Hey guys, sorry for the long wait. It took longer than anticipated, because if you notice it's longer than normally. Hope you enjoy, and to everybody that have been PMing me suggestions, thanks for all of your awesome ideas. Some, I cant use because I'm trying to stay true to the anime, but at the same time I'm making it different. Anyhow, hope you enjoy!
Author's Note: Okay so before you read this chapter, things regarding college, keep in mind I'm only a teen. I haven't applied for college yet, so I don't really know how it works so much. Unrealistic things such as everybody going to the same college, I understand that can never happen in real life. This is fanfiction…some things don't have to be realistic. :)
Chapter 9:
My face was clear in shock, my mouth gaping, my eyes wide. There was a long moment of silence in that kitchen, nobody knowing what to do.
"Stella, get of me" Brandon whispered, in an angered manner, trying to comose himself again.
I slid of his back, blushing deeply. As I slid off, I fell to on my but! I scrambled up, flattening out my clothing then smiling sheepishly at the college board executive.
"Umm…hello sir, my name is Stella Solaria….the 3rd!" I cried out that last part, hoping to sound as official as I could
"Ms. Solaria, my name is Ronald Klark, I'm from Princeton University" He said, shaking my hand
"Nice to meet you" I said, my nerves beginning to fade
"Ms. Solaria, we at Princeton University would love to see you join us this fall" Ronald said
I heard Brandon gasp silently.
"I'm confused" I said
"No surprise there" Sammy mumbled under his breath
"We heard about your phenomenal increase in test scores, that's what we like to see in students, a yearn to achieve greatness"
I cleared my throat awkwardly
"Brandon, what does yearn mean" I whispered silently
Brandon smacked his forehead with his palm
"Let me get this straight, YOU want to give THAT an academic scholarship to an ivy league school?" Sammy asked
"Shhh, Sammy, go upstairs" Melanie whispered to her son, who didn't listen
"Well, it's not exactly an academic scholarship" Mr. Klark said
We all looked at him
"Huh?" We all said together
"It's an art scholarship. We've seen your work and it is phenomenal. You're clearly very focused on making it a career of yours. It is quite a talent" He said
I narrowed my eyes
"How did you see my drawings? Honestly, how do you even know me? I never applied to your collage" I said, trying to make it sound as nice as possible
"What are you talking about? You applied 2 months ago" He said, confused
"What are you talking about?" I asked
He went into his briefcase, taking out a few sheets of paper
"See, you applied, and you sent in some of your art work" He said
He handed me the papers, and sure enough on the top line it said Stella Solaria, in a VERY familiar looking hand writing. Hell, I'd know this forgery anywhere!
"Musa" I mumbled under my breath
"Is there a problem Ms. Solaria?" Ronald asked
"N..no. Not at all" I said shaking my head
"So, what do you say, would you like to come attend Princeton. On the grounds of course that you maintain at least a C, and of course that you continuously attend all of our art and literature classes" He said
I looked up at my father with a questioning glance.
"I think it's a good idea Stell" My Dad said encouragingly
"Well….I'd like to think about it, if that's okay?" I said, keeping my cool. If I explode with happiness, I'll look unprofessional.
"Alright, just remember, full scholarship, all expenses paid for" He said before leaving.
He shook hands with everybody, then went to the door.
"Oh and Mr. Sheilds, hopefully we'll be seeing you this fall as well?" Ronald said
"Yes sir" Brandon said, sounding like a grown up.
Once I saw his car leave, I burst.
"Oh my god!" I screamed jumping up and down
"Yay! Now Brandon and Stella don't have to split!" Melanie cried, jumping around like I was
I stopped jumping
"What?!" Brandon and I screamed together
"You guys can share Brandon's apartment! This is going to be so great!" She said giggling
"Oh I don't think so!" I said, blushing
"Yeah, with all this money she's saving on tuition I think she can get her own place" Brandon snapped
I was about to fire back but then my phone started ringing.
