“Yeah, with you,” I said, smiling. “I’m yours, Luke.”
“Well, that’s very cool,” he replied. “Because the feeling’s mutual.” He grinned. “You’re mine, C.”
“And everyone’s gonna know it,” I told him.
Then I kissed him with everything I had.
CHAPTER 38
SAGE
THREE MONTHS LATER
Nicholas Lawrence Carmichael was thefirst person I saw when the girls and I got to The Meadow, the four of us decked out in variations of the classic white dress. Before the ceremony, it was tradition for all the seniors to gather outside Knowles so we could head over to the grove together. “We’re one long line of overgrown kindergarteners,” was Luke’s assessment during this morning’s 7:00 a.m. rehearsal.
“Oh my god,” Nina breathed now. “Are theyserious?”
Because Nick was standing underneath one of the nearby maple trees with our valedictorian, and they were playing their “twin card” for all its worth. Yes, most of the guys were matching—blue blazers, white button-downs, and striped Bexley School ties—but the Carmichaels had never looked more identical. They both had on their Wayfarer sunglasses with the mostin-your-facepair of pants in existence. I smiled, unable to believe they’d actually gone through with it. “They’re Lilly Pulitzer,” Nick explained when he first showed me the electric-green-blue-and-yellowpatchwork pants. “From the eighties. Dad and Uncle Theo wore them to their graduation, so Charlie and I are doing the same. How epic are they?”
I remembered begging him to model them for me, but he blushed and shook his head. “You gotta be patient, Morgan.”
“Those two…” Jennie began, right as someone else said, “Good morning, girlfriends.”
I spun around to see Luke approaching, also looking pretty sharp. We hugged, and then Reese kissed his cheek and left behind a mark from her lipstick.
“Come on, Reese,” he groaned, doing his best to wipe it off. “My mom’s bad enough.”
We laughed. “Are your sisters here?” Jennie asked.
Luke nodded. “Of course. This is my…”
“Victory lap!” we finished for him.
He smirked. “Exactly.”
The sun was high in the cloudless blue sky, but it wasn’t beating down on us in the shady grove, every single folding chair filled. Reverend Chambers welcomed everyone, and when he remarked what a “sensational day” it was, I leaned over and whispered to Luke, “He says that every year. Even sophomore year, when it was overcast and thundering in the distance!”
Dean Wheaton was next, speaking about our class as a whole, and then he invited Jennie onstage to pass on the torch to next year’s school president. “That guy has one tough act to follow,” Luke saidunder his breath as we watched Jennie drape the ceremonial cape over her successor’s shoulders.
After that, it was Headmaster Griswold, still rocking his handlebar moustache, behind the podium. I took a deep breath and reached over to take Luke’s hand.
Headmaster Griswold introduced my best friend by speaking about Charlie’s many achievements, from his “effervescent” performances, like flying up and down the ice or onstage in a musical, to his “exemplary” transcript. He hadn’t gotten anything less than an A on any assignment ever, and I saw some people roll their eyes at that…and also caught Luke roll his back.You have no idea, I read his mind.You have no idea how hard he works, because he makes everything look so easy.
When our headmaster started in on Charlie’s “illuminating personality,” I squeezed Luke’s hand and felt a burst of something inside me.
“He’s amazing,” I whispered.
“He’s taken,” Luke whispered back.
“We are all especially grateful for the boundless enthusiasm and myriad talents Charlie has shared with us,” Headmaster Griswold continued, “and I have no doubt he will bring the same joy for life and learning to the University of Virginia next year.” He chuckled. “In fact, I’m not certain they knowjustwhat they’re in for…” He cleared his throat. “So it is with much pride and admiration that I congratulate Charlie Carmichael on being selected as this year’s Bexley School valedictorian.”
The applause was deafening. Half the audience stood, and Luke and I craned our necks to see Charlie make his way up thegraduation grandstand. “That’s my boyfriend,” Luke remarked, beaming as Charlie bounded up the steps in that slick way of his.
“Thank you, Headmaster Griswold, for that kind introduction,” Charlie said once he was behind the podium. “And thank you, parents, families, faculty, and fellow Bexleyans, for granting me the honor to speak to you on this”—he smiled, and then his quick wit made its first appearance—“sensationalday.”
All the students laughed, catching the reference, but I got closer and closer to tears as the speech went on. First from laughing too hard, and then from feeling just plain sentimental. Because Charlie had written a thank-you note to Bexley…or more accurately,multiplethank-you notes to Bexley, since his speech was based offThe Tonight Show, with most of it being his take on the “Thank You Note Friday” bit. Everyone cracked up when he said, “Thank you, Turn-It-In, for doing your best to teach me that procrastination is not the best course of action. The ‘Always Crashing Whenever Charlie Tries to Submit an Assignment Three Minutes Before a Deadline’ approach is both effective and cathartic,” and there was another round of laughter when he added, “Thank you, Mrs. Collings and Bexley Campus Safety, for helping me understand what it’s like to be a fugitive from the law. I now feel adequately prepared for when I actually am one.”
I got goose bumps at that. “But what about your shirt?!” I’d shouted just the other night, as Nick and I ran for our lives, Mrs. Collings and her bloodhound on the pursuit. Nick was shirtless, blue MURDICK’SFUDGET-shirt left behind on the sixth hole’s putting green. “It doesn’t matter!” he’d said, and scooped me up into his arms. “We need to go!”
