Today way the day. The day that I would no longer be a hostage in this hell hole. The day where my real life would begin. The day that I considered becoming an adult. Yeah, I was going to go to college, but it was the time where I was concerned about my future; I knew what I wanted to do with my life, and I was going to school to pursue that dream of mine.

Emmy and I stood in my room, pulling on our dresses, doing each other's makeup, and working on our hair. We still had plenty of time before the actual ceremony, but Mr. C insisted that he take us out to dinner before the big day. Usually when people think about their big day it's a wedding, but for me and Emmy, it was graduation. The both of us were both far from getting married, and this was what was important to us in the moment.

I had yet to hear from my mom on whether she was in town or not. She hadn't gotten a hold of me since the day she called me, but I was still freaking out about what she looked like, how she was doing, and what the hell she was thinking when she left, leaving me with a drug addict step-mother after my father died. Obviously Angela had changed, and I couldn't have been more proud of doing so for my sake. We had an amazing relationship, and it was almost as if she had replaced my mother. Even though Angela and I had our rough patch, she stepped up and took on mothering someone else's daughter. She treated me like her own, and I couldn't be more thankful for that.

"Girls, hurry up. We want pictures before you go to dinner," Angela yelled up the stairs. Emmy and I did the finishing touches before we looked each other over, smiling with approval. We slowly made our way down the stairs, spotting Matt, Angela, and Mr. C waiting for us with smiles on their faces.

"You girls look beautiful," Mr. C said as he gave us both a kiss on the cheek.

"Okay, girls, let's get these pictures done so we can eat," Angela said, clearly excited about the food. Angela took pictures of all of us, then handed the camera off to Mr. C so she could be included in the pictures. Once pictures were done, we all grabbed our bags, ready to head out. I stopped Angela as everyone else left the house.

"Have you heard from my mom?" I asked her. I really was just curious whether my mom was serious about coming or not.

"No, honey, I haven't. Listen, I know it's been a while since you've seen your mom, but don't let it ruin your night if she doesn't come. It might be better off that way." I nodded at her words, knowing that what she was saying was true. Seeing my mom for the first time in years could send me over the edge. I don't know what she'll be like. I looked around, seeing Emmy. Mr. C, and Matt waiting for us at the door.

"We better get going. I think they're waiting," I said, pointing towards their direction. Angela nodded, wrapping her arm around me.

~~~~

"I have a food baby," Emmy groaned, leaning back in her chair. "If I had pants on, I would unbutton them to have more room." We chuckled at her. We went to Olive Garden, and Emmy thought it would be a great idea to get the endless salad and bread sticks. After about three plates of salad and two bowls of bread sticks, she finally admitted she was full and stopped ordering. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that our server was cute. She just couldn't get enough of him. I wonder if Mr. C noticed her flirting.

"Girls, we better get going if you want to make it on time," Me. C said as he checked his watch. I gathered my clutch and took one last sip of my Sprite before standing up. We all chipped in for the tip since Mr. C insisted on paying for dinner. Emmy hid a ten dollar bill under her cup. I wouldn't be surprised if she wrote her number on it; that's just how she was.

The drive to the school was a short one. Luckily the weather looked like it was going to cooperate, so we would still be able to have an outdoors ceremony. Mr. C pulled up to where the seniors were being dropped off. He gave Emmy a quick kiss on the cheek before wishing us both good luck, and telling us he would be filming the ceremony for us. Angela gave me a big hug, tears already forming in her eyes. I had to walk away before the water works would start for me.

"Here we are," Emmy said as we walked into the cafeteria to kill time.

"Here we are," I repeated, looking around the room at all the seniors in their gap and gowns. Emmy and I quickly got into our gowns, helping each other with pinning our caps on.

"I would say we did it, but I'll save that for when we actually have the diplomas in our hand." I chuckled. We stood around, talking to other classmates as we waited for the final call.

"Okay guys," the principle said. "I just want to congratulate you all in making it this far. I know you're going to hear many speeches tonight, so I figured I would keep this short and just wish you all the best of luck with your futures. Here's to the class of 2015." There were cheers coming from all over the cafeteria. The seniors were pumped up and excited. Too bad the principle didn't know it was because we were all excited to leave this place.

"Split up into your two lines. Make sure you're next to your walking partner," the secretary chimed in once the loudness died down. Emmy was right behind me, due to the fact that no one in our class had a last name starting with B. We would literally be together through the whole thing.

~~~~

"And now it's time to hand out the diplomas. What do you think class of 2014?" The class erupted in cheers. I grabbed Emmy's hand, knowing we would be the first two to accept our diplomas. Unfortunately, I would still be walking back to my seat as she headed up for her diploma, but I would make due with what I had.

The principle grabbed the first diploma, and Emmy grabbed my hand. I squeezed her hand, shooting her a smile.

"Riley Allister." At the mention of my name, I got up, making my way towards the podium where I would shake hands and finally have my diploma. I shook the secretary's hand, some guy I didn't know, and finally, the principles. "Congratulations," he said with a smile as he shook my hand. He handed my my diploma and moved my tassel to the other side. Once I had my diploma, I turned towards the crowd, holding up my diploma with a smile on my face so Angela and Mr. C could get pictures. People cheered, even though I wasn't their family. It was a day full of excitement. As I headed back to my seat, they called Emmy's name, and I could help but cheer in excitement. I sat down, waiting for Emmy to take her seat again.

When she finally took her seat, she shot me a toothy grin, and I couldn't help but laugh.

~~~~

Once all the names had been called, the class of 2014 stood up to sing the schools anthem. After we sang the anthem, we threw our caps into the air, waiting for them to come back down. Once they hit the ground, we all scrambled to find our own caps. Emmy threw her arms around me, pulling me in for a tight embrace.

"We did it," she exclaimed. I smiled, nodding at her. Once the room settled down, we made our way over to Angela and Mr. C. Angela have me a tight hug, tears streaming down her face.

"Your father would be so proud of you, sweetheart." And that's when I lost it. Tears started to build in my eyes, and I kept sniffling to hold them back, but that only worked for so long. Matt came over, giving me a hug and a kiss. Angela made us pose for more pictures. I looked around the room, but didn't spot my mother. Maybe she backed out and decided not to come. Who knew, but at this point in time, I didn't care. I was happy that I was surrounded by the people who cared about me. Emmy came strutting over with a big smile on her face. We posed for a couple of pictures. She turned and looked at me.

"We did it," she said, once again. I nodded.

"We did it."

-------------------------------------------------------

What did you think of the graduation scene? How do you feel about Riley's mother not showing up?

I think the story will be coming to an end soon, and I'm still debating on whether or not I'm going to do a sequel.

If you enjoyed, don't forget to comment and rate!!