"Hey!" I cried happily into my cell phone
"OhmygoshStella!" An ecstatic Musa screamed
"Breath through your words Muse" I said laughing
"Get this! Tecna and Bloom said that if they tutored us, we'll all have to apply for Princeton. When we sent in our applications, it was more of a joke. Like as if any of us could get in. I even sent one in for you,"
"Yeah I know, dude, we are gonna talk about that one later" I said
She laughed
"Let me finish! So then after Tecna and Bloom got their acceptance letters, so did Flora and Layla…and then I suddenly felt like it wasn't a joke. So I took it apon myself to get you and I in. Now I know this sounds really crazy, but I marched on into that office, and I showed them your paintings, talking about why we should get it even though we're idiots and you have to be smart to get in. Apparently, I was a good public speaker, because they let me in! I'm in! I'm in!" Musa cried
"No freaking way! I just got a freaking scholarship! You're a freaking genius!" I screamed
"I freaking know! We're saying freaking too much!" She cried
We laughed
"You know what this means right?" She asked
"What?" I asked
"We get to dorm in collage, and get that collage experience we always talked about when we were kids" She said
I smiled brightly
"A they say dreams DON'T come true" I said with a snort
She laughed
"I'll talk to you later, my parents said that they had some kind of a surprise for me for getting into collage" She said excitedly
"I'm so happy for you Muse, congratulations" I said
"You too! These 2 idiots just graduated from morons, to not morons!" She cried
I laughed, then hung up
"Hold on, they got accepted too? What is this?!" Sammy exclaimed, throwing his arms up to the sky
"Shut up Sammy. Guess what, we're all going to dorm" I said with a smile
"Yes!" Brandon exclaimed
"Why are you so happy?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him
"Because, now I don't have to deal with you anymore" He said smugly
"Brandon, why cant you just be happy for me? Just this once?" I asked
Before we knew it, our graduation ceremony was approaching. We had to go to the school to do a practice every day, a week before graduation. Brandon, of course, was valedictorian. The day before the graduation ceremony, Ms. Hudson had come up to me and, proudly, told me I'd be making a speech! After word got around about my scholarship, which I happily accepted, people were really…shocked. Trying hard not to take that offensively….
It was the day before the graduation ceremony, I had my outfit set, I had my speech all done, only 1 thing left to do.
Gloat to Brandon.
"Hey Brandon" I said, stepping into his bedroom
"What?" He asked in an annoyed tone, not looking up from his book
I danced over to him happily
"Guess who's giving the speech tomorrow" I said smiling
"Me" He said eyeing me weirdly
"No, I am. Ms. Hudson told me today" I said confused
Brandon put his book down and stood up.
"No, Ms. Grizelda told me I'd be making the speech after she told me I was valedictorian" randon said
"No, I am"
"No, Iam"
"No! I am!"
"No! I am!"
"NO! I AM!"
"NO! I AM!"
"Actually, you both are"
We looked toward the door, seeing Melanie, a bright smile on her face.
"What are you talking about, mom?" Brandon asked
"The school just called asking if you 2 finished the speech yet"
"We? Us? 2? NO!" Brandon screamed
"Thanks man, really feeling the love" I murmured
"Just write the speech together" Melanie said
"Wait! I already wrote my speech though!" I exclaimed
Brandon huffed
"Let's see it" Brandon said
I smiled
"Fine"
I started to feel in my pockets
"Could have sworn I put it in my pockets…oh!" I reached into my shoe pulling out the crumpled piece of paper
"Why was it in your shoe?" Brandon asked giving me a weird look
"So I don't loose it, duh. And I'm supposed to be the airhead" I said with a snort
Brandon rolled his eyes, then motioned for me to give it to him. I handed it to Brandon with a smile.
"It's a good one" I said
Brandon opened up the paper, then looked at me.
"Stella"
"Yes?"
"There's only 1 word on here!" Brandon exclaimed
"What word?" Melanie asked with a laugh
Brandon turned the paper around for Melanie to see
"Goodbye" Brandon said
Melanie and I started laughing
"Oh come on Brandon, it'll be funny! Musa told me to do it" I said
"Well Musa's a bigger idiot than you are. I don't intend to make a fool of myself tomorrow, so we are going to write a real speech" Brandon said, pushing his mother out and shutting the door behind him
"A real speech? Why cant we just wing it?" I asked, collapsing on his bed
"Wing it? You cant just wing a speech" Brandon said
"Why not?" I asked
"Because have you seen yourself under pressure? You're horrible" Brandon said
I glared
"Brandon, Brandon, Brandon, sometimes you just got to go with the flow. See, this is why I'm the one with the scholarship" I said shaking my head
"Shut up. Now come on, we are writing this speech" He said, and without an effort, he pulled me off the bed and to his desk
"Fine! God, your pushy" I said crossing my arms
We sat down together at his desk and wrote the speech. It took 3 hours, most of it was Brandon doing all the work and me either eating, doodling, or singing….then being told to shut up.
