Happy Endings

33. graduate

"How you feeling since it all fell down? Is it always just a little bit hard? I was watching in the open crowd and I felt like you were always on your guard."

☼

The morning of Vic Fuentes' second college graduation, it didn't stop raining for hours. He had set five alarms to not oversleep but he still woke up later than he previously wanted to. The rain made everything so cozy he barely wanted to leave his bed so he slept just ten more minutes which actually turned into a full half hour. It was fine, though. He still could squeeze in his routine and still make it in time. He hoped.

In all reality, Vic didn't know how to feel. He hadn't known how to feel for days on end but he was still trying to find the silver linings for the time being. That morning he couldn't help to feel everything more enhanced. He was graduating. Again. It was a surreal feeling. He wasn't as nervous as the first time or had that anxious feeling in his tummy two days in advance. He was eerily calm this time. More grown-up maybe. Excited, yes. But serene.

He remembered his graduation years ago quite vividly, the friends he made at his out-state school by his side on the auditorium chairs, the giddy feeling of finally receiving his diploma, the proud look of his professors and deans, and the way his parents looked at him when it was all over. He could laugh about it now, but even then he could tell the pride he felt over finishing his design degree felt somewhat off. Perhaps that was part of the nerves back then.

He was happy it all worked out in the end.

The rain stopped and the sun came out around noon, just in time for him to catch a ride with his brother Leo and his girlfriend Carly to go to his school. He was meant to be there hours before the actual ceremony began so he asked for a ride there. He could've gone by bike, but he didn't want to risk sweating or ruining his outfit if it started raining again on the way. He wasn't nervous, but that didn't mean he wanted to look terrible in the pictures. That was his favorite part.

So before the lovebirds arrived, Vic checked his reflection in his bathroom's full-body mirror and practiced his smile and his poses for at least ten minutes. He couldn't help it. He loved a good picture, and these were going to be even more iconic than his first graduation. Once he had them printed, he planned on doing a side-by-side comparison to see his growth and he couldn't wait. It was a bit silly, but he didn't mind being silly sometimes.

His outfit choice for the day was solid if anyone were to ask. He picked a creamy white dress shirt with the coolest pants he found at his favorite shop at the mall. They were this shade of blue-gray that Vic just fell in love with, and had a soft checkered pattern that made them seem much more stylish than regular, plain trousers. He might be a teacher now, but that didn't mean he couldn't have a fashion sense. 

His formal shoes had to be black, but he complimented them by wearing a pair of burgundy socks just because he could. Afterward, he put on the best cologne he owned, a gold bracelet his mom gifted him years ago, and a black belt over his waist. And as for his hair, he'd pushed the top of his hair back, parting it on the sides to make twin French braids, keeping them loose enough so he could tuck the rest behind his head in his signature bun. 

He looked rather great if he could say so himself.

Poppy emerged out of nowhere as he usually did, pushing the bathroom door open so he could say hi while Vic finished taking mirror selfies and practicing the last of his poses laughing at himself. His grin only grew once he spotted his cat. Vic wasn't going to lie, he'd grown extremely attached to that ball of black and white fur and he was quick to pick him up and kiss him all over.