Author's note: Sorry for this being late again! School is getting verrrrry busy for both me and thebookhobbit! I don't think this needs much of an explanation, since I've already introduced all the major people in it, but if you've got any questions, just ask and I'll revise this to answer it!

Thanks, once again, to thebookhobbit!

Three pictures: John giving his valedictorian speech, walking across the stage, and afterward with him and Alex, Alex has his hand on John's head and his cap has fallen in front of his face. John is thirteen.

John had never felt so nervous to be on a stage before; after four years of theatre, he was more than comfortable with it. But this time was very, very, different: even though they only had a graduating class of 100, it felt like the auditorium had never been fuller, and everyone, including the school officials and the other nine students that made up the top ten (and top ten percent) that were on stage with him, were all staring at him, waiting for him to say the first word of his valedictorian speech. Because he'd done it. He'd done what a lot of the members of the church, and even some members of his own family, said that he wouldn't be able to do: he was graduating first in his class.

He'd stayed up far past what was healthy for several nights in a row working on the speech. And re-working it. And re-working it again. And again. Father Isaacs had heard it several times, as had Sister Karla, and his English teacher. His poor parents had heard it more times than he cared to count. He knew that half the people in the audience wouldn't remember what he'd said by the time a few days had gone by, and the other large percentage would forget in about twenty minutes; but he knew that several people, at least, would be listening. And that was what mattered.

It went off without a hitch; his voice didn't even crack, which was a minor miracle in itself. He'd sat down afterward, and his friend Megan (who'd also been theatre club president) stood up to give the salutatorian speech, which, fortunately, also went well. So far everything was going along nicely… but they still had to walk.

The school had had the same order for walking across the stage ever since the first graduating class: the top ten students first, by rank, and then the rest of the seniors went alphabetically by last name. John's mom had hemmed his graduation robes so that he wouldn't trip over them (that was another thing they had tested over and over again) and so the only thing that could possibly go wrong is if Megan rushed through, and somehow stepped on the end while they were walking off stage. But John also knew that Megan was Megan and that her rushing across the stage was something that she just couldn't do.

The ten of them walked off stage so that they could get properly set up, and the seniors in the first few rows of seats lined up behind them. John could feel his heart pounding, and he didn't know if he should be fighting the urge to laugh or faint, and he was a little relieved that he'd been too nervous to eat lunch or there might be a problem.

"John, calm down!" There was enough noise around them that no one outside of their immediate vicinity could hear Megan laugh as she grabbed his shoulders, pulling him back in a hug. "Your face is turning white again."

"I know." John let her hug him tightly, but could feel himself turning red all the same.

"And now you need to get that blush under control," she giggled, and let him go.

And then everything just… went quiet. Dead quiet, not even a baby crying, or anyone creaking in their chairs. Father Isaacs motioned for everyone in line to move up a little, so that John was at the top of the stairs leading up to the stage. He patted John's shoulder comfortingly, and John could hear the blood rushing in his head, and his heart pounding, and somehow over all of that…

"John Brown."

And he was walking. He kept his speed normal, and then someone he didn't know except for the fact that they were very important to the school board was shaking his hand and handing him his diploma, and then he kept walking, across the rest of the stage, as quietly as he could down the steps on the other side, and Sister Karla was waiting for him at the bottom of the steps with tears in her eyes, hugging him tightly and kissing his cheek, and then motioning where he, and the rest of the "top ten" were supposed to sit.

He sank into the chair without a sound, and his whole body relaxed. He'd… he'd just… it was over. He opened the bound portfolio that he'd been handed, and looked down at it. He'd graduated. At the top of his class. And even though he was watching the rest of the graduating class go across the stage, he could only pray the same silent prayer of thanks over and over and over again.

After the ceremony, he and Alex found each other immediately, crashing together in a hug, that somehow resulted in Alex lifting him off the ground as he spun around in a circle.

"You did it!" Alex finally managed.

"YOU did it!" John returned, laughing.

"Hey, boys!" Alex put him down as the two were joined by their families.

John's mom was crying, hugging him as tightly as she could, and then started laughing when John looked up at her worriedly:

"M'am, what's wrong, what's going on?"

"Just your old mom being emotional again" she laughed kissing his forehead as he protested the statement with:

"You're not old!"

And the rest of his family hugged him; Sarah wasn't crying, but she did have tears in her eyes, Luke messed with his hat and hugged him, and even his father, when John had started to shake his hand, pulled him into a hug, whispering, his voice a little choked up, in his ear:

"I'm proud of you, boy."

And then it was Evelyn's turn. John hugged her tight, and didn't want to let go. Evelyn had just finished seventh grade. Seventh grade… John hadn't even been in seventh grade. That was strange to think about, that if it weren't for… everything… John would still be in seventh grade. And then they let go when John's mom wanted to take a picture of him and Alex.

They took a normal picture… and then Alex put his arm on top of his head, like he always did, but this time John started flailing in surprise when the world went dark as his cap fell down in front of his eyes… and mentally groaned as he heard everyone laughing as his mom's camera clicked again.