse than being as lost as she was.
Darting across the chilling sand, she found a dark, dismantled shack. Looking behind her shoulder, she felt confident that she had lost him; the person that was following her. She reached the decrepit building. Wiggling the doorknob with force, she could not open it. It was locked. She banged helplessly on the door, "Help me! Please, someone, help me!" No answer. Nothing. She continued to kick and punch the door. Above her eyes view, she saw the numbers 617 attached to the little house. Digging in her pockets, she anxiously fumbled for the key. "God," She screamed at the milky clouds, "please help me." Her adrenaline was pumping through her like gasoline. She felt the icy touch of the key's metal on her fingertips. She raised the key to the knob, her hands trembling. Twisting the handle, entering into her hideaway, two hands forcefully grabbed her shoulders.
Dana's eyes shot open. The scream of her alarm clock brought her back to earth. All night, Dana tossed and turned in her linen sheets. Sweating profusely, she wiped the chill away from her face. "I was a dream," She whispered, her body trembling. "Thank God, it was just a dream."
Mixed emotions of the anxiety of graduation and the death of Joyana and Pauline tugged at every corner of her mind. So many strange and unexplainable things had happened to her in the past few days. She was only 18 and it felt like the world around her was crumbling in her ivory hands. Reluctantly sitting up, she rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes and yawned, stretching her lower back. The sky was drizzly and gray; matching her sulking and anxious mood.
She tiptoed to the bathroom and began to run a hot shower. The white-tiled room began to fill with steam as thick as the clouds outside. As she removed her pajama top, she examined herself in the mirror. She was so skinny and flat. Her body was square. Just like her personality. She turned around, counting the freckles along her arms and shoulders. Her back was broad like her brothers. Never, she thought, would she ever have the feminity of Melissa or her mother. She was always so behind everyone else. Her body, her life, her interests, and hobbies were always two, sometimes three steps behind everyone else she knew.
As she looked more closely at her backside in the mirror, her eyes caught on two very distinct purple bruises on her shoulders. Her heart sunk deep into her chest, skipping a beat. Blinking hard, as if she was still in dreamland, she tried to wake herself up. Slowly, she raised her fingers to the violet and green area. The bruises were tender to the touch, only signifying the realness of them. "My dream," She whispered, falling to the floor. "What is happening to me?"
---
Pomp and Circumstance echoed through the gymnasium of St. Victoria High School, covering up the clumsy chatter of Dana's high heeled shoes. Doing her best not to trip, she linked arms with her walking partner, Robert Scoville and proceeded across the stage to take her seat among the other graduates. Her hands were visibly shaking and her freshly written speech was soaked in sweat. She felt even uglier than she thought herself to be in that ghastly white robe and silly hat on her head. Thankfully, everyone else looked just as dumb as she did.
She scanned the crowd looking for her family. Bill Jr. was unable to fly in. His wife was seven months pregnant and he feared to leave her for even two days. Melissa, however, had driven down from Portland early this morning. Dana eagerly awaited the sweet smell of incense and mysterious crystal necklaces that her sister brought home with her.
After the principal had made the opening remarks, it was Dana's turn to give her dreaded speech. She placed her two fingers on her cross necklace as she carefully walked toward the podium, her ankles nearly buckling with every step. At that moment, she knew that she would never be able to wear heels regularly. Taking her stance, she slowly bent the microphone downwards so that she could reach it. The spotlight shone on her face, making her sweat even more.
"Good afternoon, graduates," Dana stuttered the first few words. She took a deep breath under the harsh light and continued, "parents, and all those that have tirelessly supported each of us throughout our primary education. We are young, we are foolish, and most of the time, we do not know what is best for us. But you, our inspirations and support groups have always encouraged us to keep going, keep studying, and keep persisting. You knew what was best for us and best for our futures. On behalf of the graduating class of 1982, I thank you for helping us all make it to this point in our lives."
Thirty seconds into her speech and she could tell that she was already losing the crowd. She continued through her written words, trying desperately hard not to look as afraid as she really was.
"Recently, we lost two very valuable members of our student body. Pauline Simmons and Joyana Bartowski were not just members of a student body, they were members of our family. These two young women had so much to offer the world as their futures were incredibly bright. Pauline was a member of the debate team as well as the fencing club. She planned to attend The University of Arizona in the fall. Joyana was on the cheerleading squad and had plans to study Marine Biology at the University of San Diego-"
Dana lost her balance and for a moment, she felt the room spinning around her. Shaking her head to regain her senses, she took a deep breath and continued. "Pauline and Joy-" She stopped once more. Her once sweating, red face was now cool and ghostly white.
"She's gonna puke!" She heard a voice yell from the audience.
