Rachel POV
"I'm so proud of you." Jennifer said as soon as I walked out of my room in my cap and gown.
"Thanks." I tried to dodge Jennifer coming at me with lip gloss. "Honestly, Jennifer, I don't need to reapply that stuff every fifteen minutes."
"Just keep it in your purse or something." She sighed, handing over the tube. I put it in my small clutch and followed Angelina, Jennifer, and Emma out to the car. We drove out to Will Rogers High School and met up with the Curtis family.
"You look nice." I commented, observing all my boyfriend's cords and medals. Sodapop gave Jennifer a hug and a peck on the lips.
"So do you. Come on, we should go inside and line up." Ponyboy said, grabbing my hand and leading me into the school. The process of lining up took a while, even though we had done it three times before during the rehearsal and were told to memorize the people directly in front of and behind us. Finally, I could hear the first few measures of Pomp and Circumstance, and I knew it was time to start walking.
We listened to speeches from the superintendent, Principal, and Vice Principal. They were the classic you have your whole future ahead of you speeches and I didn't listen that closely to them.
"And now, the class valedictorian, Ponyboy Curtis, is going to say a few words." I watched as Ponyboy emerged from the wings of the stage, and stood up at the podium.
"We stand here today on the precipice of the future. It's not a distant reality anymore. It begins here. It begins today. We began high school as children, but we're leaving here as adults. We've completed a basic education that will serve as the platform we use to launch ourselves into our futures. Some of us will go on to college, others will go straight into the workforce, but each of us will travel our own path. No matter where we go or what we do, there are challenges ahead of us. What I'm asking from each of you, and from myself, is to meet those challenges straight on with your head held high and your heart wide open. It's not enough to simply try to get by in life. That doesn't move the world forward. You must try to excel in everything you do; strive for excellence in every task, large or small. Although it may not be easy to see, every accomplishment you achieve is added to the world's accomplishments. Your individual successes benefit society as a whole because when you succeed, you lighten the burden on your fellow man. When you succeed, you are in a position to give rather than take. Imagine if every individual lived up to his or her own potential. Think about how amazing that would be, and how much better off the world would be. Now imagine if just half of those individuals lived up to their potential. The world would still be an awesome place. If even 1/4 of those individuals worked to make their lives successful, they could still make some amazing contributions to society. Well, we may not have the power to inspire the entire world to strive for success, but we do have the power to try to achieve it for ourselves. My challenge to each of you, and to myself, is to do all that you can do to reach your full potential. If each of the two hundred students in this graduating class is able to do that, just imagine the effect that would have. The future is truly in our hands, so let's make the most of it. Thank you." Ponyboy waited for the applause to end and then took his seat.
"And now we will listen to a few words from the salutatorian..." I had stopped listening again, and my nerves came to an all time high. Finally, it was time to receive our diplomas, and I listened as Mr. Minier read off our names.
" . . . Leah Cisco . . . Ponyboy Curtis . . ." I could hear clapping behind me, and someone whistled. Probably Sodapop. "Alexandra Jackson. . ." Finally, I got out of my seat and stood back stage. "Adam Smith . . . Rachel Raye . . ." I walked across the stage and received my diploma. I shook hands with the superintendent, principal, and vice principal, and then walked off stage.
"Congratulations Class of 1967." We all threw our caps into the air, some of us caught them, but others probably will be looking for theirs for a while. We all walked back up the aisle to Pomp and Circumstance and I walked straight into Angelina's embrace.
"Congrats Grad!" She said happily as we hung back with Sodapop and Darry while they waited for Ponyboy. After everyone was gathered, we got back into our cars and drove to the Curtis's house.
When we walked to the backyard, there were blue and gold streamers and balloons everywhere. On a table was some food and a large cake that said Congratulations Rachel and Ponyboy.
I went inside and quickly changed into jeans and a t-shirt and returned outside. My friends and the Curtis's were gone, probably changing as well.
"Congratulations!" Two-Bit said hugging me and lifting me in the air.
"Can't breathe." I gasped.
"Oh sorry." He said, putting me down, and immediately ran over to the food table. I grabbed some of the fruit and ate it as I waited for everyone else to come back out. All of us sat in the grass and ate. Jennifer was sitting on Sodapop's lap and they were sharing a plate. Angelina and Johnny were sitting together on a blanket and sharing off of each other's plates, but they were not as openly affectionate and Jennifer and Sodapop. Emma was basically guarding her plate from her boyfriend, who occasionally tried to take a bite of her food. The rest of us just ate like normal people, with our own food on our own plates.
"Hey, look what I found." Steve pulled a football out of the bushes.
"Awesome lets play." Ponyboy said. He turned back to me. "Rachel, want to join?"
"Always." I said, brushing myself off and standing next to Ponyboy. We all divided off into teams, even Jennifer decided to join us.
"Jennifer!" Steve called as he passed her the ball. She started running, hands ready to catch the ball. She reached her hands up, about to touch the ball.
"Jennifer watch out for that..." Angelina called, however it was too late. Jennifer flipped over the table and food went flying. The punch bowl flew up in the air and spilled its contents all over her, staining her white t-shirt pink. The bowl landed on her head, and she was absolutely covered in food.
"... Table." Angelina sighed as we all ran over to Jennifer.
"Jennifer?" Sodapop lifted the bowl off her head and crouched in front of her.
"I caught it." She said, raising the ball triumphantly, surprised at herself.
"Cool, but do you need medical attention or something?" Jennifer shook her head and tried to get up. She slipped in the punch soaked grass and fell back on the ground. Sodapop lifted her up and began carrying her away from the table. "I think you've had enough." As Sodapop carried her away, she tossed the ball back to Steve.
"You sure you're all right?" He asked, holding the ball.
"I'm fine." She laughed.
We continued with our game as Jennifer walked inside to clean up. After it got dark, we all laid under the stars together and told stories to each other. Slowly, one by one, we all drifted off to sleep.