“Sit down, Mr. Cooper,” he says, into the microphone.
Lola’s face turns bright red, but she’s smiling as she walks up the steps with that natural grace she has, shaking her head at me like she’s embarrassed, but I can see the happiness in her eyes.
I stay standing, clapping so hard my palms are sore. Screw the principal and his rules. I’ll cheer for my girl if I want to. She earned it. She’s worked her ass off for this, and I’m not sitting down for some uptight asshole who thinks he can tell me what to do.
Pete is also standing up, clapping with his right hand against his leg. The effort it takes him to stand is clear, but he’s doing it anyway because that’s his girl up there. Our girl.
Marcus sitting next to me is giving me a judgmental look.
I lean down, getting right in his space. “What the fuck are you looking at?”
His eyes widen and he practically shrinks back in his seat. “Nothing. I wasn’t—”
“That’s what I thought,” I say, my voice threatening. “Keep your eyes forward and your mouth shut, or we’re going to have a problem. Got it?”
He swallows hard and looks away quickly, his hands gripping the edges of his gown.
Lola takes her diploma, moves her tassel from right to left, and looks out at the crowd. Her eyes find mine immediately, and for a second it’s just us. Me and her and this moment. Everythingelse fades away—the noise, the people, the bullshit ceremony—and it’s her smile and the way she’s looking at me like I’m the only person in this entire auditorium. Then she spots her dad and smiles before she walks off the stage.
They move onto the next name.
I sit back down, my heart still pounding hard in my chest, and I can sense people staring at me. Parents turning in their seats, other graduates shooting me looks. Let them stare. That’s my girl up there, and I’m going to make damn sure everyone knows how proud I am. I don’t give a flying fuck what they think.
They continue through the B’s and into the C’s.
“Samantha Carter.”
I stand up again, clapping and whistling as Sam makes her way to the stage. She’s grinning, her red hair bright as hell under the lights, practically glowing, and when she gets her diploma, Reece lets out a whoop from somewhere in the W section. He cheers so loudly that the principal stops mid-handshake with her and glares at him.
But Reece doesn’t waver; he stays standing, clapping and whistling.
I guess even if we are pussy whipped, we’re still us. The guys who hang out together, the ones who couldn’t care less about what others think. We found what we were searching for, the one thing we needed most: our girls. And we’re not ashamed of it.
Marcus is staring at me again, his eyes flicking over. The stupid bastard can’t help himself, and when I glare at him, he turns his focus somewhere else real quick.
The teacher at the end of the row motions for us to get up and move to the side of the stage. I stand, and my cap slides forward again, nearly falling off. I shove it back with my hand. Fuck it. If it falls, it falls.
We shuffle forward, a line of blue gowns moving like cattle, at which point I hear it.
“Jace Cooper.”
The sound of my name over the speakers is jarring. For a second, I stand there, frozen, because hearing my name called for something good still feels strange. It’s like they’ve made a mistake.
Marcus shoves my shoulder. “Go, man. That’s you.”
I glare at him. “Don’t fucking touch me.”
I move forward, my legs heavier than they should be. People clap, and the principal waits at the center of the stage with that fake smile they all have.
My heart is pounding so hard I’m sure everyone can hear it. My palms are sweating, and I wipe them on my gown as I walk.
The principal extends his hand. I shake it, gripping a bit too tightly, and he hands me the diploma.
“Congratulations, Mr. Cooper,” he says, his voice dripping with that bullshit sincerity. “We’re proud of you.”
I want to laugh. This man threatened to expel me more times than I can count. Called me a troublemaker, a delinquent, told me I’d never amount to anything, and now he’s proud of me.
Fuck that. I didn’t do this for him. I did it for me. For Bells and Pete.
