CHAPTER XIX – GRADUATION
Surely, Germina, Antony and Juliet had done an unforgettable job. That was their first chance to present their skills at such a grand event. Veronica had helped them, both in order to see how these things are done, and to watch what was going on between Germina and Antony.
The night before the graduation ceremony Veronica summoned them all at the stadium and said, "OK. There is nothing between Germina and Antony. I'm positive about that. They are more like siblings, you know. If one starts a sentence, the other one will finish it. The one goes in a certain direction, the other one hurries there, too. And that is not out of passion." She shook her head.
"So?" asked Erin, "What are we to expect tomorrow? Maybe I should call Eric and Daisy off?"
"Or maybe not." said Violet. "Let's help Germina know the truth. Has she seen Eric again after that epic lunch?"
"No, never. Not even on pictures." said Erin.
"Well, then," said Violet. "She may have been mistaken. Now she will see him and know that he is not the one, and that will be it."
"What if she recognizes him as the true ONE?" asked Lily.
"Please, Lily." insisted Violet. "What is she doesn't recognize him at all?"
Simona said, "Hey, that's a good one."
"And quite probable, too." Erin said. "I won't let Germina know he is there. Let's see if she will even as much as notice him, let alone recognize him, or identify him as her true love." The girls giggled.
"Cool," admitted Lily. The girls were already curious to see if heart-broken Germina will be able to recognize Eric.
The morning dawned. Plenty of guests filled the great hall with their colourful outfits, outsiders' smiles, freshness and expectations. The hall looked amazing. No, it was breath-taking. Juliet and Antony were at the door welcoming guests and directing them to their assigned seats. Germina was "around", which meant that she went around the hall checking. "What exactly is she checking?" asked Lily in utter perplexity. It turned out that Violet had persuaded Juliet that her presence at the hall entrance was of utmost importance, as she might personally ask each guest as to their opinions of the decorations, while Germina was prepared enough to do the routine checks. That trick was necessary because Juliet was the principal of the decoration accomplishment and she took great pride in her skills. So, she quite naturally wanted to go round and do those small checks herself, just to enjoy her work over and over again.
Violet had avoided that in the most elegant way possible, just by being able to "see" Juliet's attitude. The idea of Germina welcoming each and every guest at the entrance was not compliant with the girls' idea of keeping her as far from Eric as possible.
In fact, no one recognized Eric. Lily knew she had seen him, but could not remember anything in particular. She simply hoped Eric would look like Erin well enough and be recognizable due to Daisy's being with him. Unfortunately, there were several such couples of alumni whom the girls had not met before. The Jenkins came along, too. When she saw Carl, Lily was taken aback. He had grown into a man. Right then, Lily was talking to Mark who was getting ready to join the other graduates backstage. She simply stopped talking and froze. Mark turned around, curious to see what had drawn Lily's attention like that. His smile darkened when he noticed Carl. The former football captain noticed them, too and came to say "hi".
"Congratulations, Mark and good luck!" Carl shook Mark's stiff hand. Mark nodded, apologized and joined his friends.
"Lily," smiled Carl when they were alone. "I hear you've made quite a captain. And you won the cup again! I'm happy for you. Indeed."
"Uhm, thanks," said Lily, not knowing what else to say,
"And I hear that my brother had done rather wrong by you. I can't believe he let an adorable girl like you just go away."
"I don't believe you are aware of all facts," said Lily, who did not want to get him under the wrong impression about his own brother. "It was more a case of communication failure. And then it was too late."
"And I hear you're happy again," continued Carl, as if not having heard Lily's last words. "You have a new boyfriend."
"Mark's going away," said Lily curtly. She already felt like putting an end to the conversation.
"He will come back for the ceremony next year. Look at me! I'm here!" Carl winked. Lily felt a sting in her heart.
"Yeah, that's surely a comfort. Here you are, after all."
"By the way, have you met my fiancé?" suddenly Carl turned and beckoned to a girl to approach. "This is Fiona. Fiona, this is Lily Lemonpie. She is the new captain of the football team."
The girl was very pretty and looked almost unreal. She shook hands with Lily, and her hand was soft and loose. Lily hated that.
