Three

Finally, after what felt like forever, May 29 came around and it was graduation day. I had made it through all the bullshit I put up with for that last months at Allegan High School.

 Once the valedictorian, Karen was named and she spent forever saying some bullshit speech, everyone’s name got called to receive our diploma. Principal Kuther said the final announcements that no one cared about, then the class of 2010 tossed their caps up into the air and had them to fall down; mostly hitting the graduates in the face.

I went to go search for my family in the bleachers. I swerved my way through groups of people, trampling over one another as they scurried to find their friends and family. It was taking forever to get through the crowds. That’s when I decided to take a shortcut across the football field.

I was halfway across the field when I caught a glimpse of someone who seemed out of place. All of the graduates in my class were dressed in their blue graduation gowns and held they diplomas, the families were mostly all dressed up in more than just casual clothing, but there was someone who stuck out like a missing puzzle piece. There he stood; this time he didn’t tower over quite as many people as I thought a six-foot barbarian would. His friends, the rumor starters, all stood with him, and all formed a little sadistic clan. Don’t make eye contact, just speed walk by and they won’t notice.

“There’s my sexy girl! You never called me after the fun we had,” the grin pasted on his face left me covered in goosebumps even in the 70-degree Michigan weather. What should I do? Should I ignore it and walk away?

“Daniella, Baby Doll,” he glared at me and I felt my muscles in my legs go limp, I thought I was going to fall, but I didn’t.

“You know you loved it,” he smirked and nodded to all his rumor starting friends. I wanted to walk away, but my legs were frozen and my knees wouldn’t bend.

“You’re so beautiful,” the rumor starter, Mike said. I tried to walk away again, but they all circled around me, I couldn’t leave.

            Then it started, I could smell it all, see it all, feel it all, everything. It was a flashback and it was happening right at that moment in front of the one who assaulted me almost a year ago. I had been free of these internal and mental demons for months, but I couldn’t make it stop and I fell to the ground and landed on my hands and knees. Surprisingly, John reached down and helped me up, with a kind smile on his face. I wasn’t thinking and thanked him.

            “I’ve got to go find my family,” I said.

            I made it through them and the crowds of other people’s family members and the graduates of my class, and then found my parents.

            “What took you so long?” my mother asked.

            “I got caught up with some friends.”

             “Oh.” my mother said before congratulating me on graduating. My father gave me a pat on the back and said, “Good job, Kiddo.” My dad always was the one to care about me and give me the reassurance when I needed, well only when he knew my mother wasn’t going to step in that is.

            My mom, father, and I all gathered into my mom’s pristinely clean car that smelt like fresh pine trees and new tires. She was driving didn’t have any music on, maybe it was because she knew that I hated the classical s**t, but it was probably off because my dad hated it, too. We didn’t talk to each other, but then again, we never did, not even when there was a big day or something. During the short ride, my pocket vibrated. Across the screen it read, Ami. I slid my thumb across the bottom of the screen and answered the call.

            “Hey!”

            “We made it!” she shouted so loud that I had to pull the phone away from my ear.

            “Yeah! I guess we did!” Even after all the rumors and gossip that seemed to come out of people’s mouth like projectile vomit, I didn’t think any less of myself. I wasn’t a s**t or a w***e, I was Daniella Lawson and I was a survivor.

            “Want to come over for dinner tonight and celebrate with my family?”

 I knew my family had nothing planned so of course I was going, “Duh. I will be there as soon as I get home and get changed.”