Chapter 284 - Ocean – Graduation Day
Ocean
~~
Finally, the day of the graduation ceremony had arrived. I had become the school's valedictorian and we both Makai and I graduated with the highest of honors. Ben and Ryan, who hadn't put in as much effort in their earlier years, finished with honors as well, but at a rank slightly below ours.
After everyone had received their diplomas from our principal, the speeches began. There was one from the top teacher in the school, one from the principal and one from me. I was nervous about the speech, but I tried to not let it get to me at all. I knew that it would be OK as long as I stayed calm.
"Parents, faculty, administrators, and of course students, I want to thank you all for being here today. And I don't just mean that you showed up here. What I mean is that you all put in the work or the effort that it took to be here. Specifically, to my fellow students. I know what you all had to accomplish to make it to graduation. While I might not know the struggles that you went through aside from school, I am certain that we all had our fair share of challenges this school year. Not only this one though, but for the last four years. We've seen a lot happen in the world and in our schools, and we all learned to overcome it. We all learned that we are capable of doing anything that we put our minds to. Well, at least I did. And I hope you did too." I was starting off with trying to congratulate them and empathize with them as well. "All of you, in my opinion, are the strongest people that I know. And I want you all to remember that in the future. When you are out there in what our parents and teachers have called 'the real world', remember that you are strong, you are smart and you are capable. You have done something that takes years of commitment and hard work. If you can make it through this, then you can make it through anything. So whether you go to college or a trade school, or even if you just go straight to work, you can achieve whatever it is that you want to. You can find happiness. You can be successful. Because the only one that controls your future is you. As your class valedictorian, I want you to go out there and seize the day. Find what you want and work hard for it. But also, never forget to be happy and take the time to enjoy life. Because no matter what you get, it won't mean anything at all if you are miserable." All eyes were on me and I felt like I was making an ass of myself. I knew that I was not sticking to my speech completely, but I had ended up saying what I was feeling instead of what I had thought so hard about when I wrote this speech in the first place. "I know that when we are out of this school, not all of us are going to be seeing each other for a long time, if we ever see each other again. And since I won't be seeing many of you again in the foreseeable future, I want you all to know that I am proud to call you my friends. Congratulations to you all, we did it." Yeah, I had totally fucked that up. Dammit!
To my immense surprise, everyone that was sitting in the stands around me started to clap. Well, that was nothing but a pity applause for me. I know that I completely fucked up my speech. I had to play it off though, so I went to take my seat. When I did sit down though, I saw that Makai was giving me the thumbs up. He was just being a supportive boyfriend. He was going to like it no matter what.
However, aside from Makai, Ben and Ryan were congratulating me from their seats in the crowd. I even saw my parents and Makai's parents mouthing words of praise and showing me that they enjoyed my speech as well.
Wait a minute, did I not totally fuck up my speech? Had I gone off the script yet still managed to make it work? Man, I really hope that I did. It would be so much better for us all if that had been the case.
"Thank you, Ocean, for that wonderful speech. There is so much truth to the words that you spoke, and I want to thank you for pointing that out to us all." Mr. Daniels, the principal, was applauding me as well when he went to stand at the podium. "I am so happy that someone as smart and as talented as you was able to attend my school. I honestly feel as if all of us were somehow rewarded by having you here. Whether you helped your friends, encouraged your fellow classmates, or gave inspiration to others, you have been an asset to our small community. Thank you, Ocean. Thank you for all that you have done for our school." That was when he applauded me again, along with everyone else. Thankfully, it didn't last long before he started to speak again. "Ocean isn't the only one that has been an asset to our school. In my opinion, all of you are. It is just like Ocean said in his speech, graduating isn't an easy thing to do, especially in this day and age. And I am proud to say that your class had a ninety-eight percent graduation rate. Of all of you that came in as freshmen and did not move away before senior year ended, ninety-eight percent of you graduated. That is quite an amazing accomplishment and I am so proud of you all. Thank you, thank all of you for giving your effort every single day. Thank you for being here with all of us for this wonderfully happy day." There was more applause in the middle of Mr. Daniel's speech. "I also want you to listen to what Ocean said about succeeding in life after high school. It doesn't matter what you do, just strive to be the best that you can be, but don't sacrifice your happiness to do it." That seemed to be the end of the speeches. I hadn't expected that the principal was going to incorporate my words into his own speech. That was some skill that he had, ad libbing his entire speech to work together with mine. He was a lot more amazing than I thought he was. Way to go Mr. Daniels.
