UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
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I got to come back one more time. Maybe they thought I’d gotten all the crazy out of my system for now. Maybe they pitied me. Maybe I actually had more sway than I thought, since I’d agreed to go to Woodlands. Whatever the reason, they let me into the school for graduation.
There were a few stipulations, of course. The first: I wasn’t allowed into the ceremony, but I got to stand by the auditorium doors and watch. The second: I had to have a pair of Woodlands orderlies (read: thugs in scrubs) flanking me at all times. Sure, they were driving me up to Woodlands as soon as the ceremony was over, but did they have to look so menacing while they did it? The third was the worst: Because of the McCoy ordeal and the school board looking to avoid any further mishaps, I wasn’t allowed out of the car without wrist restraints. At least they’d agreed to let me wear a sweatshirt to partially cover up the cuffs. The only reason I was going to the damn hospital was because I’d decided to—you’d think they’d be a little more lenient.
By the time we reached the auditorium, everyone else was already seated. Parents and other relatives took up the right and left sides of the auditorium stage. I noticed June because of the golden halo in her sandy hair. My classmates sat in the middle section. They all wore East Shoal graduation green.
The stage was bathed in bright light. It was Mr. Gunthrie who filled Mr. McCoy’s vacated principal’s seat; his gray suit made him look like a golem. I could definitely believe Mr. Gunthrie was animated by magic.
Next to him were the four senior student officers, most of them fidgeting. Tucker sat next to the class treasurer, glasses flashing in the light, wringing his speech mercilessly between his hands.
Miles was there, the valedictorian’s golden cord slung over his shoulders. His hands were clasped in his lap, his eyes focused somewhere around the edge of the stage.
Mr. Gunthrie started the ceremony with his usual thunderous yell. The lights dimmed until I could no longer distinguish individual people in the auditorium.
The class president stood and gave his speech. The vice president said a few short words, the band played the school song, and then Mr. Gunthrie began announcing names. The honors students went up first. I had to grind my teeth to keep from laughing when Miles shook Mr. Gunthrie’s hand—even from where I stood, I could see the Cheshire cat grin that spread across Miles’s face, and the stony frown Mr. Gunthrie gave him in return.
When my name should have been called, I rocked forward onto the balls of my feet, my insides aching. I’d worked so hard for that diploma . . . .
One of the orderlies grabbed my sweatshirt hood and gently tugged me back. I grunted, sitting back on my heels, and stood still while the rest of my classmates graduated. Evan and Ian pretended to get their diplomas mixed up, then tried to shake Mr. Gunthrie’s hand at the same time. Theo looked like she was ready to go and pull the both of them offstage. Art made Mr. Gunthrie look like a large pebble when they stood next to each other. Then everyone took their seats except for Mr. Gunthrie.
“Before we end the ceremony, there are a few more parting words. The first are from your salutatorian, Tucker Beaumont.” A round of lukewarm applause ran through the theater. Tucker, face red, moved to stand at the podium.
I felt a rush of pride. Mr. Soggy Potato Salad, who’d decided to break into McCoy’s house, jumped into the brawl at Finnegan’s, and helped bring Miles home. Who’d forgiven me for everything I’d done, and then some. I didn’t know if I deserved a friend like him, but I was glad I had him.
He spent a moment adjusting the microphone and smoothing his twisted speech, then he cleared his throat and looked around at everyone.
“I guess I’ll start with a bit of a cliché,” he said. “We made it!” The auditorium erupted with shouts of excitement and victory.
Tucker smiled. “Okay, now that that’s out of the way—I think we can all safely say that this was the craziest year of school any of us has ever experienced.” He glanced back at Miles, who only quirked an eyebrow. “Even if you weren’t there every moment, you heard about it. You were still a part of it. You survived it. And really, if you can survive pythons coming out of the woodwork, you can survive almost anything.”
Laughter. Tucker repositioned his glasses and took a deep breath.
“People say teenagers think they’re immortal, and I agree with that. But I think there’s a difference between thinking you’re immortal and knowing you can survive. Thinking you’re immortal leads to arrogance, thinking you deserve the best. Surviving means having the worst thrown at you and being able to continue on despite that. It means striving for what you want most, even when it seems out of your reach, even when everything is working against you.
“And then, after you’ve survived, you get over it. And you live.”
Tucker took another deep breath and leaned against the podium, looking around at everyone. He smiled.
“We’re survivors. So now let’s live.”
The auditorium erupted again and Tucker could barely hide his grin as he walked back to his seat, twirling his silver salutatorian tassels. I couldn’t help but smile, too. Survivors. What better word for people who made it out of this place alive?
Mr. Gunthrie waited for the applause and cheering to die down, and then said, “Ladies and gentlemen, your valedictorian, Miles Richter.”
The sudden silence in the auditorium was even more pronounced because of the deafening noise that had preceded it. No one clapped. I couldn’t tell if it was because they were scared, angry, or surprised.
Miles stood and looked around much like Tucker had, but he didn’t fidget while he did it. His fingers rapped against the wooden top of the podium. Tap, tap, tap, tap. Mr. Gunthrie cleared his throat loudly, but Miles was silent.
Then Miles looked toward where I stood in the doorway. He smiled.
“I know that most of you don’t want to hear anything I have to say,” he began. “And I know the rest of you really do. And I also know that these two things mean that all of you are listening attentively. That’s exactly what I want.
“James Baldwin said, ‘The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose.’” Miles sighed and swept the graduation cap off his head. He glared at it for a moment, then threw it to the side of the stage. Behind him, Mr. Gunthrie’s face turned a mottled hue of purple.
