1 ~ Graduation

SAMANTHA

~

The polyester graduation gown felt like sandpaper against my skin as I shifted uncomfortably behind the podium.

My chest tightened, the familiar herald of an oncoming cough, but I swallowed it down. Not now. Not during my valedictorian speech.

"As we stand at the threshold of our futures," I continued, scanning the crowd of my classmates, their faces a blur of anticipation and boredom, "we carry with us not just the knowledge imparted by our teachers, but the memories we've created together."

My gaze found Rafael in the third row, his dark eyes meeting mine with that familiar sardonic lift of his eyebrow. Even in the shapeless graduation gown, he managed to look dangerous, all sharp angles and barely contained energy. His mortarboard sat crookedly on his mess of black hair, like he'd thrown it on as an afterthought. Which he probably had.

I'd had to practically drag him to the ceremony. "It's just a piece of paper Sunny," he'd said, using the nickname only he was allowed. "Not like I'm gonna do anything with it."

"You're going to walk across that stage if I have to carry you myself Shade," I'd responded, using my own exclusive nickname for him. The look on his face had been worth the argument.

The tickle in my throat intensified, and I discreetly reached for the water bottle hidden behind the podium.

Three small sips. Breathe. Continue.

"Our paths may diverge," I said, fighting to keep my voice steady, "but the connections we've forged will remain, invisible threads binding us to this place and to each other." I found Rafael again, and the corner of his mouth quirked up. He knew that line was for him.

As I finished my speech to polite applause, Principal Winters took over, beginning the interminable process of calling names. I sank into my chair on the stage, pressing my graduation program against my mouth as the cough I'd been suppressing finally broke free. I muffled it as best I could, grateful for the drone of names and periodic applause that masked the sound.

"You okay?" Liz , one of my classmates whispered from beside me. She'd been eyeing me suspiciously for weeks now, ever since I'd had to bow out of our final Academic Decathlon meeting due to a 'cold' .

"Fine." I mouthed, straightening as the name 'Rafael Moreno' echoed through the speakers.

Raf sauntered across the stage with deliberate slowness, his gait screaming rebellion against the whole ceremony. Principal Winters' smile tightened as she handed him his diploma, no doubt remembering the countless detentions and disciplinary hearings.

I bit back a smile.

For all his posturing, I knew Rafael had graduated with honors in subjects he pretended not to care about.

He caught my eye as he crossed the stage, flashing me a quick wink that the crowd couldn't see. My heart did that stupid little flip it always did around him. Seven years of this crush, and I still hadn't built up an immunity.

The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur. When we finally tossed our caps into the air—mine going a pathetic three feet before floating down, Rafael's sailing clear over the bleachers—the crowd erupted in cheers.

"Samantha!" My sister May's voice cut through the chaos. At twenty-four, she looked both older and younger than her age, worry lines around her eyes but youthful excitement in her smile. She waved frantically, camera in hand.

"Over here!"

I made my way through the crowd, accepting hugs and congratulations from classmates I'd probably never see again.

May enveloped me in a fierce hug when I reached her, smelling of vanilla and the cinnamon she'd been baking with that morning.

"I'm so proud of you." she whispered, and I felt my throat tighten with emotion instead of illness for once.

"Thanks...for everything," I said, knowing the words were inadequate. After our parents died, May had dropped out of high school to keep us together, working multiple jobs until we saved enough to open our bakery. She'd sacrificed her own future for mine, a debt I could never repay, especially now.