Now that the ceremony was over, it was time for the families and graduated students to take photos together. All of the graduating kids were running around and asking everyone that they could to take pictures and to sign their yearbooks. It was a lot of commotion and I thought that I was going to be able to avoid it since I was not one of those hyper running people. Well, that clearly wasn't going to happen.
Before I knew it, there was a line of students near me, Makai, Ben, and Ryan. They wanted to take photos with us individually and as a group. I didn't know why really. I mean, was it because we had won the swimming competitions? Was it because we were at the top of the class?
Well, that might be what part of it was from. However, as I listened to the people around us talk while they waited for their turn, I heard something else. Most of them just wanted to take a picture with us because we were openly gay, and they were into that kind of thing. They were fans of books and manga that were about gay couples. And seeing us in real life had made their fantasies come true.
I had not been expecting that, but I guess that it was a little flattering. And as I thought about it, I got an idea. I decided to whisper to Ryan and tell him to follow my lead and do what I was about to do. He was confused for a moment until he saw what was happening.
Before anyone realized what I was doing, I had grabbed Makai's shirt and pulled him in for a deep passionate kiss. Ryan laughed but I knew that he was following suit. The result of our little game here was dozens of girls screaming in delight as I heard the sound of the cameras on their phones going off like crazy.
Now these people would have a lasting memory of us all. And we all got to have this special moment as well. I knew that Makai wouldn't have a problem with me kissing him in front of people like this, so it wasn't an issue.
After the pictures were done, we left the school and went to a really nice dinner with my family and Makai's parents. It was just 'our' family and no one else. Since my family and Makai's family had basically merged and Ben and Ryan had been adopted into that family, that wasn't a lie at all.
All in all, the day was amazing and I would never forget it, ever. I would be able to draw on this day for inspiration and happiness even when I was old and gray. I would be able to tell people that I proved my love for Makai in front of the entire graduating class and I didn't care what anyone else thought about it.. Life was good.
Chapter 284 - Ocean – Graduation Day
Ocean
~~
Finally, the day of the graduation ceremony had arrived. I had become the school's valedictorian and we both Makai and I graduated with the highest of honors. Ben and Ryan, who hadn't put in as much effort in their earlier years, finished with honors as well, but at a rank slightly below ours.
After everyone had received their diplomas from our principal, the speeches began. There was one from the top teacher in the school, one from the principal and one from me. I was nervous about the speech, but I tried to not let it get to me at all. I knew that it would be OK as long as I stayed calm.
"Parents, faculty, administrators, and of course students, I want to thank you all for being here today. And I don't just mean that you showed up here. What I mean is that you all put in the work or the effort that it took to be here. Specifically, to my fellow students. I know what you all had to accomplish to make it to graduation. While I might not know the struggles that you went through aside from school, I am certain that we all had our fair share of challenges this school year. Not only this one though, but for the last four years. We've seen a lot happen in the world and in our schools, and we all learned to overcome it. We all learned that we are capable of doing anything that we put our minds to. Well, at least I did. And I hope you did too." I was starting off with trying to congratulate them and empathize with them as well. "All of you, in my opinion, are the strongest people that I know. And I want you all to remember that in the future. When you are out there in what our parents and teachers have called 'the real world', remember that you are strong, you are smart and you are capable. You have done something that takes years of commitment and hard work. If you can make it through this, then you can make it through anything. So whether you go to college or a trade school, or even if you just go straight to work, you can achieve whatever it is that you want to. You can find happiness. You can be successful. Because the only one that controls your future is you. As your class valedictorian, I want you to go out there and seize the day. Find what you want and work hard for it. But also, never forget to be happy and take the time to enjoy life. Because no matter what you get, it won't mean anything at all if you are miserable." All eyes were on me and I felt like I was making an ass of myself. I knew that I was not sticking to my speech completely, but I had ended up saying what I was feeling instead of what I had thought so hard about when I wrote this speech in the first place. "I know that when we are out of this school, not all of us are going to be seeing each other for a long time, if we ever see each other again. And since I won't be seeing many of you again in the foreseeable future, I want you all to know that I am proud to call you my friends. Congratulations to you all, we did it." Yeah, I had totally fucked that up. Dammit!