"Finally, we're done" I sighed, sitting back, staring at our work of beauty.
"Good, now practice reading it" He said
I rolled my eyes, then looked at the speech, reading through the lines.
"Brandon, I don't know what half these words even mean" I said
"Okay, how did you get this scholarship?" Brandon asked, putting his head in his hands
I shrugged with a smile
"I have a talent, and they recognized it" I said
"Anybody can pick up a pencil and draw" He said rolling his eyes
"Yeah? Let's see what you got" I said handing him a pencil and crossing my arms with a smirk
He took it and drew a…well I'm honestly not sure what it was
"What…what is it?" I asked
"A rabbit" He said, as if it weren't obvious
I broke out in laughter
"A rabbit? And since when does a rabbit have 7 legs and what's that thing sticking out of its butt?" I asked
"His tail"
I broke out into another fit of giggles.
"Okay so I'm not a great drawer, who cares?"" He said, setting the pencil down and crossing his arms stubbornly
"Yes! I can do something you cant! I cant do something you cant!" I sung dancing around
"Whatever" He said emotionlessly laying on his bed
I put my fist up to him imitating a fake microphone
"So Mr. Sheilds, what does it feel like to not be able to do something that Stella Solaria can do?" I asked in a talk show hostish voice
He glared
"Get out of my room"
I marched to the door, taking the speech with me.
"You're so annoying!"
I shut the door, going into my room across the hall. Tomorrow I would officially be a graduate! Honestly, I did NOT think I was going to make it this far!
I went into my closet, taking out my dress and admiring it's beauty. The top of it was a strapless black, sweet heart neckline. The black stopped mid waist, then it went out in very elegant red ruffles. It was perfect! It was fitted in all the right places. I spent months and months with my friends searching for just the right dress. I'll be wearing this to the graduation banquet afterwards. After the actual ceremony, we have a big banquet, then the next day we have real parties. The banquet is where everybody talks, and we have a big feast. I'm so excited! For the actual ceremony I'm wearing a cute flowy dress that had an open back…not that it mattered though because I'll be wearing my gown over it.
I looked in the mirror, putting the dress on top of my body. What if Brandon were to kiss me? That would be my first kiss.
I laughed to myself.
As if. As if that could ever happen, to me none the less. Brandon might kiss a girl, most guys do, symbolizing that they love their girls and want to stay with them forever. Some even confess their loves to people on the night of graduation. Magical things happen on graduation night, I wonder what wonders could happen to me. My mind drifted off into Stella fairytale world.
"Hey Stel-err…what are you doing?"
My eyes shot to the door where I saw Sammy lifting his eyebrow at me, a smirk on his face.
"Nothing!" I exclaimed, putting the dress on my bed
"What do you want you little twerp?" I asked. I'm usually not a mean person…not to sound conceited or anything…but with Sammy, it's a whole different ballgame. Sammy's not afraid to insult me, I'm not afraid to insult him back. It's the same with Brandon.
"I was just coming in here to wish you a good luck tomorrow" He said with an innocent smile…..too innocent.
Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrow.
"Okay seriously, what do you want?" I asked
"Honestly. I just wanted to tell you to do your best, and know that I'll be out there in the crowd, along with the 500 other people, watching you, listening to each and every one of your words" He said
Now I got it.
"Oh shut up! Get out!" I said pointing to the door
"Don't choke!" He cried just as I slammed the door behind him. I could hear his laughter from inside of my room.
Please, Sammy. He couldn't scare me if there were 14000 people in the crowd. I don't get nervous by those things…most of the time.
Either way, there is nothing stopping me from leaving that school with a bang. Everybody there knows me as the trouble maker. Do I hate that title….not really. But I want people to know that I can be smart too! I hate that people think I'm an idiot! I am SO not! They don't even know me!
I put my dress back in my closet, then changed into pajamas. I got in my bed, shutting my eyes. Nothing can ruin my graduation, nothing.
