Chapter 22
CLASS ACTION
After the stupid prom (which I avoided) and final exams (which I couldn’t), our last official obligation was graduation. Every last member of the Class of ’91 had been keeping an eye on the skies all day, hoping the rain would hold off so we could have the ceremony outside.
After almost an entire year, I’d still never gotten used to the unpredictability of the weather here. Seattle was always wet, Phoenix was always dry, Chicago was always cold, SoCal was always sunny.
But Jersey? There was no telling. There was no way to know what you were in for from day to day. And that day, the weather was all over the place. The clouds had been vacillating between ominous shades of gray all afternoon, and the air was thick with humidity. Rainfall seemed an inevitability.
But then, miraculously, we managed to luck out. The sky had brightened considerably by early evening, and by the time we were filing into our seats, the sun finally made a welcome appearance.
There was the usual boring speeches from the usual boring teachers, so by the time Heather was announced onto the stage as valedictorian, I was more than ready to hear what she had to say.
Sure enough, her speech was warm and funny and really summed up everything that encapsulated our shared high school experience. She talked about our collective memories, everything from sporting events to our favorite teachers to our daily life at St. Norman’s. She even gave a nod to the time Rymer set a new school record by downing fourteen French bread pizzas in the cafeteria, which caused him to stand up and take a bow as everyone burst into laughter and applause.
She was killing it up there. I knew she would. On top of being super smart, the girl was a born performer.
As the crowd’s laughter died down, her tone turned serious, steering the conversation toward the future that awaited each and every one of us. She talked about our hopes and our goals and about how scary it was going to be to start anew all over again.
I was reminded yet again what my father had been trying to tell me all year, and started to freak out about not knowing what I’d be doing come fall. The only thing I knew about myself was that I’d never be able to sit in some boring classroom every day.
As if Heather could read my mind, she wrapped up her speech by saying, “We know what we are, but know not what we will be.”
The words hit home and were kind of exactly what I needed to hear right at that very moment. The thing was, maybe I didn’t know who I was, but I had to hold onto the things that I did know. As far as the future, that remained to be written. It was reassuring to know I wasn’t the only one dealing with indecision.
After the ceremony was over, I went in search of my family. I found them almost immediately out on the oval lawn mingling with all the other parents.
“Congratulations,” Dad offered jovially.
It was great to see him in such a good mood. A bonus considering I was just happy enough that he didn’t show up to this thing drunk. He took some pictures of Claud and me, a few more with a couple of favorite teachers.
It was then that I saw Layla walking across the lawn, her flowing white robe making her look like Stevie Nicks in the “Edge of Seventeen” video. She had a hand in a salute at her forehead, shielding her eyes from the sun as she scanned the crowd.
I waved my arms over my head, trying to get her attention. “Layla! Over here!”
Her face lit up as she scurried toward me, causing a huge smile to split her gorgeous features as she wrapped her arms around me for a hug. I lifted her up and spun her around before planting her on her feet again.
We were laughing as I looked over at my family and caught the sidelong smirk Claudia was aiming at me. She knew too damned much.
“Hey, come meet my sister,” I said, directing her toward the Wilmington brood. “Layla, you remember my parents. And this is my older sister Claudia.”
Lay’s jaw dropped as she greeted Claud with an enthusiastic, “Oh my gosh! It’s so nice to finally meet you!” before throwing her arms around her for a hug.
My girl was so charismatic and sweet, even my cynical sister wasn’t immune to her charms.
Layla knew Claudia’s secrets; Claudia knew mine. Thankfully, aside from a suspiciously knowing smile at their introduction, nobody said a word.
My father asked the two of us to take a picture together, so I put on an evil grin as I lunged for her. Lay was already laughing her head off as I scooped her up in my arms and Dad snapped the shutter.
I put her down and turned toward my family. “Hey, guys, do you mind if we take off to say hi to a few more people? I’ll pit stop back home when we’re through.”
“Of course, honey,” my mother offered magnanimously. “Your father, sister, and I are going to have dinner in the city. Would you and Layla care to join us?”
Lay and I met each other’s eyes as she bit her lip. “Actually, Ma, we have a party tonight.”
“But thank you,” Layla added.
We said goodbye to my family and went to find the Warrens. Layla’s brother and father were only a few yards away, talking with Lisa’s parents. I shook hands with the dads before they launched into a paparazzi-level photo shoot, every combination of the five of us: Lisa, Pick, Layla, and me. Layla and Lisa. Layla and Bruce. Me and Pick.
Finally, Lisa declared, “Enough!” and we all made our escape.
We all started to make our way down to the parking lot as Layla and I lagged behind, our slack allowing us to run into Heather. Lay basically jumped on the poor girl to give her a hug and compliment her awesome speech. I was practically beaming while Layla convinced Heather to go to Rymer’s party. I kinda loved that she felt it was important for her to be there. Heather hadn’t ever hung with our circle before, but better late than never.
We said our goodbyes to Heather, and as Lay climbed into her car, I told her I’d pick her up in an hour. I didn’t even think about it. It was just understood that we’d go together.