His Mermaid

Graduation day!

It’s graduation day! Yay! Mom instructed the ones doing my hair and make-up to keep it simple yet beautiful and pleasing to the eye. She was very please after she saw what they did to me and ordered me to get dressed.

I went back upstairs and put on my graduation dress and shoes. I took my toga and hat with me downstairs and went to where my parents were waiting for me.

When dad saw me, his face immediately lit up. I can tell that he was really happy to see me ready to graduate high school.

“Oh, my baby is all grown up. Come here, love. Let’s take a family picture with you wearing your toga and hat. And oh, here’s your corsage and a necklace of flowers for you.”

"Dad, it's a garland." I corrected him.

Dad can be so much sometimes but I can’t help but love him even more. I did what he asked me to do and did a little pose with the both of them beside me.

We got inside the car and dad drove us three to my school. Florida Prep School for the Elite. I am not an elite though. I just happen to get a scholarship there that enabled me to study there for high school.

I also got into a good university using a scholarship I got through my grades. I’m going to be starting there in the fall. But enough of that for now, there is a graduation ceremony that I need to attend.

The three of us were happily singing along to a song playing on the radio when mom suddenly asked me such a random question.

“So, Serena. When are you going to take home a guy and introduce him as your boyfriend? You are beautiful yet you don’t have one. Right, Dom?”

Dad’s knuckles went white from holding the steering wheel too tightly.

“Mom, you know I’m not yet ready for that. I don’t want anyone that would endanger my identity once they knew about it. And dad doesn’t want me to get a boyfriend, they’re just a huge pain in the ass anyway.”

Dad’s hold on the wheel relaxed and he eased his driving as well. I don’t want him to get stressed about me getting found out. I know the consequences of anyone knowing what I was. What I am.

I stretched my hand and reassuringly grabbed my dad’s shoulder before saying,

“Don’t worry dad. When I finally bring and introduce someone as my boyfriend, he will already know what I am and what he is entering. And if he is not willing to keep my secret, we can both kill him.”

Dad smiled and shakes his head in humor at what I just said. Though I was sure that he would take it seriously because I am serious when I said that. He needs to die for my secret to be safe.

At last, we arrived at school safely and dad parked the car. We got out and immediately went to the venue of the ceremony. It was inside the indoor gymnasium. Everything was so fancy in this school that I somehow was out of place at times.

That’s why I never had any friends here. All of my high school life was me hiding in the library during lunch hours just to get out of everyone’s way. Mom and dad don’t know that but they know I don’t have any friends.

I didn’t care though. Not having friends is not a total loss during high school. At least I didn’t make any huge mistakes that I had to regret for the rest of my life.

Unlike the parents of the elites that are paying extra just so their kids could graduate. Some take their education seriously but they are all snobs. They discriminate against those that are not rich like they are.

No matter. As long as they don’t involve me in their messes, I was good. And I was good because I ended up at the top of the class without my parents trying to bribe my teachers into giving me good grades.

I earned it all on my own. I was so excited and nervous about my valedictory speech. I didn’t make one because I’m better at doing impromptu speeches than making one beforehand.

I just hope I don’t make a fool out of myself. I took deep breaths to calm myself down while looking forward to going up on stage and receiving my diploma. My teacher called me to go up on stage and sit beside her since I'm class valedictorian.

I told my parents about it and I pointed to them where their seats are so they could sit down as well. When they were seated, I went up the stage to sit beside my adviser. We waited until everybody was seated in their proper places before starting the ceremony.

"Good day Florida Prep! It is a glorious day today! For today marks the end of one phase of life and the beginning of another! Let us give a huge round of applause to all of our graduates this year. We have produced many notable graduates that all went their way in life. All becoming successful in their own chosen field."

I tuned out the words that were coming out of the headmistress's mouth. She only says those words because she got a lot of bribes from my class. Most of the graduates here today are troublemakers. Only a handful are decent in our batch. But I don't care about them at all.

I'm just happy that I graduated without getting influenced by them. Fast forward when the ceremony ended and everybody was getting their diplomas. It is a school tradition that they call last the class valedictorian because whoever it is, they will need to stay on stage and deliver their speech.

"And the class valedictorian. Serena Sinclair who was accepted into Florida Institute of Technology."

There were lots of applause, there were even some hoots from the jocks of the class. But the loudest of all of them came from my dad. He and mom stood from their seats and took out their cameras to take shots of me receiving my diploma.

The look on my parents was so priceless that I almost cried on stage. I didn't get to deliver my speech because a fire broke out in a nearby building and we were immediately evacuated.

Oh, my goodness. What just happened?