Graduation
And so we
talked all night about the rest of our lives
Where we're gonna be when we turn 25
I keep thinking times will never change
Keep on thinking things will always be the same
But when we leave this year we won't be coming back
No more hanging out cause we're on a different track
And if you got something that you need to say
You better say it right now cause you don't have another day
Valerie Lanier looked distraughtly at
her best friend.
"I can't do it, Caitie. I'm not ready
yet." She looked at the Class of 2002 Graduation banner and felt like
she was going to be sick.
"Oh, give me a break." Caitie gave one
of her trademark sarcastic laughs. "You got into UCLA, and who's been telling
me for three months that you're so excited?"
"Me. But I can't do it. Where's
Tyler?" Her ramblings were insane, but Caitie listened patiently.
"It's okay, Val, we have half an hour
until the ceremony begins. Don't get cold feet."
"Where's Tyler?" Val shrieked. "I have
to see Tyler!"
"Okay, then," said a dubious Caitie.
"Why don't you go ask Hank?"
Val tore off, her black robe billowing
out behind her as she ran.
"Hank!" she yelled, eyes searching the
bevy of black hats for a familiar face—Hank's or Tyler's, Val didn't care,
although Tyler's might be more welcome.
Hank turned around, the gold tassel
spinning with his body.
"What's the matter?" he asked Val, who
was trying to catch her breath and talk decently at the same time.
"Where's Tyler? Where is he?"
Her voice was a nervous scream. Hank sighed and tried to calm her.
"I don't know. He said something about
old classrooms…"
The words hadn't hung in the air for a
second before Val was off, racing out of the backstage and into the corridors
of Kingsport High.
Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down
These memories are playing like a film without sound
And I keep thinking of that night in June
I didn't know much of love
But it came too soon and there was me and you
And then we got real blue
Stay at home talking on the telephone
We'd get so excited, we'd get so scared
Laughing at our selves thinking life's not fair
And this is how it feels
English
room.
No Tyler.
Science
room.
No Tyler.
History…
Math… Drama…
The classes
spun dizzily in front of her eyes and she felt sick. Val had no idea why she
needed Tyler so badly at that moment—no idea at all. She just knew that she was
never going to get up the courage to go out there and say goodbye to high
school, to innocent school years, without seeing Tyler.
She entered
the music room and looked around like a crazed idiot before falling to the
stands…
Stands they
had stood on and sung on in freshman year, when singing was required; stands
they had played instruments on in the extracurricular band Val had joined
freshman year, clueless as to how horrible it would be… of course, Tyler had
been right behind her and he was one of her best friends even then…
Of course.
Val knew
why Tyler wasn't here, why she wasn't finding any comfort in the music room.
Because all the events that had taken place here had taken place in freshman
year. Her freshman year, when she was clueless and so much more idiotic than
she was now. Come to think of it, she had been running through all her freshman
and some of her sophomore classes—they were in this wing, the closest to the
graduation ceremony.
She had to
go somewhere more recent—perhaps senior or junior.
And she ran
through the halls again until she reached the end of the 300 block of lockers
and turned left, through the double doors that took her to the junior section.
As we go on
We remember
All the times we
Had together
And as our lives change
Come whatever
We will still be
Friends Forever
She
repeated her run-through of classes in the junior section, letting them all
blend into one perfect smoothie of high school… Math Science English History
Art Spanish French Latin Japanese… no Tyler.
The clock
read 10:47. Thirteen more minutes. Val felt like she was about to burst into
tears.
There's
still the senior section, she reminded herself. Maybe he's there.
MathScienceEnglishHistorySpanishFrenchLatinJapaneseCafeteria…
No Tyler.
Val was
killing herself for two things—first of all, not knowing where Tyler was,
second of all, not knowing why she needed to see him so badly. He was just a
crush, just a small crush, one of her best friends and a fellow EMT. Maybe that
was it. The fact he was such a great friend and a fellow EMT. It had nothing to
do with the minuscule… tiny… minute… crush.
Yeah, but
if it's so minute, why am I about to cry?
Val didn't
want to answer that.
Tyler.
Her.
Tyler.
Her.
Tyler…
Her head
was about to split in half with the pain.
Where did
we meet? Val wondered. First day of eighth grade and he sat in front of me in
English… but then I started knowing him better. I mean, what with EMS and school
and football…
Football.
Val knew
where he was, where he had gone for the final goodbye to Kingsport High.
Her feet
had never moved so fast, one foot in front of the other in front of the other
in front of the other in front of…
She pushed
open the door.
