Chapter 66

The speech was addressed to the entire school. But Calen... my Calen seemed to only offer the words to me. He'd glance around the auditorium so that everyone would feel as if they were included in the message,as if the words were for them, but I knew different. He was glancing around because staring at me for the entire twenty minutes straight would have been too obvious. And because everyone would have already guessed that he had written the speech with the aim of addressing I alone. So he'd turn to the crowd, smile at someone's mother and gaze at someone's brother. Look back towards the principal and nod his head. 

 But when he had gotten to that particular part I knew for certain I was in his mind. Seated next to my classmates, I watched him. I listened to him talk and I smiled because I had him. Because he was mine.

" I know nothing about what the future holds..." he began. He had a paper in his hand but he had barely glanced at it, his eyes were now focused on the floor, his tone sounded far away. Like he was in his own thoughts.

" I think that I've actually been here longer than most of the other students. I've walked in these hallways until I suspected they became familiar with me, that they could sense my footsteps before I stepped on them. And despite what most of you claim, I'm certain that in one way or the other, you've grown since your arrival here. And I pray that you continue to do so even after your departure from this place. But I would like to take a moment to try and explain a certain concept to you all....." he glanced around the entire hall. Then he looked at me last, and he remained looking. 

" I'd like to talk about the heart, about this fragile organ that makes us who we are. In some it's bruised, aching so much that the owners of it resort to living lives that aren't lives at all. I believe that it guides us, shows us how we ought to react, to behave and to live. That our dreams and those imaginations and fantasies originate from here before the mind captures them and makes them clear, " he tapped his chest. His eyes still never leaving mine and mine on his. 

" If there is one thing I will forever thank Seville for, it's gifting me a heart that identifies what it wants and strives to get it. And in this place I got to learn about more than numbers and science...I got to learn about love. About hopelessness and pain. And it's here where I discovered the greatest joy one could feel. If it weren't for Seville then I would be lost in more ways than I could imagine. I found my peace here, my strength, in this place I found my heart. "

I gave him a curt nod so that he could know I was listening. That I had understood everything he had said. He finished off his speech and called the deputy to take over before he walked back to the first row allocated for the students who were leaders in one way or the other. After he had had gotten there, he turned towards me and winked. I chuckled and instantly looked away, clapping the same way everyone else in the hall was. Then I watched as Calen glanced around the hall once more before he stood still... looking towards his left with a frown. I watched as he slowly sat, but his eyes never left the direction. I followed his gaze. 

There was a lady there, she was the only one standing on that entire row, her face filled with pride. I looked at the blonde hair and the features that seemed familiar. She waved at him and I knew why. His mother had actually made it. Calen slowly raised his hand and waved back, unsure. The same way a person would be unsure when they saw a familiar face on the street and had doubts about whether or not it was who they thought. He had stayed so long without seeing his mother's that he feared he had forgotten her appearance, and even now, when she was standing on the other side of the hall, a part of him refused to believe that it was her. 

But he knew it was, deep down he did. She cheered louder than anyone when it was his turn to be handed the certificate. And I actually thought I'd feel bad when it was my turn, but then  all the students present in the hall had once again reminded me what kindness was. The cheers, the claps...the standing ovations I didn't really want but felt humbled to get. I, just like Calen and the two other students that were closest to me, was on the honor roll, the first student on the list. And they had voted me as the most likely to succeed as well. 

" You'll go places, I'm sure of that!" The principal had told me while handing me he last certificate there was. I thanked him and took it from his hand, quickly making my way back to my seat because all the eyes that were now focused on me were making it uncomfortable to look up. When I got to my seat, Rajeev, seated behind me, patted my back. His entire family had made it. And it was really large. He was currently holding his young nephew in his arms. 

I wished for the time to pass a little faster so that we would all have something else to concentrate on. And I was grateful when the deputy started making his own speech. Then came the principal. And after everything was said and done, after we all shouted our school motto for the last time and we threw out hats in the air. I went down the flight of stairs that led me to where Calen was. He had been about to do the same thing but stopped on seeing me. Everyone was happy and shouting and hugging each other with the knowledge that that would be the last time they got to see their friends. Oliver offered me his hand and I clasped onto it, then he pulled me in for a hug and tapped my back. 

" Best of luck, both of you, " he told me before he said bye to Calen as well. And before he walked away he asked another student to take a picture of us, shouting Rajeev's name and gesturing for him to join us. And with the child in his arms he did just that. 

" I'll send it to all of you, now if you'll excuse me, I just spotted my girlfriend, " he said as he cheerfully walked away. And Calen and I were left standing there, we looked at each other and for some strange reason we both started to laugh. 

A hundred and eighty three days had passed since I decided to give us a chance, and in that moment I knew that it had all been worth it. He hugged me, joy in his eyes, in his laugh and in his hold. 

" Well, we're officially adults in the eyes of this strange world, " he said. Letting go of me and fixing the short strands of my hair. 

" I must admit, adulthood looks good on you, " I said. Then he casually shrugged and tried to hide his smile.

" We can now drink alcohol and be wild, "

" I'll skip in the alcohol, thank you very much, "

That ought to have been a bad memory, so the fact that I had been able to joke about it meant a lot to us both. He nodded his agreement, then he sighed and was about to say something before I tapped his shoulder and inclined my head to his back. He knew who it was without turning, his face suddenly grew serious as he slowly turned around. I looked at all the emotions that made an appearance on his face as he looked at his mother. She looked elegant, with her blonde hair held in a sleek bun and dressed in a form fitting cream colored dress that seemed to blend with her skin tone. Her face wielding only a subtle amount of make-up. She seemed unsure of what to do at first. Like she was afraid of speaking or doing anything because she didn't know how Calen would react. But then he wrapped his arms around her and he said something I couldn't quite hear. Then he slowly drew away and told her he was happy she was there, that he couldn't believe she was. And his tone had slightly changed from how it had been when he was speaking to me. He sounded more serious, like he always aimed to sound practical. And I understood, he had grown to be independent. Had made himself believe that he didn't require his parents attention and care, so whenever he was in their company he turned into this eighteen year old boy that seemed too mature for his young age. 

His mother however, seemed to want him to act like the teenager he was. She ran her hands through his hair and tapped his cheek affectionately and she hugged him, and she even tried to kiss his cheek for the second time before Calen called her out and shook his head. But she didn't seem to mind. she laughed, then she told him how proud of him she was before her eyes peered around him and landed on me.