To my immense surprise, everyone that was sitting in the stands around me started to clap. Well, that was nothing but a pity applause for me. I know that I completely fucked up my speech. I had to play it off though, so I went to take my seat. When I did sit down though, I saw that Makai was giving me the thumbs up. He was just being a supportive boyfriend. He was going to like it no matter what.
However, aside from Makai, Ben and Ryan were congratulating me from their seats in the crowd. I even saw my parents and Makai's parents mouthing words of praise and showing me that they enjoyed my speech as well.
Wait a minute, did I not totally fuck up my speech? Had I gone off the script yet still managed to make it work? Man, I really hope that I did. It would be so much better for us all if that had been the case.
"Thank you, Ocean, for that wonderful speech. There is so much truth to the words that you spoke, and I want to thank you for pointing that out to us all." Mr. Daniels, the principal, was applauding me as well when he went to stand at the podium. "I am so happy that someone as smart and as talented as you was able to attend my school. I honestly feel as if all of us were somehow rewarded by having you here. Whether you helped your friends, encouraged your fellow classmates, or gave inspiration to others, you have been an asset to our small community. Thank you, Ocean. Thank you for all that you have done for our school." That was when he applauded me again, along with everyone else. Thankfully, it didn't last long before he started to speak again. "Ocean isn't the only one that has been an asset to our school. In my opinion, all of you are. It is just like Ocean said in his speech, graduating isn't an easy thing to do, especially in this day and age. And I am proud to say that your class had a ninety-eight percent graduation rate. Of all of you that came in as freshmen and did not move away before senior year ended, ninety-eight percent of you graduated. That is quite an amazing accomplishment and I am so proud of you all. Thank you, thank all of you for giving your effort every single day. Thank you for being here with all of us for this wonderfully happy day." There was more applause in the middle of Mr. Daniel's speech. "I also want you to listen to what Ocean said about succeeding in life after high school. It doesn't matter what you do, just strive to be the best that you can be, but don't sacrifice your happiness to do it." That seemed to be the end of the speeches. I hadn't expected that the principal was going to incorporate my words into his own speech. That was some skill that he had, ad libbing his entire speech to work together with mine. He was a lot more amazing than I thought he was. Way to go Mr. Daniels.
Now that the ceremony was over, it was time for the families and graduated students to take photos together. All of the graduating kids were running around and asking everyone that they could to take pictures and to sign their yearbooks. It was a lot of commotion and I thought that I was going to be able to avoid it since I was not one of those hyper running people. Well, that clearly wasn't going to happen.
Before I knew it, there was a line of students near me, Makai, Ben, and Ryan. They wanted to take photos with us individually and as a group. I didn't know why really. I mean, was it because we had won the swimming competitions? Was it because we were at the top of the class?
Well, that might be what part of it was from. However, as I listened to the people around us talk while they waited for their turn, I heard something else. Most of them just wanted to take a picture with us because we were openly gay, and they were into that kind of thing. They were fans of books and manga that were about gay couples. And seeing us in real life had made their fantasies come true.
I had not been expecting that, but I guess that it was a little flattering. And as I thought about it, I got an idea. I decided to whisper to Ryan and tell him to follow my lead and do what I was about to do. He was confused for a moment until he saw what was happening.
Before anyone realized what I was doing, I had grabbed Makai's shirt and pulled him in for a deep passionate kiss. Ryan laughed but I knew that he was following suit. The result of our little game here was dozens of girls screaming in delight as I heard the sound of the cameras on their phones going off like crazy.
Now these people would have a lasting memory of us all. And we all got to have this special moment as well. I knew that Makai wouldn't have a problem with me kissing him in front of people like this, so it wasn't an issue.
After the pictures were done, we left the school and went to a really nice dinner with my family and Makai's parents. It was just 'our' family and no one else. Since my family and Makai's family had basically merged and Ben and Ryan had been adopted into that family, that wasn't a lie at all.
All in all, the day was amazing and I would never forget it, ever. I would be able to draw on this day for inspiration and happiness even when I was old and gray. I would be able to tell people that I proved my love for Makai in front of the entire graduating class and I didn't care what anyone else thought about it.. Life was good.
