Here's a nice one-shot for everyone! I was inspired by Walk The Moon and of course the sentimental graduation time. It is a longer one-shot. BTW, I am seeing Walk The Moon in concert next month, I am super excited!
Enjoy.
"Seniors, my dear seniors, listen up," Professor Faragonda clasped her hands together and paced across the stage until the entire 2015 senior class had their eyes on her. She smiled widely and her eyes gleamed into the crowd of students. Students leaned forward in their seats, eyes wide open and eager looks all across their faces. Typically, her annoying demeanor would turn any student away, however today was different. It wasn't just any ordinary day. Instead, it was a turning point. A turning point where each student's future changed.
Running out of patience due to the suspense, a student, called out, "Cut to the chase!" Mrs. Faragonda scowled the rowdy, ignorant senior.
"All of the entrance level exams are in and we have tallied up all of the final grades and the points. We have your valedictorian and salutatorian," Mrs. Faragonda smiled. She walked across the stage towards her podium. The only sound heard in the room was the clanking of her heels on the wooden platform. She tore open an envelope and more students leaned forward in their chairs, engrossed in the upcoming scene.
"Before I begin today's ceremony-esque statures, I want to congratulate each and every one of you early. I know you aren't graduating until tomorrow, however, today is the most important day of your high school career. Each of you have battled your enemies, climbed your mountains, and dove into situations head first. Despite those adversities, each of you are here. You are here because of me, because of your teachers, because of your family and because of one another. I'm so proud to see each one of you walk across that stage tomorrow. I wouldn't pick another class to be my last year here at Gardenia Heights before I retire."
Faragonda cleared her throat and leaned in towards the microphone. "This year we have two salutatorians. It was a tough tie. These two have been competing for as long as I can remember. Congratulations Techna Misuto and Timmy Henricks."
Techna and Timmy both stood from their seats. It was complete irony to an outsider. The two started off enemies. They were constantly competing with one another over who was smarter. Their villainous relationship turned into a friendship and it blossomed from there. Here they were, finishing out their high school career competing with one another.
Timmy and Techna made their way over to the stage, holding hands. They climbed the steps together and faced the crowd. Faragonda placed a medal around each of their necks and the student body cheered for them. "Congratulations you two."
"Now it's my pleasure to announce our valedictorian," Mrs. Faragonda paused, building suspense. She took a deep breath, "Congratulations Musa Pennington."
After announcing the class scholars, students were clapping as loud as they could, cheering on their fellow peers. Musa stood up, straitening out her bandage dress and cardigan. Flora and Andy, her two best friends cheered along with the rest of the class. Andy patted her on the back before she squeezed her way through the students and the folding seats.
All eyes were on Musa. When she approached the steps, she gave one glance back to her class and then she climbed them. She was now even on the platform with Faragonda and two of her other classmates.
"Congratulations Musa," Faragonda said when Musa approached her. Musa lowered her head as her gold medal was placed over her head and around her neck. She lifted the medal, pulling her hair out from underneath the ribbon from the medal. Once the medal was placed on her head, the entire class stood out of their seats and clapped for the young woman.
"As a tradition, we have the valedictorian give a pre-speech to her class."
Musa approached the podium, standing next to Mrs. Faragonda before gazing out into the mass of her classmates. This was the second to the last time that she would have the opportunity to do so.
"Each year, we have you perform the daunting task for writing a letter to me explaining who the most profound person you have ever met. Each year, I choose one and I have you read it to the class. After exploring each of the letters, I picked the one that I found was most real. When I say real, I mean heartfelt and realistic. I felt as if the student really understood the meaning of this assignment, they understood why they chose the person they did and how it has applied to his life stature. I chose this student because it was the most appropriate. This person was not afraid to take a stance in his or her letter. This person explained their duties as a student and their duties as a typical human. Musa, please read one of our entry letters."
Musa smiled and waved to her graduating class. She took Mrs. Faragonda's place in front of the podium. Quickly, she grabbed the manila envelope resting adjacent to the microphone. She tore away the top piece and opened it, shuffling the few papers in it around.
She took one hand and tapped in the microphone, grasping the entire attention of every senior. She took a deep breath and began to speak. "Hello, as many of you know, the assignment our professors had us do a few weeks ago, returns today. Each year, one assignment is picked to be read to the seniors. It applies to what we have learned and how it changes us, just like Mrs. Faragonda said moments ago. Today, it would be my honor to read this letter. I hope as I read this, each of you take in these words. I want us all to really understand this letter and how it applies to all of us.
