The Maureen Persona

Standing in the gym, I took a deep breath. The principal has finally gotten to the W’s, and it won’t be long before he calls my name, and I can accept my diploma and go into the future with my head held high. In front of me is the same person that has always been there, Gerald White. Gerald and I aren’t what you’d call close friends, but we do have a running joke about our names. I always tell him I’ve got his back, and he always responds if anyone wants to get to me, they’ll have to go through him. You see, Gerald's last name is White and mine is Witherspoon, so for our entire school life we’ve always been beside each other. Over the years, Gerald and I developed a mutual friendship. He was quite the looker with his six-foot tall, muscled frame and eyes the color of an autumn sunset. I never saw Gerald as anything but a friend. I always felt that Gerald was out of my league in the romantic sense, but that didn’t stop us from developing a friendship with a mutual understanding and respect for each other. “I’ve still got your back,” I whispered as I gently touched his shoulder. Gerald turned his head slightly to the side and gave me a smirk. He would have given me his normal response if the principal had not just called his name. Taking a step forward, Gerald made his way to the stage and accepted the diploma, turning to the crowd he turned and looked at his parents flashing them his signature smile. “Megan Rochelle Whitherspoon,” the principal called out. Stepping out, I slowly made my way to the stage. This was my moment, I said to myself as I took my first step toward the principal, I would accept my diploma with pride and a sense of accomplishment. Unbeknownst to me, Raymond, the class president, had other plans. Raymond Fairchild had made my school life miserable and the one thing that I was truly looking forward to after graduation was never seeing him again. All through school he had done everything possible to make me a laughingstock. I had prayed that our graduation ceremony would be different. How wrong I was. As soon as I stepped in front of him, he slid his foot forward and caused me to trip and fall face down on the stage. Raymond laughed and sneered, and he offered me his hand. I refused his hand and instead accepted the help of the assistant principal. “Are you alright?” Mr. Gregory asked. I gave him a slight nod and smiled as I regained my composure. “I saw what he did,” Mr. Gregory shook his head. “Head up you're almost at the finish line.” “Thanks," I whispered as I stood tall and made my way to the principal who handed me my diploma. Stepping off the stage, I slowly made my way back to my seat. Standing behind Gerald, he turned to look at me and placed a supportive hand on my shoulder. I gave him a gentle nod and a small smile. I had no doubt that he knew what Raymond had done. Gerald was always observant when it came to Raymond and his childish antics toward me. Raymond always swore innocence, but I knew better and so did Gerald. The rest of the graduation ceremony went off without any other hiccups and, to put it mildly, I was glad, tripping on my way to receive my diploma was a bit unnerving, and I hoped it wasn’t a sign of things to come in my future. When the principal along with several members of the board of education finally presented the graduating class, a deafening roar and countless caps were sent up into the air and rained back down on the graduates. In the aftermath of the ceremony, everyone was congratulating each other and making empty promises of keeping in touch. The only person I had any intention of keeping in touch with was my best friend, Lenore Baker. We had been through thick and thin together, and the last year of high school we had been almost inseparable. She had gone through a bad breakup, and I was the only one that she felt she could confide in. She had admitted to me that he had thought that Kenny was the one, but unfortunately, Kenny had other ideas. Once he got what he wanted out of her, he dropped her like yesterdays news. Making my way through the crowd to Lenore, we embraced each other in a heartfelt hug. There was no way I was going to let this day go by without embracing my best friend and I knew she felt the same. Lenore was the only person I had told about the partial scholarship I had received to the Art Institute Of New York. I would be leaving in several weeks; she and I both knew that once I left it might be a long time before we saw each other again, because she wasn’t planning on leaving the area any time soon and even if she did, big cities were one of her biggest fears. “I’m going to miss you so much,” I squeezed her close. “I wish I could take you with me.” “I don’t,” Lenore responded. “There’s no way I’d survive the crowds of New York. I’m a small-town girl with small town dreams, but not you. Megan you are going to make something of yourself, I just know it.” “I hope you’re right,” I admitted. “There’s a lot of competition out there.” “After everything you’ve been through,” Lenore shook her head. Megan knew she wasn't just talking about Raymond. “What he did when you were on stage to get your diploma was inexcusable, I wanted to punch him in the face and let him know what I really thought about him.” “Karma will get him,” I smiled. “He’ll get what's coming to him, it may not be today or tomorrow, but he’ll get what’s coming to him one day.” “It won’t be soon enough,” Lenore spat. “I don’t want to talk about sleazy Raymond and his questionable future, today is a day to celebrate.” “Yes, it is,” Lenore and I agreed. It was about half an hour until the crown thinned down, and the few graduates left headed toward the student parking lot at the back of the school. Making my way to my red Toyota, I heard someone calling my name. Turning in the direction of the voice, I was relieved to see it was Gerald and not my nemesis, Raymond. “Megan,” Gerald stood before me with a serious expression. “There’s something, as your friend, I need to tell you,” Gerald looked past me to Raymond, who was standing beside his car and watching us intently.