Beginnings, Endings, and Everything In Between
Graduation Day
The sun was shining brightly, the sky was a gorgeous shade of blue, with a few fluffy, white clouds racing across it, and the air was full of the sweet smell of flowers and the sound of laughter. I was surrounded by friends, and family, and I was excited. Today was the start of a new chapter in my life, but as I looked around at all of my classmates, something didn’t seem quite right. Then I realized that the person I wanted at my side the most was currently sneaking back into the building where we had met a little over four years ago. I excused myself, and quickly followed him. The building was silent, the chatter of the crowd gathered outside muffled by the doors and walls surrounding us. He stopped and looked at the large glass trophy case, which was currently occupied by the pictures of the top 10 kids in our class, a CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2012 banner, and green and white confetti. I walked up quietly behind him, and saw him smile in the reflection of the glass.
“Hey,” he said quietly. I nodded and stepped forward so that I was at his side.
“Hey,” I replied. We stood there, both staring at the pictures for a few minutes, before either of us said anything.
“Take a walk with me,” he said, tugging on the sleeve of my white graduation gown. I nodded and we started walking down the hallway. We turned to the left and started walking down freshman hall. We stopped near the room where our freshman biology class was, and he started to smile.
“Remember all the times we made fun of Mr. Brody’s funny looking toes?” he asked. I smirked and nodded.
“Remember when he asked you how many eggs I had at one time?” I asked. He chuckled and we both shook our heads. We started walking down the hallway again and stopped at the gym. The lights were off, the bleachers were pushed in, and it looked lonely. Memories of pep rallies, student vs faculty volleyball games, and two really random assemblies that neither of us paid any attention to filled my mind. We stood there for a few minutes, words not really feeling necessary, and then continued on down the hall until we reached sophomore hallway. I made a face as we passed my old homeroom, and as we walked by the class where we had English together, his hand brushed against mine. I ignored the age old thumping in my chest and continued down the hallway until we reached the stairs. We both walked up the steps, me rushing to keep up with him as he took them two at a time. It was an unspoken tradition between us, racing up the stairs like that when nobody else was there. He patted his locker lovingly as we walked by it, and we finally came to a stop at the windows at the end of the hallway. They had the nicest view that the school could offer, overlooking the highway, where a bunch of trees stood behind. The sky looked even clearer from here, and to the right we could see the towering yellow goal posts and the gleaming silver bleachers of the football field. I could almost hear the field band music I had played for four years drifting up from the home stands, and I could almost see him playing lacrosse our freshman year on the field(it was the one game I had the courage to go to). We turned around and walked back the other way since the library was locked, and finally we came to senior hallway. My eyes teared up a bit, and I smiled softly. We had made so many memories in senior year alone that I didn’t even want to think about it. Between football season, him finally coming to see me in the play, our senior trip, and us going to prom together, it was the best year of my high school life. We almost grudgingly made our way back downstairs, and as we passed the band room, he stopped. I walked over and tugged on the door, and it opened. I grinned broadly, and we both walked into the room. He placed his hand gently on the rickety piano that stood in its usual place next to the door to the director’s office, and I simply stood next to him.
“It only seems right that the last room we go into is the room where this all began, doesn’t it?” he whispered. I looked at him, and his eyes were sad.
“Yeah, it does…” I muttered.
“I think God every day that I came to band camp,” he croaked. I raised my eyebrows.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because if I hadn’t, I probably would have never talked to you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Not this school, not our class…you,” he said, taking my hands in his. I stared up at him, his big, blue eyes drilling into my bright green ones. I squeezed his hands tightly and smiled.
“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me too. I’m going to miss you,” I whispered. He pulled me towards him, and wrapped me in a tight hug. He was never one for hugging, so I was surprised, but I hugged him back, putting everything I could into the hug. He pulled me back, and stared at me for a little longer before doing something unexpected. He bent down, and kissed me. It was a soft, gentle kiss, his lips carefully capturing mine, pressing ever so slightly against mine, filling me with strange warmth from head to toe. I kissed him back, forgetting every promise I had ever made to myself. After years of people telling us we were perfect for each other, I was finally coming to grips with it. We broke apart, but only for a moment, before we started to kiss again. Everything about the kiss was sweet, loving, and innocent. Those lusty makeouts I had with other guys suddenly vanished from my mind as his tongue brushed against my bottom lip. My toes curled as his fingers curled into my hair, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. His hands rested on my hips, not wandering about like the hands of a select few others. I drowned in the feeling. It was everything I had ever wanted in a kiss. I found myself wondering why I had waited so long to do it, but as we broke apart I knew. Everything that we had done together had led up to this moment. He looked at me with love written on his face, and I smiled at him, hoping that he could see the love on mine. He pulled off his class ring, and grabbed my hand. Folding my fingers over the ring, he kissed my forehead.
“I want you in my life forever…no, I need you in my life forever. There’s no avoiding it now…I love you,” he whispered. I took off my own class ring and handed it to him.
“I love you too,” I said quietly.
“I know we’re too young now, and we haven’t even started dating yet, but I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life…when we’re done college, and the time is right, will you marry me?” he asked. I felt tears well up in my eyes and I nodded before slipping his big ring onto my thumb.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“So it’s a promise?” he asked.
