Not Just Another Cliché

I walk in front of the mirror after putting my red gown on and then placing my red cap on the top of my beach curled hair.

I'm wearing a basic blue dress with a high neck and skinny straps. I matched them with brown wedges and my hair is let down in loose curls.

I smile when I look at the person behind me through the mirror who then places their arms around my waist.

"You ready to graduate?" Casey whispers in my ear as he leans his chin on my shoulder and kisses my neck.

I take a deep breath and sigh, "no."

"But life is only starting. This is just a new chapter in our story. It's not ending just yet."

"Is that from your speech?"

I shake my head.

"The more I think of it, the more cringy I think my speech is." I chuckle and Case joins in.

"You're valedictorian and we are graduating high school. If it wasn't cringy, then something would be wrong."

I smile and turn around in his arms and then place my arms around his neck.

"You look very handsome Mr St Cloud."

"And you look very pretty Mrs Soon To Be St Cloud."

"Can't wait." I whisper before leaning in and giving my loving boyfriend a kiss.

"Not long. Not long at all." He smirks.

I hear my bedroom door open and then a very dramatic scream so it must be Holly.

"If you guys are finished making babies, we'd rather not be late to graduate."

I pull away and see her standing by the door with her hands over her eyes.

"Have my parents left with Liv?" I question picking up my purse and throwing my phone into it.

"About 5 minutes ago. And girl, don't you look fine." She says leaning back and snapping her fingers making me and Casey chuckle.

"You look really good too." I smile.

Holly is wearing a maroon dress with a bare space above the belly button. The skirt crosses over each side and the top part crosses over too. Her blonde hair is straightened and she matched her dress with black wedges.

We walk downstairs and walk out to Seth who is waiting in his car. Holly joins him in the front and me and Casey hop in the back.

"Do you have your slideshow and speech ready Em?" Seth asks me.

"Pretty sure." 

"How many pics in the slideshow?" Holly asks me.

"Just over 20 maybe even 30. I have Talking Body playing in the back round." I smile.

"Isn't that a little inappropriate." Holly chuckles.

"It's graduation, what are they gonna do expel me?" I joke.

"No but I got the clean version so instead of 'we fuck for life' it is now 'we love for life'." 

"What other songs?" Casey asks me.

"Olly Murs, you don't know love and Sigma, nobody to love."

"They are good songs." Holly says.

"Well it's only over 6 minutes long so I only need 2 or 3."

We pull into the parking lot and all of us and just sit still.

"It's graduation time." Seth mutters.

We all eventually hop out of the car and just stare at each other then run into each for a big group hug.

"I love you guys so much." Holly whispers in our hug.

"I'm gonna miss you all." I say letting out a laugh in tears.

We pull apart and we all smile then I link hands with Casey and hold onto his upper arm as Holly has her arm around Seths back and he's holding onto her waist.

We walk in and we get looks off other graduates and other families and our own families.

"Finally, the valedictorian is here. Didn't think we'd have a graduation ceremony for a second." Caseys grandma Lucy jokes and I smile and break my grip on Case and hug her.

I love Caseys grandparents. We get on so well and they are so funny.

"Hello Em. You look lovely. My grandson sure knows how to pick 'em. Took him a while, did you see who he was with last time I was here. Anna or Alex." She says and I laugh.

"Amber and thank you Lucy."

Katie and Jamie run over to us and Katie starts jumping up and down with excitement.

"What was in your coffee this morning?" I chuckle.

"Which coffee? One or five?" Jamie says and we all laugh.

"I just seen your slideshow and it's incredible. That picture of you and Casey at the end is so cute." Katie squeals and I look at her in confusion.

"What picture of me and Casey? The last picture was off the whole senior year." I say.

"Well I sort of maybe took a picture of you and Casey kissing earlier on and sent it to your mom to hook it up with slideshow." Holly mutters and I gasp starting chuckle.

"Holly." I laugh.

"What?" She laughs along.

"Can all graduates please take their seats." Principal Matthews says.

We were told we didn't have a seating chart so we all just sat in the second set of chairs with Casey and Holly on either side of me and then Seth beside Holly and Jamie beside Katie.

"I'm not going to ramble on for too long, but welcome Families, friends , teachers, and seniors. You have all come so far in the past 4 years and you may not have noticed, but I've been watching you all grow up into incredible young men and women. The relationships and friendships formed are incredible and so sweet." He says and I grab Casey and Hollys hands and give them a gentle squeeze.

