“Just—this is kind of anticlimactic in some ways. This is what we’ve been working toward for the last four years, and at the same time—it’s like just a check on the list to the rest of our lives.”
“Profound,” Archie offered, threading his fingers with mine. “Disappointed?”
“Not even a little bit. I’ve loved my classes, even the ones that made me crazy. I’ve loved living with you guys and building our lives together.” I caught Ian’s eyes and grinned. “I loved recording our first album and now getting ready to really record our second. It’s been—a life. I love my life. I love that we have done all of this together, and we’re going to keep on doing this together.”
“Couldn’t imagine my life without all of you,” Jake confessed.
“Oh, Hell, you’re gonna get sappy on us.” Coop pressed a hand to his chest. “I’m the one emotionally in touch with myself. You’re supposed to be the hot-headed jock.”
“Who can still kick your ass,” Jake said drily, though the corners of his mouth twitched.
“Thankfully,” Ian said, raising his voice a little. “We don’t have to worry about any of that, because we’re all stuck with each other.”
“Forever,” Archie elongated the word as he tacked it on, wicked grin firmly in place.
“That makes me happy.” Great, now I was getting emotional. I blinked my eyes rapidly. “If you guys make me cry, you’re going to have to help me with my makeup.”
Ian pressed a kiss to my temple and Archie squeezed my hand. Coop and Jake each kept a foot pressed to mine. “Crank up the music, Jake,” Ian said. “No tears today.”
Oh, there would probably be tears today. There were going to be many moms in attendance. Moms. Dads. Siblings. Grandparents. Jeremy. It wasn’t long before we were in a queue of cars moving through the parking lots. Jeremy wouldn’t be sitting with us, but we left him where he could join Eddie and the others as they came in.
Honestly, we hadn’t coordinated seats for them. I wasn’t sure I wanted Eddie to have to deal with my grandparents today, but Dad promised he’d run interference if necessary. Out in that sea of people, they were all arriving.
Nineteen thousand students would be graduating. That was the number, which was why we were having it at Yankee Stadium. “You know,” I said. “We really need to come back here for a baseball game.”
“Yes,” Jake said solemnly. “That’s exactly what we need to do.”
I grinned. “Who am I, and what have I done with your Frankie?”
“Wasn’t going to ask,” he said. “Just gonna take you out to sports.”
Once we got there, though, it was a sea of students. While the all-school commencement was open to everyone who qualified to graduate, we didn’t have to walk. Representatives of our various colleges would be chosen to accept on behalf of our class. It also meant we could sit together, which I was rather fond of.
This was so different from high school.
Not sure I’d label it as better, but I was excited. Course, as we made our way to our seats, I was stunned by just how packed this place was. Nineteen thousand students and a whole lot of family.
With the sun shining down and a strong breeze—thankfully—we made our way to our seats, our caps firmly in place. You couldn’t tell what any of us were wearing beneath the gowns. I was still glad I opted for sandals. The pre-show included a video with interviews from various graduating students and a listing of accomplishments.
When Ian’s face popped up on the jumbotron, I blinked. He was talking about Bound Hearts, and they even featured a clip from one of our shows. I swung wide eyes at him and he gave me a little shrug and a grin. “I didn’t know if they would use it.”
Archie popped up in another clip with Jake, but it was just a snapshot of a presentation they’d done. Another clip of Coop was featured in the montage, with him coming out of the community center he’d been working at for the last year. When my face popped up, I did another double-take. But it was of Rachel and I both standing not far from the doors to her dorm. That had to have been that first year we were here.
Did I look like a baby, or was that just me?
By the time they did the parade of the faculty and our honorary guest speaker came out, I was ready to be done. Except the former first lady of the United States was up there, discussing the value not just of education but application. I found myself leaning forward as she talked about the role education had played in her life. How each signpost along the road to the future was a chance to further ourselves.
Goals, like life, could be ever-changing and fluid. One thing she had learned, the one item she had taken with her from elementary to high school to college to graduate school and beyond—every single day was an opportunity. You didn’t have to be in school to strive to learn more. You didn’t have to be enrolled to always be a student.
Life was for living, learning, and growing. Look around you, she instructed. Look at the people sitting next to you. The people in front of you. The people behind you. These were the people who were on the same journey as you. Sometimes those paths intertwined, sometimes they diverted, but we could always learn from each other. That the best education came from living our lives to the best of our capabilities.
The words resonated with me. Mainly because my path was thoroughly and utterly intertwined with my four best friends. I swore there must be pollen in the air or something because my eyes got watery, but when she finally congratulated us and encouraged us to keep growing, no matter where life took us, the tears really did fall.
“Five bucks,” Coop said as he kissed the side of my head and his hand found mine. I laughed through my tears cause Archie just shook his head and promised to pay him later. I didn’t even care what the bet was about.
Two hours after the ceremony began, we were officially graduates.
While they didn’t want us throwing our hats in the air, we did it anyway to the roar of the guests and families who cheered us on. It was freeing. Coop swung me around in a hug before passing me over to Archie, then Jake, and finally Ian. When we pulled together in a hug—all of us—I had to blink back more tears. It was crazy and the best.
Course, nothing prepared me for the afterparty. Everyone had come, including Patience and Eugene. I broke away from the guys to see them. Eugene beamed, his eyes shining as he gave me a hug, and Patience murmured her congratulations in a worried voice, and it wasn’t until I recognized the wariness in her eyes that I realized she expected to be rejected.
Regret was a horrible, bitter medicine that curdled in the stomach. I didn’t want any more regrets. I didn’t want any more pain. We’d all had enough of that. So, I hugged her and she froze briefly then, with a slight hesitation I understood, and she returned the hug.
“Thank you,” I said, when I pulled back a little, glancing from one to the other. “For coming, for wanting to be here—for trying.”
“Thank you for having us, young lady. I told Leslie we’d have the prettiest granddaughter out there. I was right, wasn’t I?” He motioned to Leslie, who was standing not far behind them.
“I didn’t even see you, I’m sorry.”