Musa paused and stared at the title of the letter. Her eyebrows wrinkled up and she gripped the paper with her hands. Because the entire senior student body was watching and a few of the teachers, she smiled to mask the nervousness and uneasiness she was feeling. "It's called, Shut Up and Dance With Me" by Riven Harrington.
Senior year was by far the best and worst year of my life. How did I come to this decision? It's an interesting notion to understand the transition of how high school works. We come into this ladder standing at the bottom, staring up to the top. The top seemed so far away at that time, but now here we are. We are at the top and we are about to climb an even bigger ladder. What we thought was so hard to climb, turned out to be so easy. At least for me it was. Each year one class leaves, we move up and a class below us moves up. The lower classes become the lowest on the totem poll and we just keep raising the bar. As complex as we make it, it really is a simple philosophy.
The ladder metaphor does get messy and complex because we make it that way. Fortunately, I had an easy time climbing the ladder. I made the soccer team my freshman year. Sophomore year I took a senior's place to be goalie due to his extensive injury. Due to my success as an athlete, I quickly moved up the social ladder. We won runner up state champions my sophomore year. My junior year I was co-captian of the team. I was trained for my senior year and how to lead the team to victory. We divided and conquered the end of season my junior year as we took home the state championship. What more could I have asked for right? I had scouts watching me as a junior. They were rooting for me and I was rooting for them.
Looking back at my four years of high school, I would say I was fortunate to have three wonderful, enticing years here at Gardenia. My last year of high school, the year that is supposed to be the best of the best and trump all of the other years, was unfortunately not that. I felt as if I had hit a brick wall. The good life only lasts for so long. We are humans-real people with emotions, stories, and baggage. I was at the height of my roller coaster and unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the down ride until I was at a plateau level.
Everything was great at the start of the summer. I was out with my friends every weekend, my father had been remarried, and I was officially looking into colleges. That all sounds like the ideal life right? Two weeks into the school year, I got the most gut wrenching call a person could ever get. Nabu, my best friend since childhood was killed in a car accident. One night after he left my house, he was struck by a drunk driver. Unfortunately, neither of them survived the crash. It was a devastating story for both parties. It was that moment in my life when I realized how mortal we are. For awhile, I kept wondering if there was anything that I could have done. To this day, I still wish I hadn't invited him over. If it wasn't for me, he would still be alive, or at least I want to think so.
We come into this earth so naive, so immune to the real feelings that we can feel. Until we are faced with immortality, we don't realize how special and worthy our lives are. We only have one life and we should cherish it. They say everything happens for a reason and people are taken out of and placed into our lives for reasons. I didn't understand this at the time, but I now know why I was gifted with such an amazing companion for a few months.
Friday, September 25th: It was the day I quit the soccer team. Why did I quit the soccer team? I'll be the first to admit it. I was afraid. I was afraid of the future, I was afraid of playing my favorite game without my best friend and I was afraid of myself and what I could do. To avoid all of the hurt I was feeling, I quit. I quit playing the sport I loved for my own fears in life.
It was also the same day I ran into her. Coincidence? I think not. She was so full of energy and life. She didn't seem afraid of anything. It was suffocating at first. It was something I wasn't used to or hadn't been in awhile. I was-we were at the football house. Majority of my friends played football and I was really the only one, aside from Nabu to play soccer. Maybe it was because I was recruited to play soccer and I was never given the option to play football, I don't know. Either way, here I am at this house, with a drink in my hand and chilling with my friends. She comes dancing in the room. I have one last cup to rebuttal in our game of pong and she comes over and starts dancing around us.
If anyone knows me, you have to imagine how annoyed I was. She laughs and she chats it up with Sky and Brandon while she is dancing. In the midst of my shot, she quickly leans over the table and swats the pong ball back at me. I miss the ball and I don't even see where it goes. Brandon and Sky begin calling out stuff, I don't even remember what because I was so mesmerized by her.
She grins and asks, "What's wrong goalie? Didn't see that one coming."
I laugh. For the first time the entire day I laugh. She was unpredictable and daring and I had only came into contact with her for a few seconds. Before I can even respond, Walk The Moon's new debut comes on, "Shut Up and Dance With Me." I'll never forget that look on her face. It lights up and she gleams with excitement and angst. Before I knew what was happening, she grabs my arm. I go to protest and she yells, shut up and dance with me. Without further protest, I follow along. We dance for the entire song and she laughs and twirls the entire time. I decided that day she was enigmatic and I had to figure her out.