"I started here as principal the same time you all became freshmen. I was scared just like you, but it helped me through it. And saying goodbye to you all now is like saying goodbye to my reason to be a teacher. Sure there will be new freshmen and new friendships and relationships, but we were all in this together. Start to finish. So I just want to wish everyone good luck in whatever career they pursue. Everyone are going their separate ways some are off to NYU, Kentucky State Football Univeristy, Illinois State, CU, Columbia Univeristy, Yale, U Penn, Swarthmore, University of Virgina, Trinity college in Dublin, Ireland and even Juilliard." He finishes.

"Now I told you I wouldn't keep this long, so let me finish with this. For those of you who don't believe in themselves, I do and so do your teaches because look at them all here, right now. They never gave up because they all knew there was something to fight for. And they fought for you. So can we have a round of applause for all of our senior class teachers." Mr Matthews says and everyone starts clapping and Oscar from senior camp lets out a loud yell making all of the seniors laugh.

"Go Ms Ell!" He shouts and Ms Elliott stands up and points at him making him smile along with the rest of us.

"And now, I'd like to invite the Valedictorian, Ms Emily Hunter on stage. Or as people are telling me to call her, Ms St Cloud. So there you go." He says and everyone chuckles and I hit Holly and Katie knowing it was them who said that.

All my family and Caseys family and Seths and Hollys start cheering when I get called up onto the stage.

There is a big screen where I am on it for the people who can't see at the back and that's where my slideshow will my played but for now the camera is hooked up to it.

"Hi I'm Emily Hunter, and I was chosen to be valedictorian. Yeah I know, I don't get it either but I may as well do this speech thing. This time last year, you could have told me I was going to be the head cheerleader, best friends with the quarterback, dating the quarterback, valedictorian and off to Juilliard, I would have laughed. I wished for that for years. It meant the world to me and here I am standing in front of you, head cheerleader, dating my best friend the quarterback, saying my valedictorian speech I spent hours working on and off to Julliard in the fall. So if high school has taught me anything, it's that anything can happen over a year. This year, has changed my life, this year has prepared me for the big and scary world out there that everybody says you can't prepare for. The future is scary for everyone, people who never tried and for people who worked their butts off. But as Eleanor Roosevelt said "the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." This means to not give up. If you believe you can succeed. Fight for what you love, fight for what you need and fight, for what you know. High school is the manual you need to build any toy chest or closet. Without the manual, you would be lost and guessing where things belong and that's exactly what High school is, the manual you need to survive in the other world, in the real world. Because worrying about PE or that Math exam you didn't study for is nothing when you have to worry about who will look after your children when you are in work or will you have enough money for a full shop. Without high school, you would walk into the future not knowing where you belong or what to do but freshman sophomore junior, senior, every year, We move on to a new page of the manual to learn more and to know where things, or where we, belong. And now, this is it, freshmen to seniors. Last page of the manual. And so, the adventure begins." I say and everyone starts clapping and all my friends yell my name.

"In the past 2 weeks, we have had senior lock-in, senior ditch day, senior camp and senior prom. We took loads of pictures because you know, we are living in the generation of selfies." I say and everyone laughs and I smile.

"So I prepared a slideshow for you all. If you could all look up here on the big screen, the photos will start rolling."

I step back to see the slideshow as Talking Body starts playing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzRyxGBGiAE

First of all it's a picture of us all on the bus on the way to senior camp making us all chuckle at all the funny faces some people are making.

The next few are of me and Casey playing foosball and then Casey kissing me afterwards when I beat his ass.

One of us all jumping off the pier on senior camp shows next and we all smile.

The next is one of the boys in the cheerleading uniforms from lock-in and then the video of the whole thing is played including the part where Casey picks me up and runs around the field with me.

Nobody To Love by Sigma starts playing as the next few photos show up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KD5fLb-WgBU

There is a photo of Casey pushing me out of my kayak when we were kayaking and I chuckle at the memory. One of Jamie and Katie destroyed in water Kissing shows next and I smile.

Then Caseys Promposal shows up and I'm smiling like a freak looking down at it all from my window and everyone awhs.

Then all of the pictures our parents took of us at prom show up and we all chuckle because it was everyone else's first time of seeing them all.

