Consumed » Kai Parker

Epilogue

Graduation — Kai's POV

I stare up at the stage with ill-concealed anticipation, practically bouncing giddily in the plastic chair that had grown achingly uncomfortable during the multiple long speeches from various Whitmore administrative officials and other irrelevant guests. Needless to say, my restless movements had really started to tick off Damon. He'd gotten stuck sitting right next me–or honestly, gotten lucky, since I'm undoubtedly the most fun of the Scooby gang, but he clearly isn't perceiving it that way.

"Would you cut it out?" The vampire hisses in my ear.

"Can't," I answer swiftly. My grin spreads wide as the man standing at the podium moves on to the G last names. "My girl's almost up."

Caroline, seated on my left, squeezes my shoulder excitedly. "Oh, my gosh, I see her on the stairs. There's only like two people ahead of her!"

Elena immediately digs her phone out of her bag, switching on the camera, and holds it up toward the stage with a smile. "I promised her I'd get a good video. She's gonna wanna relive this moment. Jeremy! Record on yours, too. For back-up."

"I got it, chill out," Jeremy chuckles, raising his phone so it constitutes a good vantage point of the broad stage. Truth be told, I trust his recording skills a lot more than his sister's, purely based on the fact that he's currently enrolled in art school and photography is definitely child's play to the accomplished student. Elena's in medical school, so the most I can really give her is her precise scalpel-handling translating to having a steady hand on her phone.

I crane my head, searching until I spot a familiar head of brown, curled hair underneath a black cap. Soon enough, she's just on the edge of the stage, poised to walk forward.

"Graduating with magna cum laude...Charlotte Gilbert."

"WOOOOOO!" I scream with hands cupped over my mouth for amplification, leaping out of my seat to get a perfect view of her.  My cheers overwhelmingly the volumes of her friends and family surrounding me, provoking their laughter and, of course, a few annoyed looks from strangers in the crowd who are impatiently waiting for the person they came for to cross the stage. Not that I particularly give a fuck about what anyone has to say about how I'm choosing to express my enthusiasm, being that I'm currently splitting at the seams with pride in my beautiful, fucking genius of a girlfriend.

"You sound like an idiot," Damon whispers to me conspiratorially, but nonetheless, he joins in on the verbal praise, clapping his hands loudly.

Charlie beams, flushed from the attention, as she strides across the stage with her gown fluttering around her small frame. Head turning briefly, her gaze locks on our seats in the crowd, and she waves bashfully.

To think the damn Geminis tried to make me miss this milestone. There was a minor vampire infestation problem in a secluded town in the Pacific Northwest and a desperate witch had reached out to us for aid. Some of the older folk argued that I should be down there today, joining them in their side quest, to which I'd not-so-kindly replied that if they needed me to hold their hand while they staked a handful of bloodsuckers, then perhaps they should reconsider their spot on the counsel. They shut up fairly quickly after that.

I'd assigned Isaiah, Quinn, and Alex to be the overseers of the issue, despite their complaints about missing Charlie's graduation. As compensation, I promised them photographic updates so it'd be like they were right there for the moment.

Yeah, Gemini business could get pretty sticky, but I was hardly overwhelmed when it came to handling the reins. If anything, it was such a natural thing, guiding my coven away from mishaps and through an age of improvement. Like I'd always been born to do this and the role fit me like a damn glove, well-suited to my abilities.