Hey my Queendalers! If you guessed the code word “fight,” you guessed right! I hope you Queendale High students knew that one because if you didn’t, you need to get some school spirit! Anyways, I am so sorry that I haven’t posted in a month. Things have been so crazy with school ending and graduation that Lexie has not had time to write; but fear not! Lexie is back and has some juice to share about graduation and grad night!
So as I said earlier, the night of graduation has finally arrived! In the early evening of the wondrous day, I spotted Evanglina and Kara leaving the house to go to the City Hall auditorium. It is crazy how much people can change in a month. It feels like everyone has already matured into adults!
I thought this as I reached the city hall and saw Maria Henderson arriving in her cap and gown. She looked absolutely beautiful as she walked up the steps, just like a young woman. Time really goes by, doesn’t it?
After Maria had arrived with Josephina and her parents and went inside, more students started arriving. I happened to notice Angel as she passed by and entered the building. Her hair was tucked neatly into her cap which is the first time I have really seen her face, clearly. Is it rude for me to say she looks older than I thought she did?
I saw Claire and Adam arrive together with Claire in a snow-white dress. I was a bit confused, but then I heard that Claire had accidently misplaced her graduation gown! Awkward! She was going to have to walk onstage dressed out of uniform. I guess her mother had tried to make her feel better by letting her borrow one of her formal dresses, but honestly, I think it just makes it more obvious that she forgot her cap and gown.
The ceremony itself, went very well. There were choir and orchestra performances and then the valedictorian, Emilie Nelson, said a few words. I was not surprised it was her, for she was the most studious student in the whole school. She even founded the Pre-Med club, something that has not been done before around here. Senior Class president was originally Abigail Best, but since she was still gone, the task was given to Claire. I do have to say it was awkward with her dressed in that white dress.
I was surprised, but Claire gave a surprisingly good speech. Not as good as Emilie’s, but not bad. By the time the ceremony was over, all the seniors were pretty pumped.
As Evanglina came out of the building, she threw her diploma in the air and cheered. Sadly, her mother was nowhere to be seen, not that I think she was missing her too much.
I also spotted Derek and Adam coming out through the doors together with him twirling his diploma in his hand. I swear he grew an inch or two from May till now! Adam too!
A few minutes later, I saw Derek standing with Evanglina (surprise, surprise). They shared a warm embrace and kiss, as they stood there together. I’m sure Angel and Claire were not too happy about it. They have been giving her the cold shoulder all night!
I then saw Kara standing not too far off tossing her diploma as well. Ricky was standing nearby smiling along with Sarah. It sure is nice to see them all looking so happy after the whole thing with Jake and Henria. And was it just me, or does Sarah’s stomach look a little bigger than usual? Could she possibly be eating for two? Time will tell!
I also saw Emilie coming out of city hall as well. She was grinning from ear to ear and carrying her diploma. She looked extremely proud of herself, which I think was totally well deserved. Those last words of her speech, “No matter where we go or live or what we become, we will always be Queendale Hawks at heart,” really resonated with me, and by the way everyone was cheering, it resonated with them too.
It was starting to get a bit crowded in front, until people started dispersing. Then through the crowd, I saw Maria chatting with David Maxwell! I thought it was a bit awkward, but from what I heard, he was congratulating her and wishing her well. Something tells me that he has been talking to Adam lately. I also saw Angel watching them from the corner of her eye. I’m telling you, if that girl could rid the world of Maria and Evanglina…
A while later I spotted Claire finally emerge from the city hall doors, yes, still in her white ball gown. I am surprised that she didn’t get grief about it. The principle is pretty stringent about those kinds of things. Then again, the Maxwells have donated a lot of money to the school, so maybe the principle decided to look the other way.
Thirty minutes later, the crowd started to thin out some more. I was then able to see Paul and Brian Nelson coming out of the building. He had traded his cap for a baseball one and was wearing a little smirk.