I woke the net morning extra early so I can do my hair. Most girls get it done professionally, but than again, most girls don't have a Melanie.
"Sweety, you will look dazzling!" Melanie exclaimed bringing in the blow dryer and the curling iron.
Melanie is the BEST at doing hair. She does hers everyday. My hair is naturally straight, so Melanie said she wanted to blow dry it out than add some curls for a cute bounce that I normally don't have. It came out really great, looking as professional as it gets. I put on my own make-up, because I'm actually really good with a make-up brush. I put on eyeliner, then mascara. I put on a light shade of eye shadow, so I don't look like a complete zombie. I put on cover up to hide a few zits, then I put on a very light coat of blush. I put red lip gloss on that made a perfect contrast with my pale skin.. I am the type of person that likes make-up, but I put on enough for it to look good, but not like a monster.
I went into my closet, then I found my dress. I slid it on from the bottom up because I didn't want to mess up my hair. I slid on my black high heeled shoes, then I looked into the mirror, smiling at my reflection.
Perfect.
Well….as perfect as it gets. Nobody in the world is perfect so I guess perfect isnt the world for it. How about….better than before! Yeah, that's how you describe the way I look, I look better than I originally do. Of course I don't usually walk around in a dress and high heeled shoes but…
"Oh Stella, you look stunning!" Melanie squeaked when I went downstairs. She looked like she was about to cry.
"Thanks!" I said with a laugh, hugging her.
"Stella, what are you….Woooaahhhhhhh!"
Sammy walked in and when he saw my face his face scrunched up.
"What's all over your face? You look like a…just gross!" Sammy said shaking his head in disgust. I know Sammy by now. I know the way he thinks. I know how to decode his talk. Gross is just the Sammy version of saying you look beautiful.
"Thanks, Sammy" I said sincerely
Brandon walked in wearing a crisp black tuxedo with an elegant tie. Oh god! He looked so good! Don't stare Stella, don't stare! He looked up at me and for a split second I saw his eyes open in a shocked way.
I blushed at deep red.
"Yeah…s..so let's go" I stuttered out
"Yeah" Brandon said snapping out of it
"No wait! I want pictures! Stella, you go first, then Brandon. Then I want one of you guys together" Melanie exclaimed, holding up her camera
"Not right now, Melanie. We'll be late if we don't hurry" Mr. Sheilds said, checking his watch
"Oh, alright. But when we get to the schools I want one of you 2 in your gowns" Melanie said, defeated. Our gowns were at the school. They were preordered, one for each graduate in the size they'd ordered.
Mr. Sheilds drove us all, Brandon, Sammy, Melanie, my Dad, and I, to the school. Brandon and I walked ahead to the gym where everyone was getting ready. I looked around and finally spotted Bloom and the girls.
"Guys!" I called getting their attention
"Hey!"
They ran to me and we all hugged
"You guys look really pretty" I complimented, nudging Tecna playfully
"You too" Flora said with a laugh
"Oh my gosh you guys. We're freakin graduating!" Musa said shaking us all
"I know! Just think, in 2 months from now we'll be partying it up, Princeton style!" I said, high fiving Musa
We all laughed happily, on our way to get our gowns. I finally found mine in the pile of gowns, putting it on. The white silky gown clung to my body nicely, and the cute matching little hat was set in the perfect spot. Bloom helped me put mine on, and I helped her with hers.
"Are you nervous?" Layla asked
"Not at all, Brandon made us prepare a speech" I said, like it was the stupidest idea in the world.
"Really? No offence Stell, but your not exactly a preparing kind of person" Tecna said
"Yeah, and what about that speech we talked about?" Musa asked
"I know. Brandon said I'd, and I quote, make a fool of myself" I said
Musa snorted
"Coming from him it must be true" Musa said sarcastically
"Yes. The great Brandon Sheilds knows everything, and anything" Bloom continued in her dramatic voice
We all laughed
"Students! Line up!" Ms. Grizelda said
The thing I will miss the least is old Ms. Grizelda
I got in line between Musa and Bloom. Across from us was the boys line. I don't know why, I guess it's habit, but I found my eyes roaming the line for Brandon. I finally found his alluring brown eyes connect with mine, and I quickly looked away, embarrassed. I looked up again only to see him rolling his eyes, shaking his head in an annoyed way.
