Chapter 6 - Graduation

Irina

As expected, my parents were waiting to hear all the details, but I didn’t want to talk to them about it. Not yet. My mind was all over the place and so were my emotions and I didn’t want to cry in front of them. It would just upset them, and they would probably tell me not to go out with Hunter again. I said good night and went up to my room to try and figure out what it was that I was feeling.

More importantly, what I thought about our date. I spent all night tossing and turning and by morning, I was bone tired. I knew the moment I walked into the kitchen my parents would want to know how our date went and I still didn’t know what to tell them. I had to make sure that whatever it was, it wasn’t bad.

“It wasn’t bad.” I tried to smile, but I was just too tired to fake it.

“Then why did I hear you tossing all night, sweetheart?” My mother was a very light sleeper and I should have known my creaky bed would wake her.

“It was a normal date, I guess.” I sighed, shrugging. The cereal I normally loved floated around in the milk, but I wasn’t hungry this morning.

“Did he hurt you, honey?” My father frowned and I smiled lovingly, patting his hand.

“No, dad. It was just weird. He was weird. I felt weird. I’m not sure how to describe it. He didn’t do anything wrong, or say anything. I just …” I sighed deeply. “Oh, I don’t know.” I got up and grabbed my stuff before kissing them both and rushing out of the house. I was late, which was something I never did. I arrived at the store and started my day, but it was going to be a long day and I just didn’t have the energy.

I felt so guilty for working so slowly, that I worked right through lunch. By the time I had to go home, I was ravenous. Since I didn’t really have breakfast and worked through lunch, all I wanted to do was get home, have dinner, and go straight to bed. My parents clearly had more questions, but when I excused myself after dinner, they let me go.

I loved my parents. They were always interested in what was going on in my life, but they never pushed me when they noticed I didn’t want to talk about something. They knew that in the end I would come and talk to them. I think that is what I love about them most. My parents never hovered, but they were always there for me.

I took a long hot bath, got into my pajamas, and went straight to bed. My dreams were filled with Hunter’s haunting eyes, but they weren’t bad dreams. I woke up early and got ready for the day. It was our graduation day, and I was so nervous. I had completely forgotten about it thanks to Hunter! Thankfully, we bought my dress months ago.

I pulled the pretty pink dress over my head and straightened it out. It was the perfect fit against my body and it looked so pretty with an A-line skirt floating out around my legs. I grinned, seeing how tanned my legs were. Putting on the pretty silver sandals, I took one more look. My hair survived getting dressed, which made me laugh a little.

My curls floated beautifully around my face and framed it perfectly. I put on the earrings my parents gave me as a graduation present and made my way downstairs. Today, I was only going to focus on happy thoughts. I was going to enjoy this moment I had been working for so long. The excitement in town was even greater. Graduation posters and banners were put up everywhere and after the ceremony, families will be eating out everywhere in celebration.

I know that there are going to be parties tonight, but I didn’t want to go to any of them. I had a job and I had to do it early in the morning. My dad’s car pulled up in the parking lot at school and I took a deep breath before my friends came running to greet us. Everyone was dressed in their graduation gowns and caps and they were all talking at once.

We rushed to our seats and the ceremony began. The principal did his part and then I was called to do my valedictorian speech. My palms were sweating a little, but I was okay as I walked up the stage and took my spot at the podium. I looked at the start and took a deep breath.

“My fellow students, parents, and friends.” I looked into the crowd and smiled. “Principal Smith and teachers.” I looked at the group of people sitting behind me and smiled at them, seeing them smiling at me. “Now that we’ve finished school, we are pushed into the grown-up world. Everyone expects us to know where we are going or what we are going to do, but some of us don’t, and it’s okay. This is our time to figure things out. This is our time to discover the world. To travel and take odd jobs just to survive. This is our time to make our dreams come true and live our best lives. Congratulations!” A roar of applause and cheers went up and I grinned, but only for a moment. I knew my speech wasn’t that great and when our eyes met, I felt it.

Hunter had been sitting in the crowd the entire time because I sounded like an idiot! I loved being valedictorian. I just hated public speaking. When a huge grin broke out all over his face and he joined the rest in applause, I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled before walking down the stage and taking my seat. The principal said a last few words, and it was all over.

I rushed to talk to my parents when I felt an arm circle around the back of my waist.