Maybe This Time

Chapter 25

-Caleb’s Time-

“Ladies and gentlemen, the ninety graduates of Aceltoria High School.”

Wearing this blue toga, along with everyone else – this is truly a bittersweet moment. As we walked down the aisle of the gym, we all felt proud to finally reach this point, yet sad that high school is officially over.

Annalie, our class valedictorian, went up the podium to deliver her speech.

“A pleasant afternoon to everyone. To our special guests, our beloved teachers, the entire people of Aceltoria, our family and friends, thank you for being with us today. To my awesome batch mates, this is our day! We’ve survived the rigorous waters of high school!”

All of us cheered. “We’re epic!”

“I’m honoured to speak for the rest of the class. Seniors, we’re now the youngest alumni of Aceltoria High School. This school has been our second home for thirteen years for most of us. Since we were four, we’ve been together – seeing each other every single day even during the weekends. And thus we can say that we practically know each other’s backs. This is the place where we’ve learned to write our names for the first time… where we learned the alphabet… where we learned that one plus one equals two. Who we are now, and what we will become, Aceltoria has a part of it. This school… although may not be perfect… it’s our home, our own sanctuary. This is the place where we met… where we found our friends. This is the school where I know that we could always come back to.”

Most of us grew misty-eyed. I nodded, agreeing with her.

“Now, we have to proceed to the next level – college. To tell you the truth, I’m quite scared. We’ll be meeting new people again. It’s like we’re back to our nursery years where we know no one but ourselves. But I know I’ll be alright. Because I know that I have you guys whom I can always talk to. We can start anew, but the friendships and the bonds that we formed here, it will never be broken. We may find a new set of friends, but remember that high school friendships are forever.”

Everyone clapped. Annalie smiled and gave us a wink – the signal that we’ve been waiting for. We all stood up, surprising everyone. “May I request all of our teachers, from our humble nursery years, to our awesome elementary days, to our legendary high school life. Please come here to the stage.”

The teachers, shocked with this request, followed. Annalie signalled Mr. Ricks, the in-charge of the music, to start the music. My batchmates and I smiled to our mentors.

“Dear teachers, we would like to sing a short song for all of you, as our thank you.”

 

Thank you

For teaching me how to love

Showing me what the world means

What I’ve been dreaming of

And now I know

There is nothing that I could not do

Thanks to you

For teaching me how to feel

Showing me my emotions