Gripping the podium with white knuckles, she took another deep breath and kept going. "Pauline and Joyana," She looked up at the audience, all of whom were on the edge of their metal folding chair seats. Her eyes scanned the gym and rested on two figures standing in the back. "Pauline and Joyana?" She breathed. It was them. They were standing in the back of the room. As clear as day. There they were.
Knowing she needed to do everything in her power to see them, talk to them, Dana ended her speech abruptly, "Pauline and Joyana will forever be a part of the graduating class of 1982. Thank You."
Amidst an ocean of applause, Dana ran off of the stage and headed toward the back of the gym. Eyes following her all the way to the double doors, she continued to run not caring what anyone else thought about her. Stopping on her heel and looking around, she realized her eyes had deceived her. To her astonishment, they were gone. They weren't in the hall or the gym. They were gone.
"Dana," Her mom came up running behind her. "Dana, what's wrong?" She cupped her daughter's face in her soft hands.
"They were here. I saw them..."
"Saw who, Dana?"
"I...I saw Joyana and Pauline,"
"Dana, stop. This is not funny,"
"No, mom,"
"Dana," Her mom was stern, "go back up on that stage and graduate like the rest of the kids. We'll talk about this later."
Alone, misunderstood, and embarrassed into the next century, she walked back up to the stage, feeling over 1,000 eyes watching her. Just like every other major event in her life, Dana had messed up and embarrassed herself. Her future? What did it matter now? Her future was over.
The ceremony continued seamlessly. Within ten minutes, it seemed as if everyone had forgotten. Maybe they hadn't. Watching their kid walk across a poorly lit stage, grab a piece of paper and snap a mugshot with the principal was much more enthralling than a delirious 18-year-old girl having visions of deceased students in the gym.
As Dana stood to throw her cap in the air, the same dizzy feelings began to strike her again. It started in her knees and shot up all the way to her head. It was almost a numb sensation. She cracked her neck, hoping the feeling would leave.
"3...2...1!"
Two hundred caps shot into the air. Every worry. Trouble. Late assignment. Bad grade. Skipped class and gross lunch food disappeared with every hat tossed into the sky. Dana looked around at the pure joy of her classmate's faces. Three steps behind everyone, as always, she threw her cap in the air and watched it slowly float down to earth. She hoped, even for an inkling of a second that every terror, bad dream, embarrassment, bad friend, and anxiety would dissipate into the summer air. Arms outstretched, she waited to catch it. Someone, however, intervened and caught it for her.
"Ronny?" She smiled at the perpetrator.
"Hey, Red. Nice speech," He placed her white cap on her crimson head.
Blushing, Dana replied, "You don't really mean that. It sucked big time."
"No, I really do mean it. You did a great job,"
"Th-thank you." She adjusted her cap.
"Will I see you tonight?" He touched her small hand and twisted his fingers into her own.
Dana's heart stopped.
"Y-yes," she looked down at the ground, trying to hide the pink tint of her cheeks. "I'll see you tonight."
"Great," Ronny's green eyes met hers. He removed his hand softly and disappeared into the crowd of students and parents, leaving only the echo of his hands in Dana's fingertips.
"Dana," Melissa placed a hand on her shoulder, "who was that boy?"
Turning around to face her older Sister, Dana spoke softly, "Just a friend; that's all."
---
There was really no such thing as a party or social gathering in the Scully home. They went back to the house after graduation and enjoyed, or pretended to enjoy, their dad's barbecue. Scarfing down hamburgers dryer than the Sahara Desert, Dana and her siblings smiled in between every sandy bite.
"Melissa," Dana said in between bites, "How are things going with your store?"
Her older sister adjusted the black lace bracelet she wore with fingers covered in jade and ruby rings. "It's going great," She said with a wine colored grin, "Portland was the perfect place to open. People there are much more interested in healing crystals and herbal medicines than here. Things are really taking off."
"The only thing that can truly heal us is the blood of our Savior," their father chimed in with much disdain in his deep voice.
"Daddy," Melissa reached her hand across the table. Her black fingernails brushed her father's arm. "I didn't abandon my faith," she pulled her cross necklace out of her blouse, "I'm just adding my own beliefs to what I already know to be true."
Silence erupted around the table.
"Well," Charlie spoke up, "I have a date with Linda tonight, so I'm gonna head out,"
"No you don't, young man," Their mother grabbed Charlie by the shoulders, pushing him back into his chair. "Nobody is going out tonight. Today is a big day for Dana and Melissa leaves tomorrow. We are going to enjoy this night together as a family, whether you like it or not."
Dana began to panic. Ronny's party was tonight. Tonight was the night that she was going to make herself seen. Tonight was the night that Dana Katherine Scully would become more than just the girl that gave the horrible graduation speech. Tonight, she would become a legend.