I don't see her for awhile. I looked for her a few days at class, but just like the rest of the world, she drifted into the back of my mind. So we flash forward to a month later. I'm sitting in my desk, frustrated at my Physics homework. I don't understand anything that we have learned since August. Professor Saladin comes to my desk and he hands me the tutor referral slip. I'll never forget the words he said to me, "You need her help. She can teach you a thing or two." Little did I know at that time, she taught me more than I could have ever imagined to learn. I am so far under my feet, I don't know how to pull myself up. So I take Saladin's advice. I go to see this "helpful tutor." I'm waiting outside the help desk, waiting for Musa Pennington, the woman's name who was scratched across the piece of paper.
Musa felt all eyes on hers and unwillingly, she continued to read Riven's essay.
I arrived a few minutes early and the girl appeared out of the tutor office with another student exactly at 2:00 pm. Ironically enough, the same girl who forced me to dancing with her also happens to be the girl who becomes my tutor. She acts like she doesn't know who I am, but I know she remembers.
It starts there.
Our first tutor session was a bit rough. I wasn't eager on being there and she was overly eager to help me succeed. That's an underlying trait that I learned Musa possesses. She's annoyingly smart and she has this drive to help others and make sure everyone is accounted for. As annoying as it was for me who didn't want to be there, I greatly appreciated all of her hard work. Without her, there are many students who wouldn't be in the good positions we are today.
One tutor session lead to another. We meet in the library, the student lounge, during our lunch periods, and even in the local coffee shops. She was always patient with me. I'll never forget whenever we met she was always singing. Every single song that came on the radio, wherever we were she seemed to know. She always had to fill me in with facts about how this genre was started or how this genre has changed. She was a walking Wikipedia for music. Whether or not I admitted it or not, I looked forward to hearing her sing. She has this passion for singing. Her face lights up and she gets this special look to her face, especially when it's one of her favorite songs on the radio.
Musa took a deep breath and paused. She took this moment to flip to the next page. She was not only embarrassed, mortified, but also in awe-stricken over the text. She briefly glanced into the crowd and all eyes were on her. She looked back down at the paper and continued reading.
Musa is a lot of things. She's a beautiful person, inside and out. She will help anyone and I mean anyone. It was around Christmas time and I was driving back home from the mall. She made me stop and pick up a homeless person and give them a ride almost an hour to their grandmother's home for the holidays. She was so genuine about it, while I was not. I was scared we were going to die and she was in my passenger seat offering this stranger Godiva chocolates and some of her extra money.
As nice and passionate as she is, she's stubborn and she has a hard exterior. She plays the tough card and she doesn't want anyone inside of her head. It wasn't until we got close that I really noticed Musa's reservation. When things became real, she panicked and so did I. One minute we are making a last minute trip to Grand Rapids for the weekend and the next she is avoiding me in the hallway. When everything ended between us, for whatever reason that was, we avoided each other in the hallway. We knew each other's schedule so well that we were so good at avoiding each other. I didn't see her in person for five weeks until we had an odd encounter in the hallway. Somehow, one of us messed up our routines and we collided into one another. Coincidence? I think not.
If I had to pick one phrase to describe the person who has impacted me the most during my last year of high school I would say, shut up and dance with me. Senior class, if you are ever in one of those "shut up and dance" situations. Do IT. The role of life isn't about what's at the end. It is and should be focused around the journey and all of the crazy dance moves in the middle. As we progress towards the end of journey here at Gardenia Heights, be sure to thank to everyone who has played an important role in your life, regardless if they are still involved or not. This is our last shot as making things right. Good luck to the class of 2015.
And as for Musa Pennington, she's the only girl I've ever loved.
Musa took a deep breath and clenched the assortment of papers into her hand. She blinked back the tears that stung the corner of her eyes. Everyone in the auditorium stood up and clapped their hands. Some of the them cheered while others conversed with themselves. She stared out into the crowd, scanning for one person in particular. She frowned, not finding the writer of the piece.
She placed her hands in the air and conducted everyone to be quiet. Once everyone was quiet again, she spoke into the microphone.
"Like many of you, I am speechless and in awe of this piece. This was a beautiful piece and I encourage each and everyone of you to take the chance to dance if you need too."
Chaos ensued and the crowd went wild again.
"And to the class of 2015, 'All of our dreams will come true if we have the courage to pursue them' (Walt Disney). Have courage, be kind and don't forget to tell someone to shut up and dance with them because it can make all the difference. I would like to take the time to thank my father, Riven Harrington, my local community, my teachers, classmates and everyone who has become my second family. I wouldn't be standing up here on the podium without you. I couldn't have had a better class to dance with these last four years," Musa gazed into the crowd and she gave one more nod as the auditorium burst into noise.
She slowly walked down the podium, surveying the crowd of students and teachers around her. "Good job Musa," Musa heard someone shout from the crowd. While she walked back to her seat, her eyes met with one magenta haired boy. He turned his head away from her and talked to Brandon and Sky who were standing next to him. It didn't go unnoticed by her that he clapped along with the rest of the class and he smiled when she had said his name.