Next is a picture of me and Casey dancing at prom.

The song changes to You Don't Know Love by Olly Murs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAU7zsnH3Go

It's a picture of Casey, Seth, Jamie and Oscar with Ms Elliott all of them wearing glasses.

If I remember correctly, there was only a few pictures left about 4.

The second last photo nears and it's all us seniors jumping into the pier.

Then the picture of me and Casey kissing in our graduation cap and down in my room appears and yet again, everyone awhs.

After a while, it's time for receiving our diplomas.

Of course they go in alphabetical order so they call everyone up and everyone claps but when it gets to Amber Banks, the only people that clap are her family and maybe one or two from the seniors but it's not a lot.

"Katie Colene." The principal says and we all cheer and scream as Jamie pecks her on the cheek.

"Holly Collins."

We all cheer and yell and clap.

"Jamie Dawn." Cheer. Clap. Scream.

"Emily Hunter." Cheer. Clap. Scream.

"Seth Mitchell." Cheer. Clap. Scream.

"Casey St Cloud." Cheer. Clap. Scream.

Once he finishes calling out all of them names of everyone in our senior class, he tells everyone to stand up.

Move your tassel from left to right." He says and we all smile and do as we are told.

Mr Matthews smiles as do all of the other teachers.

"Congratulations class of 2016 you have all graduated." He says and everyone yells and throws their caps in the air.

We all run over to our families and they give us all hugs and then ask for more pictures but we don't mind.

We all get into it together and smile and then one of me Katie Holly Ashley and Hayley with our backs to the cameras and we are all holding our caps up in the air.

About half an hour later, we finish with pictures and everyone comes back to our house for a party.

Once we pull up outside my house, everyone cheers and runs in but once we get in the door, I stop and Casey stops too.

"Are you coming?" He asks.

"I'll be out in a minute. Just gonna take this off me." I say gesturing to the red gown.

"You want me to wait with you?"

I shake my head and smile.

"I'll be down in a minute. You go out and have fun."

"You sure?"

"Go."

"If you insist."

I smile and then walk up the stairs.

Once I walk into my room, I take my cap off me and throw it on my bed when something catches my attention on my bedroom wall.

Last year for my 17th birthday, Casey bought me 2 huge frames and printed loads of pictures of us and all of my friends.

I raise my hand and gently bring my fingers to the pictures and smile at the memories.

I smile at the picture of me and Seth at camp. We are sitting on a wall and looking down at the ocean having a good chat.

I feel a tear slip down my cheek when the door barges open.

"Em, are you ready?" Casey asks.

I begin to wipe my eyes and then turn and smile.

"Yeah. I'm just going to go bathroom."

"Emily?" He says walking closer to me.

"Have you been crying?"

"No."

"Emily."

"I'm fine."

"Emily."

"Yes. Fine. I was crying." I sigh throwing my hands in the air and sitting on my bed.

"I just. I just didn't think it was real until we got them diplomas. It's real. It's so real."

"You aren't alone Em." Casey says placing his hand on my lap.

"But I am. I am alone. I'm going to New York on my own. Sure Jamie and Katie will be there but they are going to be so loved up that they won't even notice I'm there."

"You'll make more friends Em."

"I don't make friends. Don't you know how awkward I am?"

"You made friends with me."

I look at Casey and tilt my head.

"I was 7. Plus you started the conversation." I say throwing my head in my hands.

"Emily, you aren't alone. Every free chance and holiday and break, I'll be in New York no matter what."

I turn my head and look out the window into Caseys room and I smile and frown at the same time.

"This is really it. No more you climbing in my window at 2am cause you can't sleep. No more late movie nights. No more dramatic Holly. We are growing up and there's nothing we can do about it. When did that happen?" I say letting out a small laugh.

"When did we stop going to The Scoop for ice cream after school. I miss Addie."

"The Scoop? Em we haven't been there in like 5 years."

"Exactly. I don't like change and everything is changing."

"I'm not changing. Seth and Holly aren't changing. And if a trip to The Scoop helps you realise that, then let's go." Casey says as he grabs my hand and pulls me off the bed.

"No Casey, we can't just leave. There's a party downstairs." I say.

"And it will be here when we get back."

I think about it for a couple seconds then I smile.

"Let's go to The Scoop."

