Summer Start (2)

I stepped onto the stage, and stopped in front of the middle school dean. My hand eyed my diploma inside her hand, and stretched my arm out.

It felt bittersweet. The way her smile was strained, feeling almost anxious and eager to send me off. It was no wonder, she was in front the most troublesome student in the school while all the large donors to the school were behind her.

'The diploma,' I mouthed.

"Right…congratulations."

She pushed the paper inside my hand, and grabbed my other hand. I flinched, and then recovered my smile. Although my parents weren't allowed to attend my graduation ceremony, Joanna and William were present for Luke.

They probably got orders from above to take pictures of me too. There was a big pause in camera flashes from the front row, right where the most powerful families were seated.

I smiled brighter and lifted my arm up and down, putting enough force on both the dean and I, giving the illusion we were shaking hands. I was already taking double the time than Luke on the stage and Alex was right at the edge of the stage, waiting for his turn.

So when the dean stepped to the side and gestured for the front row to take more photos, I nearly rolled my eyes. Like how could she not tell? There was a icy breeze coming from

Alex's parents, people who were waiting for me to get off the stage.

It was confirmed when I walked down the stage, stepping into the darkness compared to the bright lights behind me. Almost like there was a crowd of paparazzi suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

Once I returned to my seat, I leaned closer to Luke, who hid his screen close to his knees. Instead of paying attention to the long speeches in between the graduating students, he read the messages flowing into the group chat.

The family group chat was full of excitement for the celebration hosted at Logan's mansion. This one was apparently more special than the previous years, and included Luke's distant relatives.

I stretched my arms when the ceremony was finished, and rose to leave the venue. My eyebrows rose when Joanna pushed large flower bouquets inside my arms. It felt awkward, and before I could speak to her, she was already focused on Luke.

"Where are you going?" Luke grabbed my wrist.

I sighed and turned my head away.

"I don't want to bother you- ."

'Look around you,' Joanna glared at me.

There wasn't a single exception. Inside the arms of every student were numerous bouquets, and each of them were getting congratulated by their parents and relatives. It wasn't just a nice gesture, it would look like they were neglecting me if I was only one out of place.

"You're not a bother. So stand there for more photos," she turned towards Luke's shoulder.

An odd distance formed from us standing a step away from each other. It was one of those days, I wished my own parents were able to come.

It left a twisted feeling inside my heart, a sour taste. Inside this scene, half of my body was an outsider, out of sync with more of Luke's relatives joining us in the photos. And when I looked for Miliana and Shelly, I found them laughing with their own set of parents.

I felt smaller, but wasn't stupid enough to be completely unthankful. Although my parents weren't allowed to come to the upper districts, Luke's parents were easily accessible. I didn't need the extensive permission to contact them compared to the rare calls and messages I could send to my parents.

At this rate, I was closer to Luke's parents than my own, people who were calculative as hell.

"You dropped these," Alex handed me my bouquet.

I nodded and accepted the bouquet. I was supposed to be used to this and homesickness would only ruin my mood.

"One more pose, Luke and Rika, stand in front of the building," Joanna gestured.

"We should do a different pose this time," I tried to cheer up.

"Do you have a reference?" Luke agreed.

"How about a dance pose? You know the usual," I slid into a position.

Since Luke knew what I was talking about, he instantly glided into one of the ballroom steps. I could tell Joanna was satisfied, who was bored of taking the same photos in different areas. These children needed more sense sometimes.

In fact, Alex and Charles began to follow us, seeing how the results appeared more impressive this way. Watching my surroundings again, it was hard to believe everything turned out this way because I managed to graduate. The audience seats for parents were last-minute arrangements, invitations pressured by Luke's family to be given out.

"We're attending the ceremony for Jules and Yulee now," Joanna shouted to us.

Within a few minutes, I watched Jules and Yulee in the most stunning outfits, resembling Lucius and Belle on their special day. Repeating the whole process over again, I began to help Joanna in taking the pictures. It was better than listening to the speeches, something that never seemed to end. When Jules and Yulee joined us, both of them were warmly welcomed, receiving an extraordinary number of bouquets they struggled to hold inside their arms.

"You're finally free from the point system," I congratulated Jules.

"I only have university left," Jules was equally excited.

"Are you planning to commute or use the dorms?" I politely asked Yulee.

"We're planning to commute. I'm finally free from using those horrible rooms," she waved the bad memories away.

I finally got the chance to rest when everyone was done with their initial blessings towards them. Scanning the people with me, I discovered Miliana was missing from the group. The rest of my classmates were present, taking a larger car than usual. I turned to Charles, "where is Miliana? Is she not attending?"

"She declined the invitation, saying her family was doing their celebration," Charles explained.

Miliana didn't know how lucky she was, having the ability to choose to attend. Some people were forcibly dragged, meaning me. I didn't like anyone in Luke's family, excluding Joanna since she equally suffered if not more from the Roselia family. She was pitiful, fated to work under Allison as long as she lived. This made me see Shelly in a new light, discovering she was willfully coming.

"Grandfather has many exciting events planned," I let Shelly know.

"We can watch some sword spars and eat many special desserts," I summarized the gist of the group chat.

Unlike the rest, Shelly was oddly not included in the family group chat. I stiffened when Luke strangely elbowed me to remain quiet, wondering if it was wrong to tell her. It wasn't like they were going to exclude her, everything would eventually get revealed anyways. The whole hover car stayed silent, choosing to communicate by sending messages. Although it was weird, I went with the flow.

[Are we starting with dining as usual?] I sent.

[We are. Look at our family group chat, our grandfather recently sent the schedule a few seconds ago] Luke replied.

This was how I landed at the dining table as soon as I arrived. Like the previous year's graduates, both Jules and Yulee received special treatment, sitting on thrones like chairs. Most of the attention was on them, asking about their plans for summer vacation. However, there was one person who wasn't included in any of the conversations, sitting at the most far end.