Battle of Hearts

Epilouge

A week after the senior prom, the graduation ceremony was held in the school auditorium. Ally and her friends were in the alphabetical queue of students waiting to get their diploma. They proudly showed off their blue graduation gowns and the caps awaited to be thrown off in the air. Students' parents sat on the back rows, smiling and waving their children. The place was buzzing with a variety of noises, of people screaming and talking to each other. The excitement, present in every person, in the room was real.

Her mother had arrived in time before the ceremony began but her father was as usual late. Her heart dulled a little but she kept smiling seeing the excited faces of her classmates. Cameron's parents were surprisingly present and on time. That was the first time she had seen them together. This made him feel even more ecstatic.

As the place turned quiet, signalling the beginning of the programme, her hope of seeing her father started dwindling. When the Principal's speech began, she turned around to look behind at her mother. Her father still wasn't there and she saw her mom giving a vague smile. She almost had tears in her eyes when the valedictorian's speech came to an end too.

But then like a miracle, when she had turned around for the tenth time, she saw her father trying to merge in the crowd of parents. Finally, he finds a place and sits there frantically looking around. She happily turned back to the stage, relieved to see he made it on time.

A farewell song starts after the end of all speeches along with a slideshow of the great moments of the school year. The music starts and her class goes 'Oh'. Every student turns to each other with a sense of familarity. She turns to the boy sitting beside her, Bart, he holds the same sentimental expressions as her. They were both unknown but they knew the deep meaning this song carried.

"They seriously had to choose this." The look on each students' face told.

The song was a popular and new one called 'See you again'. It was really an emotional and nostalgic moment for all of them. Seeing all the memories of the past year compressed into a three minute video, reminded her about the transient nature of life. The images of the girls smiling through their hair in the cafeteria, a group of friends sitting on the stairs fighting for food, random people talking happily to each other in the hallways... Every student's face held a bittersweet smile.

Then came a picture of Cameron and the basketball team, they were lifting the trophy in the air and screaming at the top of their lungs. Instantly, her head turned to her right to where he was sitting. He was smiling through his watered eyes staring at the image. He received a few pats on the shoulder too. And when it faded into another image he noticed her gaze.

A sad smile passed on his face and she replicated his actions. They were talking through their eyes. She just conveyed him a message saying that he had done a great job this year. And he replied with grateful eyes. It was crazy how they could telepathically know each other's thoughts without even saying a word.

They turned to the screen at the same time to watch the video till the end. It ended with the lyrics of the song being spelled out in a caligraphic font. They appeared on time syncing with the words of the song. And it was like she could feel the hearts of the 100 students pause for a moment.

"So let the light guide your way,

Hold every memory as you go and every road you take will always lead you home.

It's been a long day without you my friend. And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again.

We've come a long way from where we began. I'll tell you all about it when I see you again.