Chapter 301

• Chapter 17- Cherry
• Cherry’s graduation was coming up in a few days and I already knew what I was getting her as a gift: I’d been saving up for it for a while! After withdrawing the savings from the special account, I went to pick up her engagement ring—I’d picked it out long before. I was surprised at how fast the money collected in the account, but not at all surprised at how quickly it could be spent! But it the end, it was more than worth it.
• The day of Cherry’s graduation finally came and excitement filled the air; for her and me as well. The ceremony was held on the school’s football field which just seemed fitting somehow. There were about 400 students graduating that night; the guys wore red cap and gowns while the girls wore white. Of course, each student’s name was called one at a time and they crossed the improvised stage to collect their diploma. After a dozen students had crossed, one could estimate how popular a graduate was by the level of cheers from the crowd. When it was Cherry’s turn, I was not surprised to see the gold tassel on her cap, indicating that she was in the top ten percent of her class. Strangely, what took me by surprise was the crowd’s reaction as she crossed the stage to accept her diploma. I had intended to make sure she would hear me cheering for her, but as it turned out, my lone voice was no match for the enormous roar from the rest of the crowd. Sure: there were others getting loud ovations, too, but this was deafening!