“Hey seniors!” he called out then, “Don’t forget! Bonfire starts at the beach in thirty minutes!” This was followed by loud cheers, which I saw many parents cover their ears to.
After that, many people headed off, probably for the beach. Before Evanglina left, I saw her turn and give Ricky a hug.
“I’m so proud of you,” he said, with a smile. “Have fun and be safe.”
Evanglina grinned. “Thank you. It means a lot coming from you,” she said, and then with a little wave, she heads off to Derek’s motorcycle where he was waiting for her. Wow. It is amazing how close the two of them have gotten in such a small amount of time.
An hour later, the bonfire was in full swing. The beach logs had been piled on top of each other and engulfed in a bright yellow-orange flame, and with the smell of the ocean air along with the waves from the sea, it was a beautiful view.
I caught Derek and Adam even stopping to take in the scenery. And may I say, they both looked fantastic in their bathing suits. All rock hard and chiseled. Even I’m getting all hot and bothered!
Paul was also looking pretty good as he waded in the ocean with Kara. They seemed to be having a nice private party with just the two of them, so I decided to take my leave.
It looked like someone brought over a portable boom box and started blaring some tunes from the speakers. I even saw an ice shaving machine! Maria took advantage of this as I saw her walking off with a lemon ice shaving. I even happened to snag a cherry and blue raspberry flavored one without anyone noticing. Delicious!
I spotted Josephina arriving a bit later in a pair of boots. She totally had that pirate thing going on! There was a buffet table up on the beach lookout, and it seemed both she and Adam were heading right up to it.
Inside the lookout, I found Evanglina and Emilie hanging by the pool table deep in conversation. Evanglina seemed to be telling Emilie about her acceptance to Bridgeport University.
“Kara got accepted too,” she was saying. “She also got accepted into the University of Aderson and Cleveland University, but she chose the same as me.” She laughed. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy about it.”
Emilie smiled. “That’s great! I hear Maria and Derek are going there as well. It’s nice that you will all be together.”
“Yah, but it won’t be the same without you.” Evanglina sighed. “Still, I’m so happy you got into Columbia University.”
“Me too, but not as happy as my mom. She is telling everyone she can about it.” They both then laughed.
“So has Paul decided where he is going?”
Emilie shrugged. “I’m not totally sure. He seems split between Alfred State and Bridgeport, but if I could place a bet, I’d say Alfred State. I think its Kara that is making him confused, what with them now dating and everything.”
“Which brings me to ask, how are things with you and Claude?”
Emilie looked surprised and then blushed. “Good. Very good.”
“You two have been spending a lot of time together lately.”
Emilie rubbed the back of her neck still blushing. “Yes, I guess we have.”
“Well, I’m glad things are going well with you two.”
“Yah, only thing is that he leaves in a week, so we are trying to spend as much time together as we can before then.”
“Understandable. That must be hard.”
“I’m trying not to think about it.”
Evanglina smiled. “You should get out there then. I saw him arrive a few minutes ago.”
She doesn’t have to say that twice, for Emilie then perked up and was on her way out the door.
Out on the deck, Adam and Josephina were still munching on the buffet food. But that wasn’t all. It would seem that Adam had a bit of an ulterior motive for eating with her. As they ate, he seemed to be asking a lot of questions about Maria and how she was doing, including, asking where she was thinking about going to school.
“She’s thinking about Bridgeport University. It’s between that and NYU.”
“Oh. So she hasn’t decided yet?”
Josephina laughed and rose from her chair. “Adam, if you want to know so bad, I think you should just ask her.”
Adam swallowed. “I…can’t. She won’t talk to me.”
“Trust me Adam. Talk to her,” she said, and then she left the deck. Goodness. If Adam is still after Maria after all this time, I really think that boy is head over heels. Seriously. I even feel a bit bad for him.
Maria, however, was off with Evanglina by a fire pit that someone had started. They were deep in a conversation about college and even their band.