“I always thought those things looked ridiculous,” Miles grumbled into the microphone. A few hesitant chuckles came from the crowd, like they weren’t sure if he was joking or not. Then he said, “For a long time, I had nothing to lose. I was that dangerous creation. I know most of you probably think I’m a jerk”—he glanced at me again—”and you’re right, I am. Not the kind that vandalizes cars and kills pets, but I am an arrogant, pretentious jerk. I do think I’m better than all of you, because I’m smarter. I’m smarter and I’m more determined to do what I set out to do.
I wasn’t sure what guidelines Miles had been given for his speech, but if the shade of Mr. Gunthrie’s face was anything to go by, he had wildly ignored them.
“I used to think all of that, anyway,” he continued. “I still do, kind of. I’m learning to . . . not to change, because in all honesty I like the way I am. Not what I do, but who I am. No, I’m learning to . . . keep it bottled up? Displace it? Control my frustration? Whatever it is, it’s working. I don’t feel like that dangerous creation anymore. I no longer have any motivation to do the things I did here.
“For anyone I’ve wronged—I’m sorry. Whatever I did and for whatever reason I did it, I’m sorry. Meine Mutter”—I pictured Cliff squirming in his seat—“always taught me that apologizing is the polite thing to do.”
I could imagine the radiant smile stretching across June’s face.
“I want to say a few more things. The first is to our wonderful salutatorian.” He turned and addressed Tucker. “I didn’t mean what I said to you. You were my best friend, and I screwed that up. You deserved better.
“The second is to the East Shoal High School Recreational Athletics Support Club. I think if it hadn’t been for you, I would have killed myself a long time ago.”
We were probably the only ones who realized how serious he was.
“The third is to all of you. I used to be scared of you all. It’s true. I used to care what you thought and I used to care that you might try to hurt me. Well, not anymore. So, to the latter, see how far you get in a fistfight. And to the former, try this on for size—I am in love with Alexandra Ridgemont, and I don’t care what you think about it.”
He looked up at me again, and the world solidified under my feet.
“I feel like there’s something else, but I can’t quite remember. . . .” His fingers tapped against the podium. He shrugged and began to walk back to his seat . . . then he clapped his hands together with an “Oh, right!” and whipped back around, yanking the microphone to his face in time to say, “Fickt euch!”
From somewhere in the middle of the sea of students, Jetta’s hands shot into the air and she cried out a triumphant, “Mein Chef!”
I couldn’t tell why everyone else began cheering—the realization that what Miles had said was probably very vulgar?—but their voices shook the floor.
Mr. Gunthrie stood, perhaps to haul Miles off the stage, but Miles slipped away at the last second and made his way down the aisle. My orderlies pulled me back, into the hallway. I heard the auditorium doors swing open again, but we were outside, standing in the crisp night air, before Miles caught up with us.
“Wait!”
“I just want to talk to him!” I said, glancing over my shoulder at Miles. “Please. I won’t try anything.”
The orderlies looked at each other, then at me. “Two minutes,” one of them said. “We have to leave before everyone else gets out here.”
“Fine. Got it.”
They let go of my arms. I turned and jogged the short distance back to Miles.
“I didn’t think they’d let you come back,” he said.
“I’m very persuasive.”
He laughed, but the sound was hollow. “I’ve taught you well.”
“Are you kidding? If I did things the way you do them, I would’ve been locked up a long time ago.”
Miles didn’t say anything to that, but reached up to touch my face—the raw, still mutilated side of my face. I grabbed his hand.
“When did you get so touchy-feely?” I asked. He wasn’t listening. He stared at the soft cuffs, at the metal clasp that jangled between them. “They’re a precaution,” I said before he could ask. “I had to wear them so I could come here. Apparently the school was feeling sentimental enough to let me back, but not sentimental enough to risk a lawsuit.”
“I don’t like this,” he said.
“Yeah, well, join the club.”
“When are you going?”
“Tonight. Right now, actually. It was supposed to be this morning, but since the school agreed to let me come here, they pushed it back . . ..”
His frown deepened.
“It’s not like I have anything to wait for.”
“Fine. I’ll come visit you tomorrow.”
“At—at Woodlands?”
His eyebrow shot up. “What, did you think you were going to get rid of me that easily? You should know by now—I’ve got the tenacity of a cockroach.”
I blinked at him. “Surely you’ve got better things to do.”
He shrugged. “I’ve got a few pretty good ideas, but they can wait.”
“We need to go!” one of the orderlies called. I waved my hands to show I understood, then turned back to Miles.
“So . . . I guess . . .” I took a quick step forward, hiding my face in his graduation robe. “Stop looking at me like that!”
He laughed—I could hear and feel it—and hugged me tightly. Soap and pastries. After a moment he pushed me away.
“Are you crying?”
“No,” I said, sniffling. “My face hurts when I cry, so I don’t do it.”
“Right.”
My face did hurt, now that I thought about it.
“I don’t want to leave,” I said.
Miles said nothing. There really wasn’t anything he could say. Everything was over. There would be no more adventures for us. It was time to go.
He leaned down and kissed me. Then he hugged me again. I grabbed the front of his robe with both hands and pulled him down so I could whisper into his ear.
“Ich liebe dich auch.”
I made my way back to the orderlies waiting by the car, swung myself into the backseat, buckled myself up, and turned around. Miles stood alone on the dark sidewalk, his hand brushing the spot on his chest where my tears had stained his green robe. I waved halfheartedly, one hand dragging the other up by the wrist.
Miles raised his other hand, but it fell back down as if it were too heavy to hold up. I watched as he grew smaller and smaller, along with the sidewalk, the parking lot, the school, and the oversized stadium. Then we passed a row of trees and he was gone.
I turned back around in my seat and listened to the orderlies talking, “We Didn’t Start the Fire” playing on the radio, and the steady thrum of the car’s engine.
I rested my head against the car window, watching the warm night streak by outside, and smiled.