Once Upon a Grad Night
Crystal Maldonado
Playlist: “Willow”
“Okay, ew,” Juniper Jones mutters. “Why is there a giant, ugly tree in the entryway of our sober graduation night?”
I’m far enough away from Juniper and her best friend, Millie Barnes, that they don’t hear my gasp. Not that they’d care. Juniper Jones has never minded much if she hurts someone’s feelings.
But still. The absolute nerve of her to make fun of the decorations I spent literal months working on is something else.
I’d love to point out that it’s a wire and papier-maché weeping willow, intended to help set the vibe for Once Upon a Grad Night, our enchanted-forest-themed event.
Each twinkle-light-covered branch holds an array of small, neatly folded papers that offer a fortune for the night ahead.
It’s a creation so intricate that it took the theater-design kids more than six weeks to make, and it’s meant to bring some whimsy to an otherwise dreary community center.
Clearly, Juniper isn’t getting the vision.
“I think we’re supposed to take one of the papers,” Millie says, motioning to the nearest branch.
With a shrug, Juniper yanks two fortunes from the tree.
Millie opens hers first. “Mine says A forgotten talent of yours will bloom tonight. What about yours?”
Juniper clears her throat. “Be still long enough to notice the flowers among the weeds.” With an eye roll, she crumples the paper and flicks it away like a bug. “Well, that’s stupid. This better be less corny inside. Come on.”
The two disappear into the party, and I can feel my blood boil as Juniper’s fortune falls to the ground.
Who litters, ever, let alone in a place meant to look like an enchanted forest? I stomp over to the paper and tuck it with care into the pocket of my dress until I can discard it properly. Then, on tiptoes, I reach up to the tree and delicately remove a fortune for myself.
The note reads Someone close by is quietly rooting for you.
But I know without looking around that that’s not true.
Aside from me, the lobby is empty. All my classmates have long since entered the party. I’m stalling, though. I don’t want to go in. Then I’ll have to face the reality that I’ve arrived at this coveted graduation milestone…alone.
I wish I could say it’s because my friends are waiting for me to join them at the real party later tonight, or that my class is full of Junipers not worth befriending, but neither is true.
The reality is I don’t have any friends because I’ve spent all of high school completely consumed by academics.
I was so fixated on getting into a good college and making Mami proud that I could see nothing else.
I was a girl obsessed, driven entirely by AP courses and a perfect GPA.
I filled every spare moment with studying and deadlines and college prep courses, wholly consumed by my big plans for what came after high school.
I sucked the fun out of every room I entered, and I know it.
Yet, somehow, even Juniper Jones has made it to graduation with a friend, and that girl wears audacity like perfume.
It hits me hard, this realization, this bleak loneliness, and my eyes begin to ache with tears.
I need some air.
I hike up the hem of my long lavender gown and march toward the set of double doors from which I came, only to be greeted by a sign that, annoyingly, I printed and hung myself. It reads Don’t Venture Beyond the Forest! (Alarm Will Sound if Doors Are Opened Before 8:00 a.M.)
Right. Grad night has begun, so doors are officially locked. Our entire senior class is stuck inside for the next twelve-plus hours. I’m trapped.
My vision blurs as the tears I was holding back spill over. At the sound of footsteps, I turn to the wall with a sniffle, dabbing at my eyes, and quickly try to regain my composure.
“Oh. Sorry, Deja,” a deep voice says. “Didn’t realize you were still over here.”
When I turn, I’m surprised to see Luca Cavill. And he looks…distractingly good.
He’s wearing a sage-colored button-up with a black bow tie and black pants.
His sleeves are rolled up, so the outfit still fits Luca’s casual-cool vibe, especially with the black-and-white Converse on his feet.
Though it’s tradition for seniors to dress up for grad night, not everyone does, and I find it sweet that he chose to.
Luca and I have been acquaintances for years, thrown together because of our last names, Cavill and Castillo.
That put our lockers side by side all throughout middle school and placed us in the same homeroom, and we usually had seats close together in shared classes during those first weeks of school.
I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t noticed him. He’s very cute, with brown eyes like rich coffee, and an easy smile that lights up his whole face.
More than that, Luca has a quiet confidence that I envy. He’s charming, even to the prickliest kids in our class, and has a way of making people feel at ease. He always makes polite conversation with me, asking how I’m doing or waving hello in the halls.
