Come As You Are (An Anne With An E/Sebastian 'Bash' Lacroix Fanfic)

20. Graduation

It was finally the day of graduation and the day we all were taking the entrance exams. I had made my decision months ago that I was going to the University of Toronto. It was the best choice for me and I was excited to finally be able to go. If I passed the entrance exam, that was. I was confident in my ability to pass but there was always that twinge of doubt in me. I was blind, after all, and I was going still be that when I went to graduation.

I sat on the porch with Anne and Diana on either side of me. They were worried about the test scores. I didn't bother worrying because I knew I had studied enough. Gilbert sat nearby, probably going over possible answers in his head. I was doing that as well, though I knew I shouldn't stress myself out too badly. We were eventually let inside the building. I was sat diagonal from Gilbert.

The tester started handing out packets. "Which one of you is blind?"

I raised my hand. "I am, sir. Is there a Braille test for me?"

One was placed in front of me. "Yes, there is. We had to get that from Toronto, you know."

"Yes, I do," I replied. "Miss Stacy, our school teacher, confirmed that there was going to be one for me."

The man didn't answer, instead walking away. I ran my fingers over the cover page, checking to see if it was truly a Braille test. It was and I pulled my hands away to set them on the table. The tester gave us permission to start and the ripping of the binding filled the room. I ripped off my binding and opened the packet, running my fingers over the little dots.

I smiled, the answers coming to me naturally. I finished within the time limit set and I was sent to wait outside. I sat on the porch, a few others joining me. We talked a bit as we waited for the others. Stretching, my arms reached for the sky as a soft moan came out of my mouth. Gilbert came out as I was stretching. He sat beside me and we started talking about the test. It had been easy for me.

Once everyone was done, we were dismissed. Everyone was talking loudly and excitedly as we went to different places. I went with Diana and Anne to hang out before the party actually started. They were going to a café kind of place to just hang out and I wanted to go somewhere without Gilbert by my side constantly. He was very protective of me and I was sure Bash had made sure to tell Gilbert to take extra care of me while gone.

We hung out until we had to meet the others at the field where the bonfire was. I had a grin on my face as we got closer to the meeting spot. I could already hear the loud voices of my classmates. We joined the party, slipping into different groups. I always stayed by either Diana or Anne.

Eventually, I ended up by the bonfire. I started dancing to a strong only I could hear. My hands were extended towards the sky, a large smile on my face as I spun around. I heard Anne laughing nearby and she came to join me. We danced around the fire, laughing and enjoying the night. A few others joined us, grabbing each other and spinning around.

Gilbert eventually showed up and joined the party. I bounced beside him while holding his arm, telling him excitedly how the party was going. I was a little tipsy from the alcohol floating around the party. Gilbert was for sure smiling about my tipsy ramblings, laughing at my terrible explaining of things.

He grabbed my upper arms, effectively interrupting me. "I'll be back in a second. I need to talk to Anne for a moment. I'll see you in a few minutes."

I nodded and called out to Diana. She answered and I stumbled over to her, trying not to fall over in the process. I joined her circle of friends and started talking with them. I stood with them for a few minutes before Gilbert came over.

Gilbert took my arm. "Aria, we should head back now. It's getting late and I promised Bash that I would take care of you."

I nodded. "Yeah, okay. Let me just say goodbye to everyone."

Gilbert took me to everyone so I could say goodbye. Gilbert took me back to the place we were staying at and we turned in for the night. It was late and I was beginning to get tired. I was still tired and tipsy. I needed to sleep off all the drinking I had done.