“I say we should do our own video,” Evanglina was saying. “If that one that someone put up got 250,000 views, I think we could do one of our own and get just as many.”
Maria shrugged. “It’s worth a shot. Anything to get “Evarie” on a roll.”
“It’s going to be hard with you in San Mario, New Mexico all summer, not to mention if you end up going to NYU.”
“I know, but I haven’t decided yet! I still have a week to give NYU an answer.”
“And are you any closer to figuring it out?”
Maria took a deep breath. “I really like NYU, but the music program at Bridgeport University is amazing. Also, I have always wanted to go to school in Bridgeport.”
“Well, in the end, you should go where your heart is.”
Maria sighed. “Isn’t that the truth. I wish it was that easy.”
Evanglina pulled Maria into a hug. “You’re talking about Adam, aren’t you?”
“I just wish I knew what to do about him. He’s been trying to get us back together since Prom, but I’m not sure how I feel about it.”
“I think you just need to talk to him about it. Really talk to him. Make him understand how you feel. At least then you both aren’t walking on egg shells.”
Maria was quiet for a minute and then she shook her head. “I hate relationships. They can be so stressful.”
Evanglina laughed. “You’re telling me! Look at everything Derek and I went through the past year. You think college will be any easier?”
They are both quiet and then laugh. “No!” They say in unison and then walk off toward the bonfire. Here’s to wishing them both a stress-free summer.
After that, the night seemed to go along more smoothly. Maybe that was because Claire and Angel were nowhere in sight.
Which was probably a bit of a relieve for Paul and Kara who had moved from the ocean and were stargazing together by the shore. The last thing they probably needed was Angel bursting in on their private moment.
Derek and Evanglina seemed to be getting a little mushy by the fire pit while dancing to the music from the boombox. Seeing them together so happy, I can’t help but wonder if they will still be together this time next year. Then again, if they can get through everything they have been through over the past year and a half, I think they can get through anything. They just might be the couple that will someday make it down the alter.
As for Adam and Maria, who knows. Things aren’t looking that great for them. Although I did happen to catch them finally speaking to each other before the party ended. Adam seemed to want to go on, but Maria didn’t seem ready. I heard her say something about meeting up later this week and then she turned and left. Adam looked crushed, but a little hopeful. Don’t worry my Queendalers, I will keep my eye on that development.
As the night dragged on, people started to slowly disperse. Soon, only a few people were left on the beach, including Evanglina and Josephina, who were still hanging by the warm blazing fire.
Emilie and Claude were also still left chatting away with each other. It’s so strange to see Emilie with a boyfriend. She has really come out of her shell over the year.
And before the night came to a close, I couldn’t help but drift back to Paul and Kara, who were alone on the other side of the beach. They seemed to be in a conversation about schools as well.
“You seem to really be leaning toward it though, Paul,” Kara was saying. “I think you really want to go there.”
“But Kara-”
“Paul, I don’t want you to have any regrets about the school you go to. I want you to go to the one that makes you the happiest. Even if that means I won’t be there.”
Paul grinned. “You know any other girl would be begging me not to go, but you are the complete opposite.”
Kara laughed. “I’m not like other girls. And I want you to be happy. Besides, we won’t be too far from each other. Just an hour away.”
“Forty-five minutes, to be exact.”
“Even better.” Kara pulled him closer to her. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
And just like the end of a chick flick rom-com movie, they shared a lip lock under the stars. Not trying to be cheesy, but it was definitely a “The Notebook” like kiss. I guess we now know where Paul will be going. Alfred State, here he comes!
Well, that ends grad night for the seniors! Congratulations to all of you! Go Hawks! And to those of you still guessing my identity, you are getting very close!
Kisses,
Lexie
(Code Clue: The mascot of the mighty Queendale High, fills all the students with spirit and pride)
-Evanglina
Kisses, Lexie 