Suddenly, the classic graduation music started. Each student walked out in pairs, 1 boy, 1 girl. I found myself suddenly praying, please let me walk down with Brandon. I don't know why, but I feel like if we walk down together it'll be like a sign that we're meant for each other. To my dismay, I ended up walking down with John! Blech! Don't get me wrong, he was a very good looking guy…just his personality….
He looked over at me and smiled, with a blush. I looked away quickly. Oh good god, please tell me this isn't happening.
Then I saw Melanie, and she took me right out of my misery. Melanie was standing with the video camera in her hands, waving frantically, giving me a thumbs up. I smiled brightly at them. My dad had tears in his eyes! Tears!
I smiled at him
Then I looked over at Sammy, who had his eyes closed, and his hands around his neck. His mouth was mouthing, "choke! Choke!"
I glared at him, making him giggle.
I finally made it to my chair and took my seat between Musa and Bloom. The ceremony began with teacher, after teach making speeches, boring, boring speeches. With the exception of Ms. H, the only cool teacher in this school. Her speech consisted of instead of talking about all the stuff we learned, she talked about, as she said, "What really mattered", she talked about us! Her students! She talked about happy memories she had with us, and about how she feels like we're her babies going off into the real world. Musa started crying a little bit, and I was on the verge. She's really one in a million. You'll never find a teacher as good as Ms. H.
"We would like to invite Brandon Sheilds, our valedictorian to the podium" Ms. Grizelda said
Everybody cheered for their favorite student….especially girls….urrrghhhh….
"And our scholarship graduate, Stella Solaria" People started to clap…but then they gasped! GASPED!
"Yeah, that's right!" I said to all of them then, with a shrug, I walked up to the stand, doing a little happy dance on the way.
"Err…yeah! Stella!" Musa called
I smiled at her, as the crowd joined in clapping.
Brandon walked up too, meeting me by the podium.
"Where's the speech?" He whispered to me
"I don't know, you said you were bringing it" I whispered back
"No I specifically said, Stella, bring the speech, I mean seriously! Do you listen to like every other word I say?" He whispered angrily
"Screw it, I'm winging it. Watch and learn, buddy" I said
"Oh crap.." Brandon said palming his face
I turned the small microphone towards me.
"Fellow classmates, teachers, principle Grizelda" I said
"Highschool is a…journey" I said making it up as I went along
"With uhh..with twists and turns, and you know…surprises. I mean who'd have thought a class C student would be up here giving this speech today, am I right?" I said pointing to myself
The crowd laughed. Sweet! I was doing a good job!
"And I mean, did we have the best principle? No. Did we have the best teachers? Unless you were in Ms. Hudson's class, nope. Did we have any fun here what so ever except for if you were in class C, not a chance! So basically, what I am trying to say is.." I paused trying to think of what exactly it WAS that I was trying to say
Everybody in the crowd was laughing, obviously entertained.
"Stella, stop" Brandon said out loud
"No way, I'm on a roll here" I said with a smile, nodding my head
"No you're not, you're making a fool of yourself" He said accusingly
"Yeah, I'm the one making a fool of themselves? Am the one that forgot the speech?" I asked, my voice slightly rising
"It's not my fault, it's yours!" He yelled, losing his cool guy attitude
"Brandon, you're such a know it all!" I screamed at him
Everybody was watching our quarrel
"Me? What about you little ms. Oooooo! Look at me! I got a scholarship, because I know how to doodle!" He said in a mockingly high pitched voice, using his hands for emphasis
"At least I got a scholarship!"
"Yes, for doing absolutely nothing! You ditched class to do who knows what almost every day, you caused trouble throughout the school, and you made opprobrious catastrophes" He said
I paused for a second
"You have no idea what I just said, do you?" Brandon asked
I looked down, shaking my head sheepishly.
