Chapter 112: Graduation Ceremony (II)

The auditorium hummed with the general air of expectation, everywhere decorated as it should be with fitting sashes, balloons and a beautiful banner that somehow drew as little attention to itself as possible.

Seated on the stage with poise and awaiting the commencement of the ceremony were the school administrators in the form of Principal Walters and some staff members, select few teachers including Mr. Lazlow, Coach Ramirez and Mrs. Delacroix, everyone’s favorite guidance counsellor, Dr. Kowalski, three alumni and a couple district officials.

Now donning their graduation gowns, a sky-blue apparel with silver-lined edges reminiscent of Silverlake High’s colors, the graduating set began to file into the hall roughly ten minutes after their respective guardians, families and friends had.

Tassels bobbing gently, they all settled into their seats at the very front... save for Damian who walked onto the stage, his gait purposeful and his stride confident.

Behind him was Theo, a silver stole around the youth’s neck and his fist clenched slightly. Clearly, he was doing his best to reel in his nerves whilst letting out deep breaths as he made his way up to the stage.

No sooner had the Valedictorian taken his seat, another deep breath escaping him, he did his best to don a light smile as the Salutatorian stepped up to the podium to give the introductory speech.

Tapping the mic once to ensure that it was functioning properly, Damian cleared his throat.

Then, he spoke, a mischievous grin forming on his face;

"Alright guys,"

"That acapella would be perfect, right about now--"

Damian hadn’t quite managed to complete that sentence when the entire graduation set harmonized in one fell swoop with the 20th Century Fox theme, their palms clapping in sync!

The startled surprise that rippled through the hall was unmistakable, the staffs themselves and Principal Walters visibly stunned.

But when the kids topped it off with their own lyrics...

Welcome to Silverlake High’s Graduation Ceremony...

We’ve spent the past four years of our lives being dumb...

And somehow... against all odds... we’re still getting diplomas...

So please clap for us now, before we have to face the real world...!

...the auditorium erupted in a boisterous wave of genuine laughter as the graduating sat dragged out the last line, a unified wave of exuberant applauds rippling through the hall.

For a while, Damian let in linger, grinning from ear to ear alongside the rest of his senior year set, most of whom were losing it right now as well.

As for Principal Walters, the man simply let out a resigned sigh whilst gently massaging his temples, some of his fellow staffs sharing the gesture, and some shaking their heads.

For the most part though, the larger percentile of staffs had lost it as well, Mrs. Delacroix and Coach Ramirez’s laughter ringing clearest, while the rest visibly did their best not to break while covering their lips with a palm--Dr. Kowalski and Coach Ramirez especially.

Even the district officials and alumni weren’t spared, each respectively either struggling not to laugh or just outright letting it out.

Roughly a minute after though, when things had settled down a bit, Damian then adjusted the mic briefly as he spoke with an amused smile;

"It’s amazing what we can do when we band together as one, isn’t it?"

"But if we’re being honest, that’s what Silverlake High has always been all about," he continued, his voice carrying an honest weight to it as everyone looked to him, some of them nodding.

"A community that thrives, will continue to thrive, and will subsequently continue to do its best to not leave any student behind, whatever their background, wherever they may come from, and whomever they might be." Damian impassionedly continued, his hand clenching into a fist.

"Thank you all so much, and welcome, once again, to Silverlake High’s, 37th graduation ceremony." he concluded his welcome speech and the auditorium erupted into a new round of impassioned applauds.

From there on, the graduation ceremony kicked into full-gear as the keynote speakers ranging from Principal Walters himself, to Dr. Kowalski and one of the alumni walked onto the stage and gave one speech after the other.

Soon enough, it was time for the Valedictorian to take the stage and give the farewell speech before the diploma awarding began.

With most of his nerves still in a bit of a bunch, Theo straightened his back a bit as he walked up to the podium.

For a brief moment he simply adjusted the mic, setting it to his preference as his heart pounded in his chest.

Then, thinking up the speech he’d already memorized, his gaze found the gang’s, all of them smiling assuredly whilst giving him a thumbs-up.

Afterall, he’d rehearsed it to them over and over again so they knew it was definitely a good speech for a send-off.

Formal, straightforward and by the book, maybe... but still a perfectly-fitting speech nonetheless.

Yet, in that very moment, Theo adjusted the mic one last time and decided to toss it all away for something that was more natural.

"I’d like to start by saying, that I really should not be the one up on this stage," he nervously began and everyone’s attention sharpened, Aiden and rest of his buddies no less different.

Briefly, they looked to one another, and then back to the stage as Theo continued;

"And I mean that in all the best, possible ways,"

"Some of you, may or may not know me as Technicolor Theo from that unfortunate puke incident..." he gestured slightly, his palm a bit shaky but his voice gaining more confidence.

"...a name I have to admit, was a source of distress for me for most of high school," he joked, a small chuckle escaping him.

In response, most of his peers equally found themselves chuckling a bit, though they remained just as attentive as the rest of the parents, staffs and guardians who didn’t quite get the joke.

"Yet, as we progressed through the years, people started to use the name less and less, I in turn..." Theo continued, his hand less shaky and firmer as he gestured, his timing perfect;

"...made it my username across several of my social media apps."

There was a wave of chuckles that rippled through the entire graduating set, as well as the auditorium itself.

"Maybe it’s because you got bored, or maybe it’s because I kept a low-profile... I can never truly say," Theo theorized, his gaze travelling over the graduating set with a genuine smile.

"But I’d like to believe, that the main reason, was because we managed to outgrow it." The Valedictorian finally made his point as he drove it home;

"Growth,"

"That’s what I believe we’ve all undeniably shared, over the past couple years." he followed up.

"We’ve grown, we’ve matured as best as we can, and we’ve had our goalposts shifted to accommodate the bigger people we’re becoming." Theo articulated with a keen gaze, his head bobbing softly and a light smile tugging on his lips.

Then he looked to the gang specifically, his gaze settling on Aiden as he declared;

"That, alone, makes every one of you just as worthy of standing here, upon this stage, same as me."

In sync, a resounding wave of charged applauds filled up every corner of the room, a slew of passionate cheers rippling in sync through the venue.

Giving room for it to die down, all of his nerves completely gone, The Valedictorian then said in his firmest yet encouraging voice;

"So, as we step forward and onwards, as we move into the real world, and as we look to the future, remember to continue growing,"

"Remember to keep maturing, and remember to keep being bigger people through all the walks of life." Theo finalized his thoughts and then concluded with a warm smile and a salute;

"That’s all from me, Silverlake High. Thank you so much for having me. This is Theo Brooks, signing off."

No sooner had he rounded up the speech, yet another standing ovation rippled through the auditorium, this one far more ardent than the last.

Aiden, Casper, Larry, Clyde and Benjamin were clapping the loudest, all five standing to their feet whilst looking like the proudest fathers on the planet.

But even then, it was clear as day that Aiden was the one full of the most pride amidst them.

At the same time, Richard and Emily--Theo’s mother--were much the same, tears brimming down the woman’s eyes as she constantly wiped it over and over again.

Considering they’d both heard how the original speech as well, they more than anyone knew just how much the impromptu one he’d given had blown it out of the water.

Even other parents and guardians were standing as well, ’cause even though they weren’t the ones graduating, they had equally taken a lot from the speech that was no more than five minutes.

In any case, after the standing ovation had died down and a few more formalities were ticked off the box, that was when the diploma awarding session actually began.

Unknown to Principal Walters and everyone else in the auditorium though--save for the graduands themselves--they were about to experience the second prank of the day from the graduating set.