Gone

“And I present to you,” the tiny woman exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air as the class’s cue to get to our feet at the same time, “the class of 2013!”

And then there was a flurry of blue and white caps getting throwing into the air and raining down at the same time, hitting unsuspecting students in the face, and the sounds of cheering and hooting and clapping underscoring the scene. Although graduation itself had been mercilessly boring, with five people repeating essentially the same speech over and over again, I couldn’t stop grinning at the end. I was officially graduated, moving on to bigger and better things, and I could leave my days of high school behind me.

We were marched back into the building, away from the burning summer sunlight outside, to get our belongings in the auditorium, where they’d held us before the ceremony began. As I was reaching down to get my Vera Bradley clutch, which held my phone securely, I got tackled from behind, a high-pitched squeal sounding in my ear.

“Manny!” I exclaimed with a laugh, standing up so I could hug her properly. “Congratulations, girl. We did it.”

“We did!” The grin on her face was bigger than any I’d ever seen, and it made me want to hug her all over again. “And now I’m on my way to Brown in the fall. God, I had no idea they’d want me so badly after they read my essay.”

“It was perfect,” I assured her. She’d written about how her confidence had helped her be a better judge of character and find out if someone was being truthful about themselves or not, and she wrote it with a kind of grace and interest that was rarely seen in college essays. With it, plus her excellent grades throughout her high school career and the internship she’d scored with a local magazine branch, she’d been a shoo-in.

As for me, I was on to Boston College on a soccer scholarship. If my playing hadn’t been so phenomenal in the last rounds of the playoffs and in the championship (which we’d lost by one goal, but we played valiantly), I never would have gotten noticed. But since things fell into place, I was attending a prestigious school that was happy to have me and give me an almost-free ride, even though my grades would probably get everyone else on campus laughing until their stomachs exploded.

“Well, thanks,” Manny replied, still smiling. “Should we go find our parents now? They’re probably wondering if we left without them.”

I nodded and followed her out to the school lobby, which was completely crowded with every family member of everyone in my grade. Although our class had contained a mere 156 people, we’d been given ten tickets each, and some people had asked for even more. It was insane.

As I weaved my way through the boisterous crowd, trying not to shove anyone but incredibly tempted to do so, I caught sight of Liam in his white graduation gown. He smiled widely at something someone said, and I looked away immediately, feeling embarrassed for having laid my eyes on him.

Really, I’d tried to forget him throughout the school year. There were random times when I’d gotten angry that he’d screwed me over, but for the most part, I tried to ignore him. It was clear that, in his mind, he hadn’t been a dick to me. He’d just been doing what was in his best interests, what he viewed as fun, and he’d neglected to let me know what his intentions with me were.

My parents had been angry when they found out, and my mother had gotten pissed beyond belief at herself because she hadn’t noticed anything off. It was only once I’d told them multiple times that it was completely fine that they’d believed me, and they’d both assured me that I’d find someone soon enough who actually cared about me.

I had a feeling that the only really good memory I’d carry of Liam was of him walking across the stage, cheering a little when the vice principal read aloud that he would be returning to England to re-do his senior year of high school. As sick and petty as it was, I felt a little comfort in knowing that he was going to have to start all over when the rest of us were ending. It felt a little like karma, even if it was only the English schooling system.

“Frankie!” my mother called to me once Manny and I had finally broken through the crowd and made it into the humid air outside. Then, her arms had me in a vice grip, and Manny tapped my elbow to let me know that she was going off to find her own family. “I’m so proud of you, baby.”

“Thanks,” I replied a little stiffly, patting her on the back. Once she let go, my dad got in a hug, and once I was free again, my mother wanted to take pictures.

“Where’s Jason?” I asked, searching around for him distractedly as my father put his arm around me to pose for the photo.

“He just ran to the bathroom. He should be back in-”

“I’m right here,” the deep voice interjected, and I turned to find the face I’d grown to find incredibly familiar. His dark green eyes sparkled as he wrapped his strong arms around me, lifting me in the air just slightly. “Congratulations, Frankie. You looked great walking across that stage.”

I laughed, knowing that my gown was the furthest thing from flattering in the world. But I’d take whatever compliment I could get. “Why, thank you. Only a couple more years until it’s your turn. Except, you know, college.”

“Right.” He nodded toward my mother, who was standing about ten feet away, snapping pictures as we talked, which were sure to be embarrassing. “I really think your mother wants to take some graduation photos of you, so I wouldn’t keep her waiting any longer.”

“So I won’t,” I replied a little mischievously, and before Jason could ask what I meant, I hooked my arm around the back of his head and brought his lips down to mine, kissing him deeply, right there in front of everyone.

I heard my father make an uncomfortable grunting noise and my mother sigh as Jason rested his hands on my waist gently.

“Good?” I asked, a little breathlessly, when I broke away. Jason immediately pulled me back against him, like it was a completely natural, instinctive act.

“Perfect,” Mom smiled at the two of us, probably thankful that I’d been able to find someone so much better than Liam so quickly, but my father looked like his brain was leaking.

“Let’s take some more traditional pictures now,” he instructed. “Side-by-side, please.”

We did as we were told, trying to behave ourselves for a few minutes, wrapping our arms around each other like we were relatives instead of boyfriend and girlfriend. Once my father was satisfied, I took pictures with my mother, and then with my father.

“Can we eat now?” I whined what seemed like an hour later. “I’m starving.”

“I second that,” Jason agreed, wrapping his arm around my waist and kissing the side of my head. Totally romantic and natural, like affection was imbedded in his DNA. I loved that about him. “So we’ll take my car to the restaurant, and you guys can meet us there? It’s just down the street, right?”

“I can show you where it is,” I told him.

“Remember,” my father announced in his tough voice, “our reservation is in ten minutes. Just throwing that out there.”

Jason laughed while I blushed a nice, deep shade of red. My mother smacked him in the arm and said, “For God’s sake, leave them alone!”

Once they were out of earshot, still bickering a little in that old married way of theirs, Jason started to speak. “So I saw that ex of yours, Liam?”

I nodded. “What did you think of him?”

“Babe, you should have known he was going to treat you like shit. He looked like a cocky douche.”

“He was,” I agreed with a snicker. “But I fell for the act that he was sweet under all that cockiness.”

“At least you realized the truth in the end,” Jason replied, “and went to that Black Friday party with Manny.”

“That will forever be one of the best decisions I ever made.”

That sentence ended up becoming my catch phrase for the rest of my incredibly blissful, regret-free life.