Cupid's Daughter

Chapter 27~ The End

Six Months Later

"And so it is my honour to announce that this year's Senior class of Eleanor James Academy have officially graduated. If each student could please collect their diploma and make their way back to their seats, that would be wonderful." The principal, Mr McCormack, spoke into the microphone with a cheery tone, his arms opened wide as if embracing his pupils.

I waited behind a girl named Shelley Cole to receive my diploma, praying to the heavens that I wouldn't trip over on stage.

"Isabelle Marie Conway." Mr McCormack pronounced my full name clearly, offering me a warm smile as I took the each step at a time, being careful not to step on the long red graduation gown.

He reached out to shake my hand and congratulated me on placing third in my class-- a position that I was extremely proud of considering that most of the kids who went here's parents paid for hours and hours of tutoring in all subjects, whilst I just had a textbook and good ol' Mr Google.
The photographer snapped a quick photo of us (which I was completely not ready for so I probably looked like a walrus) before I made my way back to my chair to watch the rest of the graduates receive their rightful certificates. I glanced back at my father, who was sat a few rows from the back in his work attire, a huge proud smile slapped across his face. He winked at me when I caught his eye, and mouthed 'I love you'.

Back up on the stage, Matilda was being handed her diploma, followed closely by Luke, Levi and then the twins, and my hands clapped together thunderously as pride burst through me.

As unexpectedly not-terrible as my Senior year in New York had turned out, a small part of me still wished that I was graduating back home in Connecticut with the people I had spent my whole high school life with.

I mean who knew where I was going to be this time next year, and who knew where Sam, Avery, Tommy, JC and Noah would be too.

Yes, ladies and gentleman, I could say Noah's name without having a breakdown. I'd come to terms with the fact that it had been nine months since Noah had broken up with Sabrina and I'd left Connecticut, and I'd accepted the fact that we were moving on. The last time I'd heard from him had been a vague little Facebook wall post on my eighteenth birthday four months ago wishing me a happy birthday.

Sam had kept me updated in our daily phonecalls, letting me know that she and Kiely were about to celebrate their one year anniversary, Tommy had started dating Zachary from the football team (who knew he really would turn out to be gay?) and neither of us would ever mention Noah.

Which was exactly how I liked it.

I didn't want to know if he was back with Sabrina or dating someone else or being a player and dating fifteen girls all at once. I just didn't want to know.

"We did it! We did it!" Ash squealed, breaking me out of my reverie as she pulled me into a hug and rocked from side to side with laughter.

"We are officially college bound! Stanford here we come!" Ari sung in the same high-pitched voice, making me laugh.

"Yeah not quite, Arzi." Levi appeared from beside the stage, calling Ari by her pet name. "We still have the whole Summer before we start thinking about that."

I'd been accepted into Princeton a few weeks ago, but the letter had sat on my desk sadly, taunting me with it's stupid smug congratulation. Getting accepted was the best feeling in the world... until I realized that I couldn't go because no scholarship meant no way to afford it.

I'd been accepted into NYU and a few other colleges, but I'd held off replying to those too, reluctant to face the truth.

"Yeah, stop wishing our summer away!" Luke hooted, throwing his arm around Matilda and pulling her in to kiss her forehead.