"Well…who cares! Nobody human uses the words oprobus" I said disgusted
"It's opprobrious" He said pronouncing the word correctly
He rolled his eyes
"I've worked my ass off for 4 years, I'm the one that tutored you and got you number 2, and I'm the one who had to put up with you for the last 8 months! Face it Stella, you are NOTHING without me!" He screamed
I got really mad, my fists balling up at my sides
"You arrogant, know it all, conceited, little jerkwad!" I screamed
"Jerkwad isnt a word!" He yelled back
"Auugghhhh!" I lunged at him and we started rolling on the floor fighting. I punched him and kicked at him, and he did the exact same to me. Everybody was watching in horror/amusement.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Get off each other!" Musa, Bloom, and 2 of Brandon's friends, I think their names were Riven and Sky came up and tried to pull us off each other. They were unsuccessful though
"BRANDON SHEILDS! STELLA SOLARIA! STOP THIS NONCENSE AT ONCE!" Melanie screamed getting on stage
We both paused, wide eyed. Melanie looked extremely scary. Her eyes were wide, and there was a vain popping out of her neck from screaming. If looks could kill…I'd be dead right now. Musa, Bloom, and the 2 guys stepped to the side quickly, frightened too.
"Stella!" Melanie screamed. She's never yelled at me before, this was a whole new leaf for us.
"Eeeep!" I yelped running behind Brandon for protection
"Brandon started it" I exclaimed
"Stella, you sound like a 6 year old" Brandon told me
"I'm okay with that," I said crouching behind him for cover
"Stttooooppppp!"
Everybody's heads turned to the tall blonde that made his way up the stage.
John Freeman.
Not this! Not now! Not in front of all of these people!
"Stella Solaria! Marry me!" John screamed, his blue eyes baring into mine
Everybody in the crowd started laughing as my face turned bright red. I looked at him in a horrified way. I cleared my throat, feeling like I was about to cry from embarrassment. Melanie was looking at me with wide eyes, along with Brandon because of John's sudden outburst. I turned the mic to me, clearing my throat.
"And in conclusion I would like to say to the graduating class of 2012…see ya!" I screamed before jumping off the stage and running as fast as I could in high heels. 5 other people came running behind me, and I knew who they were. I ran down the halls, already feeling the tears pick up. I ran right into the girl's bathroom.
"Oh god, oh god, oh god" I was panicking as an endless parade of tears fell down my face. I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms, crying.
"Stella!"
I looked toward the door and saw Bloom, Flora, Musa, Layla, and Tecna ran in concerned.
I turned my head, trying to block out the fact that I was crying. There was no fooling them though. Musa hugged me from behind, turning me around.
"It's okay" She soothed
"That was so embarrassing!" I cried
"No, honestly, it wasn't that bad" Tecna tried
"Okay let's review, shall we? I LITERALLY fought with Brandon, until his mother scared the living day lights out of me, then crazy John proposed? Like what the hell?" I asked
They were silent, thinking of what to say.
"Well…on the bright side, I got that Sky's number" Bloom said holding up a piece of paper
Everybody looked at her like, now is not the time.
"Okay, it's bad when you say it like that, but from our point of view, it was more funny than embarrassing" Flora said with a warm smile
I laughed, wiping away my tears
"Oh it's a good thing I wore waterproof mascara" I said
They all laughed
"Stella, listen to me. You walk in there and get your well deserved diploma with your head held high" Layla said
I nodded, finally understanding how foolish I was being.
"Yeah…yeah! You're right!" I said
"Now come on, let's go get our freaking diplomas so we can go to college and guess what? When we're in college, none of this will matter" Musa said
I nodded, feeling motivated.
"Yeah! Let's do this thing!"
The 5 of us walked in there with our heads held up high, not taking a second glance at anybody. I walked up to John Freeman, who looked at me hopefully.
"Okay, look. Either you have to leave me alone, or quit it" I said. I turned on my heels, then went to my seat, feeling better.
"Well…this sure is a…memorable day…am I right?" Ms. Grizelda said, trying to make a joke
Nobody laughed.
She sighed.
"When I call your name please come up and take your diploma, then go sit down" Grizelda said
"Bloom Sparks"
"Layla Tides"
"Tecna Zenith"
"Musa Melody"
"Flora Linphea"
"Stella Solaria"
I took a deep breath, then I stood up and walked up to the podium.
Ms. Grizelda grimaced when she saw me.
"Thanks dude" I said. I took the diploma from her, then saluted her, making her glare
I went back to my seat with a grin.
"Brandon Sheilds"
Brandon went up and shook Ms. Grizelda's hand. He took his diploma, earning lots of claps from the audience. Shocking! Shocking how even after all that, Brandon still has so many errr…fans? Well, I guess if you're as good looking as that what truly is on the inside means just about nothing. Brandon proves my point completely.
