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Buckley, Washington
Paulette and Greg’s friendship only grew tighter after their fiasco at the Abernathy Space and Science Agency. They became almost inseparable. They continued to camp, hike, fish, and tinker in Greg’s garage on their many electronic projects.
Time seemed to fly, and before they knew it, they were seniors in high school, both needing to decide what they’d do after they graduated. One day while they were working on refining Paulette’s time theory projects, Greg brought up the college subject.
“Paulette, I think we should both go to Washington State University to study in our fields. You could study physics and mathematics, while I study engineering. What do you think?”
She looked up from the project she was working on and gave him a quizzical look. “Me, go to college? Why whatever for?” she asked with a snorting laugh.
“Because there may be something you can learn that you don’t know,” he replied.
“Come on! You know I already know more than what’s taught in college, so why would I need to go?”
“Oh, I don’t know, just for the fun of it, maybe, and you would get to hang out with me,” he said with a wide smile on his face.
“Fine, I guess I can. It shouldn’t be hard to get scholarships to help pay for school since my mom can’t afford to send me.”
“That’s the spirit. We’ll have a great time. You’ll see.”
“If you say so,” she said, punching his arm.
“Ow! That hurt,” he told her, as he chuckled and gave her a wink.
Both Paulette and Greg set their sights on going to Washington State University and applied for all the scholarships that were available.
Graduation day arrived. As valedictorian, Paulette had to give the class speech, and she did not feel confident speaking in front of people. She worked on her speech and practiced in front of the mirror multiple times but still was nervous.
“Calm down. You’ll do just fine,” Greg said. “The best way to get past the nervousness is to imagine everyone in their underwear.”
Paulette burst out laughing at the thought of seeing people in their underwear. “You’re so silly. You know that, right?”
“Yep,” he said with a wry grin. “I’m going to go wait in the living room until you’re ready. Okay?”
“Sure, see you in a few.”
Mary passed Greg as she walked into the room and looked at her beautiful, grown daughter with pride. “Honey, I’m so proud of you and what you’ve accomplished,” she said. “I can’t wait to see you walk up on that stage and get your diploma. I’ll see you at the high school in a little bit. Good luck with your speech.”
Paulette walked over to her mom, placed her arms around her, gave her a big hug, and said, “Thanks, Mom; I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Greg was getting a little antsy and yelled down the hall, “Hey, are you ready to go yet?”
“Yeah, give me a second, and I’ll be right there,” she replied while finishing the final touches to her hair and makeup. Blah, makeup. I only wear this stuff for special occasions. So hard to put on and get it right. Oh, well, I get to take it off afterwards and go back to my all-natural look. She took one more look in the mirror, then left the bathroom and headed into the living room where Greg was waiting. He took her hand and led her out to the car and, like a gentleman, opened her door, got her situated, and closed the door. He then hopped into the driver’s seat of his red Chevy Camaro and whisked her off to the high school for graduation.
Greg pulled into the parking lot and found a space to park. He cut the engine, hopped out, went to the passenger side, opened the door, and helped Paulette out of the vehicle. They walked, hand in hand, to the gym, where they’d be lining up for the graduation march to the outside stadium.
He pulled the gym door open, and he and Paulette entered the noisy, boisterous gym. Greg walked with her to her spot, then turned to go to his spot in the back. As he left, he turned his head and yelled back, “Remember, you’ll do fine. Just remember the underwear.”
Paulette grimaced, afraid everyone in the gym had heard him yell. She looked around and saw that no one had paid him any mind.
In the distance, she could hear the band start up the marching song. Before she knew it, she was headed out of the gym and out to the stadium. When she got to the front rows of chairs, she turned and headed to her seat and sat down.
It wasn’t long before she was called up to give her speech. She stood up and headed to the podium. She stood there for a few moments getting her notes set up, then she began.
“Ladies and gentlemen, and graduating students, I want to give you a warm welcome. We’ve all worked hard to get to this moment, some more than others. Despite all our trials and tribulations, we’ve come to that moment where we can say, ‘We did it.’
“Many of you will be going off to college, some to the military, others to jobs you’ve found before graduating. Today, I want to implore you to explore every possibility, to search out and discover new things, to not hold back, and to know you’re capable of anything you set your minds to. I hope that every one of you reaches for the stars, truly finds what your gift is, and will apply that gift with all your heart. Thank you, and I hope you all have a wonderful future.” Paulette, knees trembling, walked back down the steps and back to her seat.
There were several more speakers and some songs before the superintendent of the school district stood. Dr. Jacob Malcom walked to the podium, where he had to step up onto a small box to gain the height he needed. He wore silver-rimmed glasses that matched his silver hair, and his intense blue eyes stared out at the students and all the family members. He cleared his throat before he spoke with his nasally baritone voice.
“Ladies and gentlemen, family and friends, we gather here today to honor your children for their accomplishments in their four years at White River High. In a moment, I’ll call each student up to receive their diploma. Students, I’d like you to walk carefully up the stairs, where I’ll shake your hand and congratulate you, then you’ll move on to receive your diploma from your principal, Mr. Darren Graves. I want to congratulate each one of you for a job well done and wish for each of you a bright future.” He stepped down from the podium and went to the far-left side of the stage with a microphone in hand and called the students up one at a time.
Paulette was near the front of the procession because of her last name. When it came time, she stepped up and shook Dr. Malcom’s hand. She started to move on, but he kept her hand in his and leaned in and said, “Young lady, I see you doing great things. Keep up the excellent work. Also, you’ll find a full-ride scholarship to Washington State University tucked in with your diploma.”
“Thank you,” she exclaimed!
He let go of her hand and she walked over to Mr. Graves, who stood just below her nose in height, with dark hair and bushy eyebrows encasing his piercing brown eyes. She reached out and shook his hand and took hold of the diploma with the other hand.
“Paulette, it has been a pleasure having you in my school,” he said.
“Thank you, I enjoyed being here,” she replied, thinking, Not really, but I can’t say that to the principal on graduation day, and then she hastened on.
Afterwards, Greg, Paulette, and her mom all went to the local burger joint for a great burger and an excellent milkshake. Paulette’s mom looked at her daughter with a big grin plastered on her face, admiring her for all she had accomplished.
“So, why the weird grin, Mom?”
“Oh, just thinking about how wonderful you are and how proud I am of you,” she said.
“Ah, thanks, Mom, I couldn’t have done it without you. I wish Dad could have been here, though.”
“I know dear. I’m sure he’s looking down with pride right now.”
“Yeah, he probably is,” Paulette said with a wide smile.
“Greg, you excited to be starting college in the fall?” Mrs. Brown asked.
“Yep,” he said between slurps of the milkshake.
“What about you, Paulette? Are you excited?” Greg asked.
“Oh, you know, as excited as I can be. You got me into this, so I’m in for the ride,” she said with a loud chuckle.