So if we get the big jobs
And we make the big money
When we look back now
Will our jokes still be funny?
Will we still remember everything we learned in school?
Still be trying to break every single rule
Will little brainy Bobby be the stockbroker man?
Can we ever find a job that won't interfere with a tan?
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly
And this is how it feels
He was
standing in the middle of the stadium, looking around at the bleachers and the
goals and the grass and the sky.
At
everything.
"Tyler!"
Her lips moved freely in a shout, and the word came out in a single gasp that
spun on the wind. Tyler turned and the distance between them seemed more like
miles than yards.
"What are
you doing here?" he asked, walking towards her.
She took a
step. And another. And another. Slowly… slowly…
But there
wasn't enough time to go slowly.
She broke
into a run, racing against time to win the distance between them.
"God…
Tyler…" Her arms wrapped around his neck and he wound his around her waist,
lifting her up a few inches so she could look down directly into his eyes.
Now or
never, thought Val blurrily, her thoughts faded by the pulsing of her veins.
Without
even thinking, she kissed him with as much force as she possibly could, acting
alone for a minute until the initial shock wore off and he was kissing her back
with equal ferocity. She clung to him, absolutely shaking as her fear of losing
him—she had realized what it was as soon as he put his arms around
her—evaporated.
Because
she'd never forget him. Never.
"I couldn't
graduate without saying goodbye," Val told him, pulling away.
"It's never
goodbye," he said. "Not as long as I can help it."
He pulled
her head to his shoulder and wrapped his arm around her.
"Let's go
graduate," Tyler suggested. Val smiled.
"Good
idea."
As we go on
We remember
All the times we
Had together
And as our lives change
Come whatever
We will still be
Friends Forever
La, la, la, la…
Yeah, yeah, yeah
La, la, la, la…
We will still be friends forever
"So,"
Caitie said, seeing Val come back seven minutes before the ceremony started, "I
see you found Tyler."
"Yeah,"
Val laughed. "I found him."
"Okay,
and is there a reason he has your lip gloss all over his lips?" asked Caitie,
all too sure of what had happened.
Val
squinted at him.
"You'd
better wipe that off," she commented. He grinned, kissed her again, and walked
off to get in line.
"Isn't
he great?" sighed Val. Caitie rolled her eyes.
"Well,
it's about time."
"Oh,
shut up. At least I did it before high school was over," Val pointed out. "I
could have waited until the reunion."
"I'm
sure, in an alternate universe, that has happened," said Caitie. "Now, move
over and give Austin Matthews space."
"You
know, maybe you should go kiss Jamie," said Val. "Then you could do it before
high school's out, too."
"What?
Excuse me, we're just friends." Caitie crossed her arms and tried to look
convincing, even though a blush was rising in her cheeks.
"Uh
huh. And somehow you never believed me when I said there was no relationship,
but you believe yourself now." Val shook her head and choked down a laugh. "Go
kiss him. It's very easy."
"I'm
not kissing him."
The
spoken person appeared behind Caitie.
"Kissing
who?" Jamie asked. Caitie scowled.
"You,"
she muttered, trying not to turn red.
"Pity,"
he said. "That means I have to do it."
And
apparently for once Jamie Waite wasn't joking, because he leaned down and
kissed Caitie quickly on the lips.
"See
ya. By the way, Val, I saw Tyler. Good going." He gave her a thumbs-up and
disappeared into the line. Caitie was touching her lip with her mouth wide open
in surprise. Val grinned.
"See?
Very easy."
Caitie
might have scowled, but that would mean taking her hand off of her lips,
something she wasn't about to do. Besides, she was elated—even though she might
never admit it.
"Graduating
class of 2002!" proclaimed the principal. Val saw Tyler's thumbs-up sign from
up near the start of the line and passed it on to Caitie.
"Friends
forever, Caitie," Val whispered as the line started moving. Caitie grinned.
"Friends
forever."
Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?
Can we survive it out there?
Can we make it somehow?
I guess I thought that this would never end
And suddenly it's like we're women and men
Will the past be a shadow that will follow us 'round?
Will these memories fade when I leave this town
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly
As we go on
We remember
All the times we
Had together
And as our lives change
Come whatever
We will still be
Friends Forever
Okay, pure fluff. Ah well. I hope I satisfied some J/C
shippers, too. I seem to have an easy time keeping Caitie's mouth in character,
though the rest of her is a different story… Hmm. So, anyway, please review
'cause I *love* feedback, even if it's *sob* criticism. Thanks! Bye!
~IVY LEAVES