Casey smiles and runs over to the door.

"No, we can't go out the front door. People will see. We have to go out yours." I say pulling him back.

Casey looks over at the window them sighs and starts climbing.

Once he's over, I take my wedges off and throw them over the window and then grab onto Caseys arm and jump from my window ledge to his.

When I get over, I let out a breath and throw my hair away from my face.

"Let's go so." I say as Casey takes his car keys off the his desk.

We run down the stairs and hop into the car making sure nobody caught us leaving our own party.

We pull up outside The Scoop soon after and walk in hand in hand.

It's not packed but there are a good few people in there and I look at the counter to see Addie staring at me and she hits her husband Tim while keeping her eyes on us while I wear a smile.

"My god Tim are my eyes deceiving me or are Emily Hunter and Casey St Cloud in our ice cream parlour?" She says and we both chuckle and walk up to her and give them both hugs.

"So you two are together now?" Tim asks.

"Nearly 3 months now yeah." Casey says.

"Well we knew it was only a matter of time. What can we get you?" Addie asks.

"The usual? If you still remember what that is." I laugh.

"Of course we remember what it is. Mint chocolate for Casey and brownie for you Emily."

I smile and drop my head.

"Take a seat, we will drop it down to you. On the house." Tim smiles but of course Casey argues but looses so we do what we are told and sit in a booth.

Once they bring it down, I instantly dive in and I remember the reason we used to always come here.

"Thanks for this Case." I smile.

Casey reaches over the table and squeezes my hand then brings it up to his lips.

"Anything for you Emily. I love you."

I smile and return to eating my ice cream.

*******
We walk in the door and Holly comes running up to us.

"Hey." She smiles.

"Hey." I say hesitantly.

Why isn't she asking where we were? We were gone for a good 50 minutes.

I see her looking at Casey and she keeps raising her eyebrows and shaking her head.

I look back at Casey and he stops and smiles down at me.

"Hey Em, can I borrow that thing?" Holly says pointing to the stairs.

"What thing?" I question.

"You know, that thing." She says and I furrow my eyebrows and Holly just sighs and grabs my hand pulling me up the stairs.

We walk into my room and I sit on my bed.

"What thing?" I say.

Holly looks around the room and smiles then runs over to my window picking up something.

"This thing."

"A China nesting doll?" I question.

"Yeah you know, something to remember you by."

"A China nesting doll? Of all things. A China nesting doll. Holls we have a ton of pictures together and to remember me by, you want a China nesting doll?"

She begins to say something when she gets a text and then shakes her head.

"You know what, you're right." She says throwing the dolls on the bed.

"Let's go back down." She says grabbing my hand and dragging me down the stairs and out to the back yard.

"Holls are you feeling okay?" I ask before I take a deep breath at the sight in front of me.

All of my family are out the back and gathered around Casey who is standing in the middle of the yard and when he sees me, he walks over and takes my hands in his.

"Emily, you are the love of my life. No doubt. And I know I am only 18 and you aren't even 18 yet but, I love you so much. More than words can describe. So don't think of this as anything more than a promise. A promise of trust, a promise for the future. So," he begins as he kneels down in front of me and butterflies erupt in my stomach as I throw my hands up to my mouth.

"Emily Hunter, will you marry me in a couple of years." Casey laughs and everyone joins in.

I try to speak but instead I just keep
Opening my mouth even though nothing is coming out.

"Yes." I breath out.

"Yes?" Casey says as his face lights up.

I nod and repeat my answer, "yes."

Casey jumps up and holds my hands.

"But after college right? I wanna marry you but I'm 17." I laugh.

"Yes. In like 5 years. But this is just a promise for now."

"Then yes." I smile.

He removes the ring from its case and places it on my finger and then I jump into his arms.

"I love you so much more than you will ever know." Casey whispers.

"I think I have an idea." I smile.

*************
The End.

41 pages my lord.
I decided that maybe before the college story I'm gonna do a summer vacation one.
Thank you to a_simple_phangirl for all her support. Every chapter I updated, she'd be the first to vote and comment and she was my inspiration for writing because I knew someone was enjoying what I was doing.

I love you all and this is the end of Emily and Casey so let me know if you want 'Not Just Another College Cliché' first or 'Not Just Another Summer Vacation.'

-Madison🤘🏻🤘🏻