The Lost One

Graduation

Jasmine has gotten back into her schooling fairly easily. She concentrated on getting good grades and making sure she was on the honour roll. She joined the soccer team and played in the school band. To all of her peers, she seemed to have it all together. But deep down, she was falling apart worse than when she first had Thomas.

Her life at home was a mess, her mother was always yelling at her, and would not let her go and see Thomas anymore.

Jasmine just kept telling herself that she only had a few more months of school and then she would be off to university. She would be out of this hell of a home, and onto bigger and better things. That should would never again have to deal with the scrutinization of her mother.

Well a few more months is something Jasmine didn’t have.

3 months before the end of school Jasmine’s mother and her got into a very heated argument, which ended in Jasmine being thrown out of her home with a bag of clothes. Her mother told her to never come back.

Jasmine spent the following evening jumping around friends homes, whoever’s parents would let her stay or not notice she was there. Eventually one of her friends families took her in and let her stay. They told her she needed to finish the school year and have a summer job, if she did those two things then should could stay until she left for university.

Jasmine was on her way to finishing the school year, making sure her grades were kept up and continued with extracurricular activities. When she had spare time, she made sure she always helped out around the home she way staying in. Weather it was doing the dishes, moping the floors, or helping with the gardening. She wanted to give them no reason to think poorly of her, or ask her to leave.

The end of school year was nearing quicker than Jasmine had thought it would. She was asked to the prom by a boy who she played in band with. He was a nice boy, no girlfriend and it worked out for both of them. They had a beautiful night, lots of fun and he was a complete gentleman to her the whole evening. When the evening ended, he dropped her off at the home where she was staying and said “goodnight Jasmine, I had a wonderful time. See you tomorrow morning at the pre-grad ceremony.”

Jasmine hasn’t processed the fact that graduation was tomorrow, it was finally here.

Graduation day came and went very slow. The entire day felt like it dragged on. Every student had their entire families show up for the graduation, smiling faces, gifts and flowers. Everyone except Jasmine, no one single person showed up for her. She was called up to the podium to accept her diploma, no one was there to take a picture of her or to clap for her. They announced that she was graduation with the highest honours and top 5 of her graduation class, even listing that she would be taking an accelerated graduate program next year. She was so proud of herself, even if no one was there to share it with her. She was on her way to starting her new life, in a new town and the only person she had to thank for all of it was herself. Jasmine had done it on her own.

She spend the summer working three jobs so that she could be comfortable when she went off to university. She kept her head down and minded herself. Making sure she kept her word to the family she was staying with.

The day had come to leave, and with a heavy but blessed heart she said her goodbyes to the family. She had made enough money to get a small car, that she had loaded all of her things into. She got into her car and off she went.

On to new adventures and a new life!