“It’s a promise,” I said, and we fell into each other’s arms. Kiss after kiss was exchanged, until we heard the door open. We both flew apart, blushing wildly, as if we were freshmen.
“I was wondering where you two were,” a friend of ours smiled.
“Yeah guys, we’re getting ready to head to the diner! It’s about time you two got together though,” another friend said, poking her head into the room. We simply laced our fingers together and walked out of the room to enjoy lunch with our friends one last time before we started the next big chapter in our lives.
“Hey,” he said quietly. I nodded and stepped forward so that I was at his side.
“Hey,” I replied. We stood there, both staring at the pictures for a few minutes, before either of us said anything.
“Take a walk with me,” he said, tugging on the sleeve of my white graduation gown. I nodded and we started walking down the hallway. We turned to the left and started walking down freshman hall. We stopped near the room where our freshman biology class was, and he started to smile.
“Remember all the times we made fun of Mr. Brody’s funny looking toes?” he asked. I smirked and nodded.
“Remember when he asked you how many eggs I had at one time?” I asked. He chuckled and we both shook our heads. We started walking down the hallway again and stopped at the gym. The lights were off, the bleachers were pushed in, and it looked lonely. Memories of pep rallies, student vs faculty volleyball games, and two really random assemblies that neither of us paid any attention to filled my mind. We stood there for a few minutes, words not really feeling necessary, and then continued on down the hall until we reached sophomore hallway. I made a face as we passed my old homeroom, and as we walked by the class where we had English together, his hand brushed against mine. I ignored the age old thumping in my chest and continued down the hallway until we reached the stairs. We both walked up the steps, me rushing to keep up with him as he took them two at a time. It was an unspoken tradition between us, racing up the stairs like that when nobody else was there. He patted his locker lovingly as we walked by it, and we finally came to a stop at the windows at the end of the hallway. They had the nicest view that the school could offer, overlooking the highway, where a bunch of trees stood behind. The sky looked even clearer from here, and to the right we could see the towering yellow goal posts and the gleaming silver bleachers of the football field. I could almost hear the field band music I had played for four years drifting up from the home stands, and I could almost see him playing lacrosse our freshman year on the field(it was the one game I had the courage to go to). We turned around and walked back the other way since the library was locked, and finally we came to senior hallway. My eyes teared up a bit, and I smiled softly. We had made so many memories in senior year alone that I didn’t even want to think about it. Between football season, him finally coming to see me in the play, our senior trip, and us going to prom together, it was the best year of my high school life. We almost grudgingly made our way back downstairs, and as we passed the band room, he stopped. I walked over and tugged on the door, and it opened. I grinned broadly, and we both walked into the room. He placed his hand gently on the rickety piano that stood in its usual place next to the door to the director’s office, and I simply stood next to him.
“It only seems right that the last room we go into is the room where this all began, doesn’t it?” he whispered. I looked at him, and his eyes were sad.
“Yeah, it does…” I muttered.
“I think God every day that I came to band camp,” he croaked. I raised my eyebrows.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because if I hadn’t, I probably would have never talked to you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Not this school, not our class…you,” he said, taking my hands in his. I stared up at him, his big, blue eyes drilling into my bright green ones. I squeezed his hands tightly and smiled.
“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me too. I’m going to miss you,” I whispered. He pulled me towards him, and wrapped me in a tight hug. He was never one for hugging, so I was surprised, but I hugged him back, putting everything I could into the hug. He pulled me back, and stared at me for a little longer before doing something unexpected. He bent down, and kissed me. It was a soft, gentle kiss, his lips carefully capturing mine, pressing ever so slightly against mine, filling me with strange warmth from head to toe. I kissed him back, forgetting every promise I had ever made to myself. After years of people telling us we were perfect for each other, I was finally coming to grips with it. We broke apart, but only for a moment, before we started to kiss again. Everything about the kiss was sweet, loving, and innocent. Those lusty makeouts I had with other guys suddenly vanished from my mind as his tongue brushed against my bottom lip. My toes curled as his fingers curled into my hair, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. His hands rested on my hips, not wandering about like the hands of a select few others. I drowned in the feeling. It was everything I had ever wanted in a kiss. I found myself wondering why I had waited so long to do it, but as we broke apart I knew. Everything that we had done together had led up to this moment. He looked at me with love written on his face, and I smiled at him, hoping that he could see the love on mine. He pulled off his class ring, and grabbed my hand. Folding my fingers over the ring, he kissed my forehead.
“I want you in my life forever…no, I need you in my life forever. There’s no avoiding it now…I love you,” he whispered. I took off my own class ring and handed it to him.
“I love you too,” I said quietly.
“I know we’re too young now, and we haven’t even started dating yet, but I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life…when we’re done college, and the time is right, will you marry me?” he asked. I felt tears well up in my eyes and I nodded before slipping his big ring onto my thumb.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“So it’s a promise?” he asked.
“It’s a promise,” I said, and we fell into each other’s arms. Kiss after kiss was exchanged, until we heard the door open. We both flew apart, blushing wildly, as if we were freshmen.
“I was wondering where you two were,” a friend of ours smiled.
“Yeah guys, we’re getting ready to head to the diner! It’s about time you two got together though,” another friend said, poking her head into the room. We simply laced our fingers together and walked out of the room to enjoy lunch with our friends one last time before we started the next big chapter in our lives.