Office Hours

58 | the g r a d u a t i o n

| G R A C E |

     LISTENING TO HER DAD give a small speech at her graduation, Grace tried not to let her annoyance show as she listened to her father extend a special congratulations to the students who'd been accepted into Ivy Leagues.

Harvard, please be good to me.

Mr. Jackson said that after such a rocky semester, he was imploring students struggling with their mental health to make use of the numerous resources available to them. It'd been two weeks since the burial of Alyssa, and many people were not yet ready to move on.

Not that she was either.

Her mind still ate away at her sometimes. . .

She had no idea how her father could live how he did, given the person he was behind closed doors. And though she'd never admit this to him, or anyone else for that matter, she hoped that one day she could easily move on from her mistakes like he did.

Heaving a quiet sigh, she looked away from her dad and around the auditorium full of Eastlake graduates - the bundle of red gowns and stoles with fox emblems radiated school pride stronger than any she'd experienced at a pep rally or athletic event.

She saw Emily hanging her head low and almost chuckled. Grace stopped talking to Emily a few weeks ago, her father said he didn't want the Jackson name to be associated with crooks. It was ironic, but Grace complied. Whichever jail cell Mr. Whitaker was in, Grace wouldn't go as far as to say she hoped he was as miserable as his daughter. . . But if so were the case. . .

Grace smirked.

Continuing her survey of the crowd, she saw Lindsey, her favorite teacher, Fergy the janitor and beside him. . . Justice.

As if she felt Grace's eyes on her, Justice looked over.

All this time, I never would have guessed that it was you who-

Justice quickly looked away.

The faintest of smirks came on Grace's face. Looking back towards the stage as her father finished up his speech, her grey eyes sparkled. . .

| C A D E N |

     WITH A LARGE SMILE, he walked across the stage. He could hear howls coming from the crowd of graduates, and he knew it was his soccer teammates cheering him on.

Accepting his diploma with a firm handshake from Meadowbrook's dean, Caden's smile was so wide, his cheeks hurt. Looking towards the cameras, he flashed another bright smile at the camera.

"THAT'S MY SON!" came a loud and proud yell from the crowd.

Eyes roaming the crowd, he saw his Dad standing and clapping wildly.

I did it for us Dad.

Making his way off the stage, Caden caught a glimpse of Sunshine.

She mouthed, "Congrats!"

Grinning, Caden nodded a thanks.

He found his seat and made himself comfortable.

When Ryder's name was called, Caden started howling with his teammates. Caden swelled with pride as Ryder made way to the stage - his navy-blue gown with the stole baring the wolf emblem was nicely fitted.

Proud of him.

When Ryder came off the stage, he smiled towards someone in the crowd. Caden snickered, planning on teasing his friend later.