Once, during gym, I saw him wander off from our kickball game to help reunite a baby duck who’d gotten stuck between two rocks with its mother. When he was done, he returned to the game as if nothing had happened.
And, fine. Maybe I had a crush on him in tenth grade.
“No worries,” I say, forcing a smile. “I just needed a sec.”
Luca’s brow furrows ever so slightly as he studies my face. “Everything okay?”
I nod. “Totally fine.”
He squints at me. “You’re a really bad liar. You know that, right?”
That makes me laugh a little. “Yeah. I don’t do it much, so.”
“That’s probably for the best,” Luca teases. “And, hey, everything in here looks great. You did a really awesome job getting this set up.”
I blink at him, surprised.
“Oh, um. Thank you?” The end of my sentence goes up in a question, though I don’t intend it. I try again. “Really. Thanks for saying that.”
“Of course! I can’t imagine how many hours you poured into this, but it really paid off.
I was genuinely blown away when I walked in.
I mean, that?” He points at the willow tree.
“Genius. I got one that says Shed what you’ve outgrown.
There’s room now for something greener. How good is that? Did you come up with these?”
“I have to give credit to the writing club for the fortunes,” I admit. “They made sure they were super on theme. All I did was gather them and have them printed. They did a great job.”
“Yeah.” He tucks the paper back into his shirt pocket. “But so did you.”
I smile as Luca glances at the doors behind me.
“Wait. Are you trying to leave?” I ask.
His cheeks flush with a hint of pink. “Uh, sort of. But it has nothing to do with the event itself,” he quickly adds. “I just kind of have somewhere to be.”
I wave a hand at him. “Don’t worry. I’m not offended. I was just going to tell you that the doors are locked.” I point to the sign. “We can’t leave.”
Luca arches an eyebrow. “Can’t we, though?”
Without another word, he steps forward and pushes on the double doors.
They open with ease, no alarm to be heard.
A gust of cool evening air gushes inside, rustling the embroidered flowers that bloom across the bodice of my dress.
Locking the doors was pretty much the only thing I wasn’t personally in charge of, so of course it’s the one thing that didn’t get done.
Lucky for us.
“How did you know they weren’t locked?” I ask.
“I didn’t,” Luca says. “But I hoped.”
He steps outside, then turns back toward me. “You coming with me or what?”
I practically choke at the unexpected invitation. “Me?”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s not like I want you to ditch your own event, but you seem…sad. And you did say we can’t leave, as in the both of us,” he explains. “But we could. If you want.”
His offer is tempting. Moments ago, I didn’t know any way to exist except as the girl with the plans.
Now here’s my chance to wreck them.
“Okay,” I say, giving him a firm nod. “I’m in.”
Luca breaks into a smile, the one that lights up his whole face, and my heart does a cartwheel. “Okay, then. Let’s go.”
I feel breathless as I step over the threshold into the night air, following Luca toward the parking lot.
My chest is pounding—partly from the excitement and partly from the nerves.
I can’t believe I’m leaving the graduation night party (!) that I planned (!!) so I can go off with Luca Cavill (!! !).
I clear my throat in an attempt to conceal my giddiness. “So, where are we going exactly?”
“There’s this really great indie band playing down at the boardwalk tonight, and I’ve been dying to see them,” Luca explains. “They’re called A Girl Named Girl. You know them?”
I shake my head. “No, but that sounds like fun.”
He smiles. “Cool. There’s just one super-quick errand I need to run first.”
“Fine with me,” I reply, hoping to sound more nonchalant than I feel. This whole rolling-with-whatever is still new to me.
We arrive at his car, and Luca unlocks the doors for us both.
“Watch the window,” he warns. “The one on your side falls down constantly, so it’s currently being held up by a pencil.”
“A car with character,” I say. “I like it.”
“Also, before we get in.” Luca looks at me over the car roof, rubbing the back of his neck almost nervously.
Then, all at once, his words come tumbling out.
“You can still bail. No hard feelings. I know it’s a little weird for a random dude to spontaneously invite a pretty girl to a concert.
” My cheeks flush. Did he just say I was pretty?
“I swear it’ll be fun. But it’s absolutely valid if you’ve changed your mind.
You could go back inside, or I could call a ride for you, or—”
“Luca,” I interrupt, laughing a little at his rambling. “It’s fine. I want to go. Really.”
At this, his shoulders relax. “Okay, yeah. Good. It might be fun to hang out away from our lockers, you know?” He chuckles. “Plus, it’s going to be a great show.”