Hell on Earth

Chapter Thirty Five - Graduation Day

"Eddie, you haven't been answering my calls all day," Cynthia said as soon as she heard him pick up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm super sick," Eddie said over the phone. He did sound a bit hoarse. "I'm not going to be there tonight."

"Do you want me to come to your house after the ceremony?" Cynthia asked.

"You have plans, keep them," Eddie told her. "I'll still be here tomorrow."

"Okay, get better," Cynthia told him.

Eddie hung up the phone. Cynthia took a minute before walking outside. The small clan of Steve Harrington supporters had gathered.

"All right," Cynthia said as everyone was outside. "Roll-call! Dustin!"

"Here," he said.

"Lucas," Cynthia called.

"Here," he said.

"Mike," she called.

"Here," he said.

"Will," she called.

"Here," he said.

"Jonathan and Nancy," Cynthia called.

"Both here," Jonathan said.

"Awesome," Cynthia nodded. "And Max will meet us there. Now remember, this party is a surprise for Steve, so nobody say anything. I'm looking at you, Dustin."

"What did I do?" Dustin held up his arms.

"Come on," Jonathan said. "It's already, 6:30. By the time we get through traffic, it will basically be 7:00."

"Let's go," Cynthia said.

The Henderson's and Lucas rode in one car while the Wheeler's and Byer's rode in another. By the time they had gotten to the school, parked, and got to the spot where Steve told them to be, it was five minutes to 7:00. They got to the spot on the football field and saw that Steve's parents were nowhere to be found. It was just them. Jonathan had his camera ready for pictures of Steve doing the graduation things and of the group after.

Then, the ceremony started.

The about to be graduates were all sitting on the stage. Some speeches were made by both the students and staff. After all that was over, the students started to walk across the stage. When Steve's name was called, their square went wild. There were cheers, whistles, and pictures snapped like no other. They all wanted Steve to know that they were out here for him.

The rest of the names were called. She tried to ignore Billy's name being called. She could tell everyone was a lot more sullen when his name got called. They went through the rest of the students. When students with the last name 'M' were called, Eddie's name was skipped. Cynthia cocked her head to the side. She wasn't going to say anything now, but that was weird. Even if Eddie was sick, they should have still called his name.

When the ceremony was over, Steve and Max made their way to them.

"You guys came!?" Steve was excited to see them.

"Of course we came," Cynthia smiled at him. "It's not everyday you graduate high school."

"Everyone get in for a picture," Jonathan ushered everyone together. Only him and Nancy stood behind the camera. "Everyone say graduate."

"Graduate!" everyone said with big smiles plastered on their faces.

Next came solo photos of Steve with his diploma. There were a few shots of the kids with Steve (both as a group and individually), the Henderson siblings with Steve, and just Cynthia and Steve. By the time they were done, it was dark and a lot of people had left.