...
"Alright girls, smile" Stella's mom yelled as the Musa, Stella, Bloom, Layla, Flora and Techna stood together, arms loosely wrapped around one another, smiling for one last picture together.
"Perfect," Stella's mom brought the camera away from her face. I will make copies for everyone at work tomorrow.
"It pays to have a mom who is a photographer," Stella laughed, taking her cap off of her head and fixing her hair with her right hand.
Musa eyed the crowd for father and his girlfriend. While looking for him, she eyed another person she was hoping to talk to before she left the after-ceremony. "Hey I'll be right back, I'm going to look for my father."
Musa scampered away from her friends before they could respond to her statement. Taking a detour to find her father, she approached the one and only Riven Harrington. He stood by himself, leaned up against one of the building's stone pillars away from the mass of students and their families.
"Riven," Musa began to say as she rocked back and forth of her heels.
"Musa, hey," Riven returned the conversation.
She paused and looked into his eyes and smiled, unsure of what to say, "Congratulations, you're going to do great at..." She paused, uncertain of where Riven decided to attend college.
"Actually, I'm not going to college. Not yet anyways. I'm going to go into the military instead. I made up my mind a few weeks ago," Riven turned his attention away from Musa and surveyed into the crowd, looking for someone else.
Musa noticed his shift in attention and she took a step away from him. Similar to the last few weeks, she felt like the invisible barrier was divided between her and him. The tension in the air was almost suffocating.
"Well good luck and stay safe," She smiled when he turned his head back and stared at her.
"Hey thanks. Good luck to you too. You're going to The Gardenia Institution of Music right? I heard from Brandon that you got accepted and was offered a full ride."
Musa shook her head, "Actually I'm not. I'm going to backpack around Europe with my cousin Roxy for awhile before I decide to commit to a college. I'm going to meet my birth mother in Italy."
Riven's eyes widened, not expecting that answer from Musa. He took a double take and stared at her. He had to process what she just said. "Wow, Europe? I never saw that coming and your birth mother? You're tackling a lot in one trip."
"If things go well, then I might make Europe my permanent home for awhile."
Suddenly, everything around Musa and Riven seemed nonexistent. All of the flash photography, shuffling of people and loud voices seemed to drift far away.
"You're going to be so far away," Riven trailed, unsure of where the conversation was going. Everything was happening so quickly, he wasn't able to process half of what was happening.
"I know," Musa began. She dug her heels into the grass and swayed back and forth.
"Wow," Riven breathed. He felt his heart clench tight. It was one thing for him to be leaving far away, but he would return. But Musa, she was moving far away and the chance of her returning home was unpredictable.
"It's because of you and I never got to say thank you for that. Riven you encouraged me to go find her and I have. You gave me the courage that I never thought I would have. So before you and I leave, I want to let you know that I appreciate everything you have done for me. Without you, I wouldn't be doing what I used to think was the impossible.
Riven looked down at the ground, not saying anything back.
"Before you say anything, I just want you to know that I wrote about you too. You were the most profound person I've met my entire life and I wouldn't change that for anything," Musa leaned in towards Riven and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hug.
Riven took a deep breath and warmed up to the hug. He wrapped his arms around her, just like he had done so many times before. He took in her scents for one last time. Her hair smelled of Aussie hairspray and her skin smelled of Chanel 5.
He wasn't for sure of how long they were standing there for hugging but he held onto her, knowing that he wouldn't get one more chance. "Thank you Musa..."
"Are you going to dance with the next person that tells you to shut up and dance?" Musa questioned, still holding onto Riven tightly.
Riven leaned his head towards her ear, "God, I hope not. I don't think I can do that," Riven breathed, "this again."
Musa nodded her head as the words were whispered into her ears. She understood, oh God she understood. Musa began to pull away from the hug and Riven's hands slid across her body, sending shivers up her spine. The two parted from each other, except Riven hung onto her hand with his. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment.
"Thank you Musa, you've been the best thing to ever happen to me and I mean it," Riven stared hard into her eyes.
"Stay safe Riven," Musa began to pull her body away from his. It felt like one slow motion to the two of them.
"You too Musa," Riven felt her fingers slowly slide out of his for one last time. He held onto his breathe and watched her as she turned around to walk away.
I've had this written since May, I just wasn't for sure if I wanted to post it or not. God I'm such a sap for Musa and Riven. If I ever have time, I might make a prequel story to this one-shot. I felt like this one-shot was getting too long. I should have made it into a two-shot or a three shot.
Anyway, I always enjoy reviews/feedback.