Free Falling Up by Melody Carlson

now I really sound shallow. But he did look awfully good as he walked across the platform to get his diploma. And his mom and I clapped and cheered for him like groupies.
    I was caught off guard seeing Chloe Miller getting her diploma too. I'd sort of forgotten that she was graduating early, since I still think of her as part of my class.
    “I'll still relate to our class,” she told me a week ago. “But this is just better for my music and my career. The opportunity was there, so I figured why not get it over with.”
    “And Fm sure it doesn't hurt that you're so smart,” I teased her.
    “You should talk,” she tossed back. “You could ve easily done the same.”
    And I know that I could've graduated a year early, if I'd wanted, but then I wouldn't have a chance at valedictorian. And for whatever reason, maybe because my mom was valedictorian of her senior class, this is stillimportant to me. And I can almost imagine my mom watching me as I one day receive this honor, high up there from her front row seat in heaven. More than ever, I need to believe this.
    “What do you think of Matthews college choice?” his mom asked me in what I'm sure she hoped sounded like a somewhat nonchalant tone of voice, as if she wasn't as freaked over this recent turn of events as Matthew had been telling me. The grads were just starting to file out, with lively band music filling the gym as they happily paraded past. Thankfully, since it was getting hot in the gym, they were leaving much more quickly than they came.
    “I was a little surprised,” I admitted.
    “You and me both.” She used a tissue to blot perspiration from her forehead.
    “I think he's really talented,” I continued. “In art, I mean, well, and other things too. But I guess I thought he'd want to go to a school with a stronger art and design focus.”
    She nodded as we stood. “That's what I thought too.”
    We kicked the subject around a bit more as we slowly made our way down the steps, out of the crowded gym, and finally outside to where all the grads were in various stages of unzipping their gowns, tossing their hats, and generally making lots of we've-just-been-released-from-captivity kind of noises. We stood off to the sidelines, and I listened to her continuing to obsess over Matthew's life, his wasted talent, his disappointingcollege choice, his ill-planned future. But thankfully, as soon as he joined us, she discontinued her monologue, and we both offered our hearty congratulations.
    But even as we were patting him on the back and commenting on how stuffy it was in the gym, his grandparents were pressing through the crowd to join us. Matthew, showing his usual good manners, included them in our little group, but his mother looked like she was about to explode. Wanting to avoid a bad scene, I asked her if she wanted me to get her some punch from the refreshment table.
    “I'll come with you,” she said in a tightly controlled voice.
    And that's how it went. Matthew's mom acting as if his college choice and his grandparents' involvement were both a personal affront to her. And I just tried to remain supportively neutral, or stay out of it altogether. Finally, the stress was getting to me, so I told Matthew I was heading home so I could change my clothes for the all-night party.
    “Pick you up around nine?” he said.
    “Yeah.” I waved and told the others good-bye.
    Fortunately, the all-night party was much less stressful, and we ended up spending a lot of time hanging with Chloe and Cesar (who had come as her “date but not a date”—they made this very clear). Anyway, the four of us were really having a lot of fun, although I was ready to call it a night by 2 AM. However, with the lockdown in place, we were forced to stickaround until seven when they started serving breakfast.
    “Let's go to church,” Chloe said after we finished breakfast. “We've got just enough time to make it to early service.”
    To my surprise, Matthew didn't protest.