Ms. Grizelda finished calling everybody's names, then smiled. I've never seen her smile before. I wonder if it was because she'd never have to see us again…
"Congradulations, class of 2012!"
We all moved our tassels from the left side to the right side.
We all screamed, throwing our caps in the air. I screamed, hugging the girls. We were all hugging and jumping up and down in a circle.
"Ahhh, Stella!" Melanie came and hugged me
I smiled, hugging her back
"Sorry for before. I was just…"
"Why are you sorry, Mel? I was the one that ruined the evening…" I said
"Oh, sweety. You didn't ruin the evening, you just made it a little less boring" She said with a smile. I laughed, hugging her again.
"Stella!" My Father lifted me up into a hug and kissed me
"Your mother would be so proud of you" He said
I smiled
"Thanks Dad"
"Congrats Stella" Sammy said glumly
"You did it. You graduated!" Mr. Knightly said knuckle pounding me.
Brandon came by, shaking all of the men's hands, hugging Melanie, then disregarding me completely. Actually, he glared at me. The nerve of that little…
"Yeah, whatever, Shields. Stare all you want, just know anything you say or do wont make me angry. I'm too happy" I said with a giggle
The girls and I changed out of our gowns, then went to lunch at our favorite diner. AT around 5 we all went home to get ready for the banquet. My hair and make-up was done from before, so I was fine with that, all I had to do was change my dress and shoes. I put on red and black dress, with a pair of red stilettos. I put on a really pretty necklace, and a few bracelets. When it was time to go I quickly grabbed my jacket then met Brandon downstairs. He was going to take me in his car, though he fought against it. Melanie took pictures of us…well me. Brandon refused to get his picture taken.
When we got there they had tables set according to classes. There was a Class A table, a Class B table, and a Class C table. I sat down at my Class C table with all of my classmates. Too bad Tecna, Bloom, Flora, and Layla couldn't sit with us, but Musa and I still had a good time. Let's just say, you could definitely tell which table was the fun one! We were having so much fun! Somebody dared John to chuck a whole bottle of ketchup…and he did! Even Ms. H sat with us! I couldn't help but look over at the Class A table, no matter how much heart ache Brandon causes me, somehow I still find myself being drawn in. It was so infuriating!
The Class A table were all cheering for themselves as if they were all high and mighty. Whatever, they were all table about politics and junk, we were talking about funny moments from the year. Yeah, it was definitely clear who the fun one was.
"And then! And then! Milk just SQUIRTED out of my nose! It was hysterical!" Musa finished telling her story, everybody laughing
"I'll be right back, I'm going to go use the bathroom" I said
"Okay, be back soon. I'm about to do my Donald Trump impression" She said
I laughed
"Don't want to miss that one" I said
I got up, walking past all the table. Just as I was making my way past the Class A table, somebody put their foot out, making me trip.
"Oowwww!" I screamed, holding my arms out like, what the hell dude!?
"That's for making a fool of our class" He said with a glare
"Believe me, you didn't need me to make a fool of your class" I said with a snort, getting up brushing myself off. I was about to start walking when…
"We all know you just have a crush on Brandon" A girl said with a smirk
"Brianna, shut up" Bloom said
Bloom and Tecna so don't belong with this rude bunch.
I tried to keep a straight face
"I don't like Brandon" I said clearly
"Really? Funny, because you said you loved me in that love letter" Brandon said, the table erupting in laughter
I froze, my confidence suddenly turning into fear. I glared at Brandon
"Don't you dare" I whispered, clutching his arm
"How did it go again? Dear Brandon," He started to recite my letter out loud, making everybody laugh at me. Tears started to boil up inside me. I bit down hard on my teeth, holding back the tears. Then I realized something. Brandon has something on me…but I have something on him too. I smirked.
"Go ahead, continue to laugh, but I'm the only one that knows Brandon Shield's secret" I said, a smile playing at my lips
I seemed to have sparked everybody's interest..including Brandon. Brandon stood frozen.
"Stella…don't" He warned, angrily.
"Brandon never kissed a girl!" I screamed loudly
Everybody's mouth went wide open in shock. The words left me faster than I'd anticipated for, as if I knew their reaction already.
