Disclaimer: Newsies is the property of Disney.
8th grade graduation has different meanings for different students. For her it meant she could now move on to older and more experienced guys; for me it meant I would be the target of bullying for older and more experienced guys.
Our small class was gathered outside in the cool May night. Parents, teachers, and students alike snapping pictures in an effort to capture the moment forever. All around, students gave tearful hugs good-bye, signed yearbooks with "Keep in touch!" signatures, even to those they barely knew, those they had talked about and dissed for the past four years.
I stood holding my cap in one hand and my diploma in the other. My parents were snapping pictures, my mother shouting for me to smile. This was, after all, a happy occasion. My eyes kept wandering to where she stood, surrounded by friends and admirers alike, signing yearbooks and kissing cheeks. She looked radiant in a light pink strapless gown under the navy graduation robes we had worn for the ceremony. Her face was made up with more expertise now, as she had learned how to apply make-up without looking like a corner street whore. Her green eyes seemed to pop and her light brown hair (now highlighted with blonde streaks) was elegantly pulled back, only a few strands falling out to frame her face.
She had signed my yearbook already with "All the best! Keep in touch!" A generic signature, yes, but better than nothing. Still, I wanted more. A picture at the very least.
I asked my parents to wait for me. Puffing out my chest I swallowed harshly and strode over there, trying, and failing, to exude self-confidence. Just as I was about to reach where she stood, Sean Conlon, known to his friends as "Spot" slid up behind her, arms coming around her waist.
"What so you say we head out? A bunch of us guys know where we can grab some beers," he whispered into her ear while her parents were talking to the principal. She simply giggled and told him she would get rid of her parents. He responded by kissing her on the lips, an action she returned with even greater enthusiasm.
She went over to her parents and Sean stopped to look at me. "See something you like, dork?" Biting my lip, I shook my head before retreating back to my parents.
AN: Oh...em...gee! This is my first story to hit more than five chapters! I'm so proud! This story is also proof, both to myself and any readers I may still have out there, that I am not dead!