Chapter 2: Graduation

Sitting in homeroom, Summer and all the senshi, except Rei and the outers, were talking amongst each other. "Isn't it sad that Rei can't join us for graduation?" Summer asks, her head resting on her desk.

"I guess it's pretty sad, but at least we'll still all graduating and no one has to be held back." Makoto said, a cheery tone in her voice.

Summer looks at Makoto a tad bit confused. "How do know if Rei is graduating?"

Makoto holds up her cell phone while smirking. "She texted me of course. How else would I know? Mindreading?"

Everyone laughed at Makoto's remark. "I wish I could mind read!" Usagi started. "If I could mind read I would keep reading Ami's mind and have the best marks in the class!"

Minako's laughter slowly died off. "Yeah, but what would you do when Ami leaves for America and you need to help your brother?"

"Why would I help that brat? He's always so rude to me...just like Chibiusa!"

Summer smiled at the conversation the two blondes were having. "If only they knew that I really can read minds. Of course sometimes it's not the best thing to be able to do." She kept thinking of all the fights her parents would get in over their mind reading abilities and sighed.

Ami looked at Summer when she heard her sigh. "Is something the matter Summer?"

Summer looks up and Ami and smiles. "Nothing at all. I just really want to ceremonies to starts soon! I so want to get out of here as fast as possible and start summer vacation!"

"Don't we all?" Seiya said as he passed a rice ball to everyone. "Sitting here is just wasting time that I could be relaxing in the sun."

"Don't forget about practice Seiya." Yaten chimed in with a rather annoyed tone. "I hate having to waste time sitting here while they set up the gym. Why couldn't they do that last night?"

"Speaking of last night..." Taiki mumbled before taking a bite of the rice ball.

"Oh really? Don't bring that up. It might scare a certain dumpling." Seiya said with a sneer on his face as he looked towards Usagi.

Looking only slightly anoyed by being called a dumpling, Usagi looked back and forth between Seiya and Taiki. "Why? What was it? Oh wait...don't tell me if it's too scary!"

Yaten yawned, the conversation boring him and him still being half asleep because of the early morning wake up session the group was now talking about. "It was just Taiki imagining things. And of course he had to wake us up just to prove he was right..."

"But I'm telling you both I saw a shadow and something creeped up on us!" Taki said before sighing. "There was someone in the house and maybe when I turned on the lights I scared them away, but I'm not just imagining it."

"G-Ghost! It must've been a ghost!" Usagi said, going pale and clinging onto Minako since she was sitting right next to her.

Summer had to try to keep in her laughs the entire time. She knew that Usagi didn't quite like her as much as she wanted her to. Laughing would mess that up. And besides, if she laughed, she would be ruining the plan.

"Usagi, calm down. There are no such things as gh-" Ami started to say in order to calm Usagi down when an announcement came on.

"All graduates, please report to the gym. The ceremonies will begin shortly. I repeat, All graduates, please report to the gym. The ceremonies will begin shortly." Once the secretary had hung up the intercom voice box, everyone in the class stood up and proceeded towards the gym.

"Oh I'm so excited!" Minako said, practically jumping out of her seat and running towards the door.

"I still find the graduation here to be a little strange..." Summer said, thinking back to her previous school. "I mean, why are we only wearing the school uniform? Back at my old school we had these robes covering our clothing that were the school colors."

"They typically do that in the west." Ami started to explain to the other, hoping to get one last lesson in before school had officially ended. "Although Japan has started wearing more westernized clothes, we still prefer wearing the school uniforms as a farewell to the school."

Usagi moans and playfully slaps Ami's shoulder. "No! No more lessons please! School is supposed to be over!" Summer now had to laugh, but only slightly as all the graduates were lining up in front of the door to the gym, getting ready to enter and start the ceremony. All the students were placed in a line alphabetically according to their last names.

The school band started playing now as the doors were opened. The graduates all sat down and waited for the band to stop playing. Once the song they were playing was done, the principal walked up to the platform. "Welcome to the graduation of the 2007 class of Juuban Municipal High School. Would you please stand for the singing on the national anthem, sung by our own Miss. Aino."

All the people present stand up and Minako starts to sing the National Anthem when the school band plays the music. "Kimigayo wa, Chiyo ni yachiyo ni. Sazareishi no, Iwao to narite, Koke no musu made."

After the theme was sung, the handing out of diplomas had begun. Minako was the first one of the group to be called up. Summer had to hold in her laughs as Minako tried to take the microphone in order to say her acceptance speech. The Principal was basically had to wrestle her for the microphone back before the ceremonies could continue.

Next was Summer. She just took her diploma, shook the Principal's hand and walked off stage. She had no reason to smile for a picture. Her parents weren't in the audience and besides, they really didn't care if Summer was graduating. Her mother wasn't the most proud of her. That's why she was doing everything she could to get on her parent's good side.

The next to get their diploma was Makoto. She was like Summer, no parents in the crowd. Of course that's because her parents had died. Her friends were there in the group though, so she smiled happily for them, getting a picture for her boyfriend, Motoki Furuhata.

After Makoto, the Kou brothers had their diplomas awarded to them. Seiya was first and everyone, even the other graduates were cheering super loud for him. Why wouldn't they though? He was the lead singer of a famous band, Three Lights. When Taiki got his diploma, Ami had waved to him. She liked sticking to the rules of a graduation and she knew you were not supposed to make noise if you were a student. Everything was so strict. Yaten, when he got his award, was greeted by swooning sounds from the girls in the crowd.

Next to graduate was Ami. She was given an award worth 10 000 yen for having the highest marks in the school. She looked over the crowd for her mother, not seeing her. She must've been working, but she still smiled for the picture since it was customary.

The last of the group to graduate was Usagi. She practically ran up to the stage , yanked the diploma out of the Principal's hand and waved excitedly to her family. Summer had looked away from Usagi, trying not to think about how idiotic she was acting. "Only a month...only a month...I can get through it..." she thought to herself as Usagi posed for her picture in a Sailor V type fashion and ran back down to the seats.

Next came the long winded speeches. All the students tried their hardest to stay awake but considering it was only 10:30 in the morning, and the excitement of them graduating had settled down after the diplomas were given, this was proving to be a difficult task. At least Taiki had something to look forward to. He was the valedictorian and had to give on of the long speeches. Sumer, being extremely bored, decided she would have some fun.

"It has been a long three years and a short three years. Long because of all the drama, bad homework, early-morning extra credit projects, and all the other little humiliating moments that hit us in high school." Taiki had started to say. Summer smiled as she heard what Taiki had said next. "I really hated this school and everything that happened through the three years. Especially when I would have to rehearse with my band after school. It got in the way of my school work, which was completely useless. The teachers here all smell and I could teach better then them. The only reason I become a valedictorian is because I'm famous. Hell, even if an idiot like Usagi Tsukino was more famous then I, she would be up here giving a speech. So I guess I just wanted to say, this school is full of posers who need to stich their mouths shut to keep in their bullshit." Taiki then walked off the stage and all the audience looked appalued, even though Summer was laughing on the inside. She loved having the same powers as her parents. It really made boring times like this much better.

Because of the proper etiquette that the school had to uphold, the teachers had to pretend like what Taiki had said never happened. "All rise." The homeroom teachers said in unison as Minako started singing the closing song for the ceremony. After the song was sung, the school band continued playing an instrumental of Auld Lang Syne while the graduates were led out of the gym and sent back to their homeroom for extra pictures and farewells.