Sunny
entered the side door of the local civic center. She looked around,
but she was too late. Her fellow graduates had already assembled. She
followed the hall to the auditorium where she would receive her
diploma and peeked inside. Everyone hadn't sat down yet, so she
bolted into the room.
Sunny
was determined to walk across the stage. As she caught up to the end
of the line and sat down last, she realized she was not seated near
the students in her class. Oh well. She would just have to make this
work.
The
first row of graduates stood up. She should have been with them; they
were all getting the same degree. They began calling the students'
names alphabetically. When a Brown and a Cameron had been called, she
stood up and eased toward the front. Many of the students she passed
stared at her. She whispered to one girl in line, "What's your
last name?"
"Caplan,"
was the hushed answer.
I
must be next, Sunny
thought.
"Hey!"
came a voice from behind her. She turned, and a pale young woman with
bright red hair was glaring at her. "I'm next! I'm a Carter."
Crap.
She let the girl in front of her to climb the stairs.
"Sunny
Renee Carter, Associate of Arts in General Studies." Sunny was next
after all! She climbed the stairs in her three-inch scarlet
stilettos, pushing the red-headed girl out of the way.
"You're
making a fool of yourself with those stupid heels and not knowing
your place in line!" The girl taunted.
Sunny
whirled around. "Go to hell!" Then she strolled across the stage,
pausing only to accept her diploma from the college president and to
pose for the photographer at the end of the stage.
She
had made it!
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