"Brandon never even had a girlfriend before!" I said loudly
There was a pause…then the room erupted in laughter. I was laughing so much, I forgot about those stupid tears I was about to let go of. People say revenge is never the answer, I for one say, hell, revenge is sweet!
Brandon glared, taking my arm angrily.
"Let's go" he said
"Wait! Where are you going! Let me go!" I cried, trying to break free of his firm grasp
Brandon kept walking, taking me out to the back end of school. There was nobody in the dark secluded area. It was so quiet, you could hear my heart beat…or was it just me?
Brandon pushed me up against the wall, his hand slamming to the area next to my head. I jumped, scared.
"W..what are you doing?!" I asked, trying to make it sound forceful, but it came out shallower than I'd hoped for
"Why? Why did you do that? We made a deal! You freaking little bitch!" He screamed at me
My mouth shot open
"Oh snap, you did not just call me what I think you just called me" I said
He rolled his eyes, removing his arm and stepping to the side.
"I cannot believe you have the…the audacity," Picked that fancy word up from Brandon!
"to call me that! I just embarrassed myself in front of everyone. Then, just when they start to forget about it, you ruin everything! You just go off and embarrass me again! Do you enjoy my misery? Is that what it is?! You…jerk!" I screamed angrily.
"Me? You're such a brat, Stella, a brat, a spoiled little brat!" He yelled
"A spoiled brat? Oh hell to the no! You did not just call me that!" I screamed, walking off for a second, then turning around to face him.
"My mother died when I was 6! 6 years old, Brandon! My Father had to work 2 jobs just to support us! I was stuck with everything since then. Cooking, cleaning, all the jobs of a mother, plus more…and I was only 6! I practically raised myself! Everything in life that I have ever wanted, I had to work for it! And what did you do? Oh that's right, you were being waited on by butlers and maids, getting everything you ever wanted! But you know what the biggest difference between you and me is? Through all of my life I went through everything, whether it was too hard, or too long, or too far, I went through it with a smile. Where as you were just a cruel, ungrateful child. So if you even THINK for a second, that you could EVER call me a brat, you better shove it Brandon Sheilds! You and me are nothing alike, and I hope it stays like that forever!" I screamed, getting really close in to his face. He didn't even look like anything I just said to him even meant anything.
"It's you an I" He said
Huh?
"Excuse me?" I asked
"You said, you and me are nothing alike and you hope it stays like that forever. Grammatically correct, it's you and I" He said emotionlessly
My eyes grew wide
"AUUGGHHHHH!" I yelled
"GOD! What did I ever see in you?" I asked
He raised an eyebrow
"You think you can do better?" He asked smugly
"No I KNOW I can do better. In fact, I'm going to go off to Princeton and meet the guy of my dreams, then I'll become an artist, we'll get married, and have the best life ever" I said
"Oh really?" He asked. I was so stuck in Stella land again that I was oblivious to the fact that I was being backed up against the wall again
"Yes. And you know where you'll be? Maybe you'll have a wife and kid, maybe you'll be successful, but you know what? I don't know where you'll be. Because after highschool I'm forgetting about you! I'll never ever think about you ever again!" I screamed
He put both his hands around my head, trapping me in, then he looked at me smugly. I suddenly felt scared again..my breath catching in my throat. My heart beat picked up again.
"Really?" He asked, his gorgeous brown eyes bearing into mine
"Y…yeah" I stuttered
"You really think you can just forget about me?" He asked
I tried to muster up as much courage as I possibly could.
"No..I know that I can forget you" I said
Next thing I knew I had a pair of lips on mine. I was shocked at first, but then I melted into it, our lips moving in perfect sync. It was like the world around us melted and it was just Brandon and I, kissing. There aren't words to describe the thoughts that were going through my mind. It was like in those movies when they take the camera and they revolve it around the kissing couple, showing you the kiss from every angle. I felt like a camera was spinning around us, just circling in on us. He was the one to break it, turning around to leave. I stayed in my place, frozen solid. My eyes wide, my mouth dry, my heart beat faster than it's ever been before. He smirked, turning around with a slight chuckle.
"I'd like to see you try to forget me after that"
Then he just walked away, like nothing just happened.
I slid down to the floor, my body still in shock.
My shaky hand lifted, slowly, to my lips. I felt the place that Brandon's lips had just been on.
"He..kissed..me?" I whispered to myself
