Nobody Knows | Jeon Jungkook

•19•

"Hi, can I have a large cheese pizza with extra cheese and cinnamon bread? To go, please."

I stand at the register, the heavenly smell of pizza already filling my nose, and my stomach begins to growl. Although it's already evening and I'll probably regret the greasy treat in the morning, it still doesn't stop me from placing my order.

The nice and petite woman behind the cash register smiles at me in a friendly way. "Of course, here is your order number. It will take about 10 minutes."

"Okay, thank you." I smile back and find an empty seat to wait for the time to pass.

Yesterday I had my graduation ceremony and to top it off I am now treating myself to a midnight snack that I plan to eat with Irina. I haven't been eating much fast food lately because of my workouts, so I can make an exception today and if it means I can see Irina through it, I could give a crap about all the calories anyway.

The academic robe that reaches to my knees rests on my lap while I sit on one of the chairs meant for the students. The mayor makes the graduation speech after all the students have received their diplomas and everyone waits with anticipation to finally throw the cap in the air and thus finally be finished.

I look at my screen from time to time, the smiling faces of my mother, my aunt, and my uncle playing big on it and I can't suppress a smile myself. To make my family feel like they are here with me, to support me I video chat with them during the speech.

It makes me glad to see how much joy and happiness they radiate and I can feel it all the way here. I wish they were here with me, but that's the way it is and unfortunately, we can't do anything about it. Still, on such a great day, I don't let anything ruin my mood because I'm finally officially a graduate.

The things I've gone through so far have paid off and I've finally achieved something in life that I can be proud of myself for. Because I did it myself.

"Congratulations, class of 2021, you are now released from the university!" the mayor jokes excitedly into the microphone that is placed on the lectern in front of him and everyone from students to professors, parents, and siblings cheer in unison.

I cheer along with the crowd and when I look at my screen, I see my mother wiping away tears of joy and my uncle cheering along with me. I can't hear anything because it's incredibly loud at this moment, but I wouldn't trade the look on their faces for anything.

I get to my feet, just like everyone else, and we start to gather. Diploma in one hand and phone in the other, I make sure they have a good view of me and my surroundings so they don't miss anything. I smile big and at this point, I might even say my cheeks are starting to hurt. But I couldn't care less because I am happy.

We gather in a big crowd and all the students get ready for the much-anticipated cap toss. I let my eyes roam over all the students and even though I've never seen some of them before, we congratulate each other with our gazes. I can see that each of them is just as reassured as I am that we made it.

"Mom, watch me well!" I call out to my screen and she says something back, but I can't make out anything through the ruckus. We all grab our black caps in time and count back at the same time. "3.2.1. Wooh!"

I laugh gleefully, happily clapping my hands as I look up into the sky and see umpteen identical caps flying wildly through the air. I've been waiting for this moment for months and now that it's here, I couldn't be happier. I stop clapping, now realizing my family probably didn't see anything because of it, and distance myself from the crowd a bit.