"The football team?" Fiona exclaimed and turned to Carl, "But surely that position can't be taken by a girl, can it?"
Lily hated her. Carl smiled and said, "Yes, dear. The post is open to all players." Fiona frowned. "Oh, that's so crude. These girls, who play at the team, must be real ruffians."
Lily felt that if she did not leave at once, she would kill that beauty. She WOULD be acting like a true ruffian.
Yet, that was the end-of-year ceremony. Lily was taking her goodbye with Mark and who knew what else. She could not let stupid girls, no matter how beautiful and breath-taking, distract her from it. So, Lily looked at Carl with ill-concealed disgust, followed by contempt.
"I thought he was more than that," she stormed to Veronica and Simona later when they were all seated for the ceremony.
"More what?" asked Simona. "He's a boy. Boys only want one thing from a girl. Obviously, Barbie has it."
"Perhaps not all boys, yet I reckon Simona's right. I'm sorry, too, because he did seem a different kind of boy." said Veronica with a sad smile.
"Not much different from his brother." snapped Lily. Violet, who was sitting on Veronica's other side, overheard it and said. "I'm not proud of it, but I must confirm."
Lily frowned, "I know that I suggested that resemblance, yet I cannot confirm that. Buster was different." Violet widened her eyes, "Do you mean that the two of you haven't..."
"No, wait – that's not the point." Lily tried to walk out of the trap she had opened for herself.
"The point is clear, Lily. Let's keep quiet now. The ceremony is about to begin." said Veronica.
The ceremony was so solemn, that it brought tears to Lily's eyes. She looked aside and saw Simona weep, too. The glitters around the hall were magnificent. Colours changed along with the change of speakers and their respective moods. Juliet had a special trick with doors leading Lily knew not where, and there was one on the stage. It just stood in the middle of the stage and there was nothing on the other side. Yet, it glowed blue or red, purple or crimson and it seemed to pulsate.
When the Headmaster and the class supervisor had finished their speeches, they called the graduates who appeared, one by one, through that very door. Lily gaped in astonishment.
"What's that? Oh, my God!"
"Wow, that's Juliet's doing. She has perfected it." said Veronica with a brief laugh.
Simona giggled, "Yeah, she has. Remember the Halloween fiasco."
"This one certainly works better." Violet whispered from Veronica's other side.
"I wonder how they persuaded the students to get on the other side and even try it, in the first place." Lily scratched her head.
Indeed, all the special tricks Juliet had accomplished with Germina and Antony's help were a huge success. Juliet was beside herself with joy and pride. Lily went to congratulate her on those magical moment she had created. Then she wanted to speak to Germina, but suddenly remembered she had not seen Erin for a while. Not sure she was doing the correct thing, she asked Antony, "Have you seen Erin Sune?" Instead of Antony, it was Germina who answered, "Yeah, she 's over there with Eric and Daisy." and calmly pointed to the far end of the hall. Lily was confused. She must have looked it, for Germina smiled, "What? You didn't know I knew? I knew him the moment they entered."
&n
bsp; Lily blinked and she must have had a puzzled look, because Germina patted her on the shoulder laughing, "Lily, love, did you think I was stupid, or what?" She took Antony by the hand and walking away, she said, "I was mistaken. Now I know."
Watching Germina and Antony walk away, Lily felt great relief. Juliet was twittering away happily about her magical work. Lily stayed there to listen and be nice, but in a couple of minutes she really hoped something WILL happen to save her.
And it did! Mark appeared out of the blue, kissed Juliet on the cheek, saying, "You were amazing! A true talent!" Then he took Lily by the hand and away.
"Sorry!" said Lily and sent Juliet an airborne kiss, hurrying away with Mark. At the farthest end of the hall there was a cocktail table of snacks and drinks and Mark was taking Lily to it. They took some bites, then had two cocktails made by Professor Suthern who smiled at Mark giving him the glass and said, "Well, Mark – here's to you and may you have every best luck in your life!"
Lily grabbed her glass and moved away from the professor. Mark told her, "Let's go outside!"
