24| graduation

                                    

                                          
The ceremony was boring. Nothing special. 
The date had come so quickly Damian could hardly believe it. 
His days at Eden were finally at an end and he was happy they were. As he sat in his seat among lots of other graduates he could hardly hear anything the professors on stage were saying. He was shell-shocked. It was really over. 
He was finally leaving. 
 He was grateful for the experience,  at some point, the academy had become insufferable and yet in a strange way, he acknowledged it was the only place he had ever really known. The contrast between leaving a place he had grown comfortable with mixed with the slight fear of change felt strange within him. 
Either way, he knew it was useless to worry about that right now. 
He had a speech to be concerned about.  Anya had a total celebration when she found out. He took the offer of valedictorian with a grain of salt. Still, his father was somewhere in this establishment so he decided he would take it seriously. 
He wasn't sure why he didn't feel nervous. Perhaps it was due to seeing how scared Anya had been for him yesterday. Strangely, it had calmed him down to see someone else being concerned for his well-being. 
Speaking of Anya, where was she?
Damian's eyes wandered just a bit. 
It didn't take long for him to spot her. Her green eyes were looking at him. She sat among a bunch of other graduates. Damian didn't seem to recognize any of the people around her--perhaps they simply weren't memorable but Anya stood out nonetheless.
Her pink hair was tied back neatly, her gown smooth and in place and her eyes still held that earnest look Damian recognized when he first met her.
He smirked. He had caught the woman staring at him red-handed.
Her face flushed a bright red in response and she quickly looked away.
Damian suppressed a laugh.
It seemed she was still nervous for him. Nothing could explain how adorable Damian found her flustered expression, he didn't understand what was quite nerve-racking about giving a speech in front of a grand audience--but Anya seemed to think more of it. 
He turned his head back forward as he closed his eyes for a moment.
'I'll be fine,' he told himself.
Anya's eyes slowly returned back to the man who was facing forward.
Her cheeks blossomed. 
"I know," she whispered.
::
When the ceremony ended all the graduates and families headed out. The cherry blossoms that sprang from side to side outside the building were simply mesmerizing. The pink leaves flurried through the warm spring air, as they spread across the bright fields and danced in the air.
Damian sighed a bit. A long speech filled with sentimental words--he had finished it somewhat smoothly and somehow, his words seemed to be well received. Now that it was over, the moment seemed to be in the past and locked there for the rest of the time.
Now he was outside, alone and standing by a tree as he heard the sound of light chatter fill the air.
It didn't help that no one around seemed to know him, or more likely, they didn't have any business talking to him. He still hadn't caught a glance of his dad even though he knew he was undoubtedly there. He couldn't seem to spot Emilie or Ewen either.