Who: Adam Kim and Isaac Frost What: Graduation wasn't supposed to be like this. Where: Deserted halls of North Harbor High When: May, 2007 Rating: PG-13 Status: Complete
Graduation wasn't supposed to be like this. Remembering his own some eight years ago could only make the wound seem wider, fresher in ways Adam hadn't anticipated. His objective understanding of time's ruthless passage aside, the absence of other members in the group among numerous ranks of beaming parents and bored younger siblings trooped out for the ceremony was as noticeable as it was disappointing. He'd recognized a few faces, failed to attribute names to others. Tion, he guessed, and Trixie, were probably somewhere inside the auditorium, contributing to the fast-climbing temperature through sheer palm friction as name after name was read out and congratulated. Not even fifteen minutes of fame was allotted for the newest slate of North Harbor High graduates, each full of hope and boiling under black robes.
Isaac's turn had come up somewhere in the first half of the spectacle and respect alone kept Adam glued to his seat while the rest of the student body marched across the stage to obtain their hard-earned freedom. By the end, he could hardly contain his thirst and the sinking sense of discouragement that permeated the now-empty hallways of the school. Maybe it was the knowledge that for many this would be the high-point of their academic careers. Maybe the discouragement was second-hand gratification for his own troubled record.
Maybe he shouldn't have come in the first place. No. Not that. He'd done it for Isaac, because they'd once been touched by the same miracle and bonds like that couldn't be allowed to fray with time.
A vending machine two doors down from what used to be the chem lab but was now another unremarkable classroom gleefully took Adam's quarters and, after a shove, let loose a bottle of flavored water. Not the healthiest thing, but at least it wasn't plain soda like the gallons consumed on the way to North Harbor. Kids would be expected to buy that from the supermarket along with sugary cereal and microwave TV dinners. Bitterness is high with this one, Adam mused as he propped himself against a wall. No wonder; outside, on a lawn that had seen better days, he spotted Confidence and Promise, Enthusiasm and Glee. How many of them would keep in touch? How many of their friendships would survive the distance?