Lily did not know what to expect. She was strangely numb, because she did not know what to do or say, either. Luckily, Mark already had some ideas. He started, "Do you remember what I told you when I kissed you the second time in the dining room?"
Lily closed her eyes, remembering that kiss. "Kiss me," she said. Mark kissed her and then laughed, "That was not it. Do you remember?" he insisted. Lily knew very well. "Yes, I do."
"What was it? Say it!" pushed her Mark.
"OK." agreed Lily. "You said, 'From here...'"
"And then?" Mark urged her on. "Say it."
"OK. Then I said, 'To the end of the school year.'" Lily hated herself. How could she have said it then, and how could she say it now? She closed her eyes and waited. Mark hugged her tight and whispered in her ear, "That was much more than what I'd hoped and prayed for. You made my final months at school matter." He did not let go. Lily said unsurely, "So, that's the end?"
"Of the school year, yes." said Mark. Apparently, he wanted her to take initiative in everything tonight.
"What about us? Is it the end of what we're having?" asked Lily. Mark considered for a while. "I'm leaving. We'll not see each other again for a long time."
Suddenly, Lily felt cold. She wanted to take that self-conceited prick with his new-found confidence and slap him in the face. She trembled with anger. Mark misunderstood that shiver and hugged Lily even tighter.
"Oh, baby," he said, where he had never used that soapy word, "You made me a man. And I'll be forever thankful to you."
Lily was blind with fury. She trembled even harder and made efforts not to hit him when she managed to get off his arms. Mark was still inside his illusion, "Don't worry. You'll find somebody else. Everybody wants you. You're Lily Lemonpie!"
That was it. Lily blacked out and punched him. As they were standing on the terrace, where Mark was leaning against the railing, Lily's punch sent him over it and down in the grass. It was not too high, but it must have hurt. However, Lily did not stay to check on her ex-boyfriend and, still half-blind with fury and humiliation, she crawled back to the hall. She went straight to Professor Suthern who was still mixing his special cocktails.
He seemed to know in a single look. "Oh, Miss Lemonpie, you are back!" said he, nonetheless. "And you look shocked." He added playfully. "Let me mix something for you to bring you back to your true self." He started putting ingredients in a blender. Lily felt a surge of courage and no real chance to go lower in her self-esteem for the night, so she ventured a question, "Professor Suthern, do all men want only one thing?"
The professor looked at her earnestly and said, "Sadly, most do."
Lily must have looked appalled, for he said, " now I've caused you even more shock than you were already in."
He continued with his cocktail mix and when it was ready, he handed Lily a glass, saying, "Yet, some don't."
Later that night the girls had crept out of their Houses to discuss the events of the past weeks.
"That's why I prefer football. There are rules. This game of love is too complex." said Lily, still furious.
"I'm sure Antony is on the second type of boys," chirruped Germina. "Oh, by the way," said she smiling to Erin, "Daisy is very pretty."
Erin just smiled. She dared not speak. Violet, on the other hand, was unstoppable, "Yet, not half as pretty as Antony." She winked, tongue in cheek.
Germina looked around, put her hand on her forehead and said in a deep melodramatic voice, "Oh, no! Here we go again."
That same night when the girls finally went to sleep, and it was, in fact, early morning, Violet jumped when, entering their bedroom, she saw Mark in the window frame.
"Lily, I'll be in the living-room." she sang.
"Mark, what are you doing here?" asked Lily. She was so tired that she did not feel like long conversations and clarifications. She simply wanted to go to bed.
"Lily, I'm sorry!" he said and his voice failed him. Encouraged by that, Lily approached him, then looked out of the window. Mark had brought a ladder with him.
"How long have you been here?" asked she.
"Long enough to show my sincerity."
"You can actually measure that?" Lily's mind was made up.
She said, "Mark, yesterday we agreed it was the end of the school year. That is it! Goodnight." Lily looked out of the window again. "Or, good morning, in fact. And don't miss your ladder on the way down." She turned her back towards him and wanted to call Violet from their lounge.
"So?" said Mark. Lily looked him in the eyes and then at the sky where a tiny silver-edged cloud was sailing. She said, against her own breaking heart:
"It's going to be a rainy summer. Be sure you bring your umbrella."
THE END
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