Graduation Day

Dream 9/24/2014

It's Graduation Day. The senior students are sitting in classroom desks. The parents are crowded in a corner, watching. The classroom seems a bit small for a graduation service. A teacher starts handing out papers containing our grade point averages. A sick feeling enters my stomach when I read a -50 on mine. My friend Tim has a +1500. A squirrely fellow sitting next to me received a -45. I don't feel as bad. After all, misery loves company.

My friend Kasey tells me that I'll most likely fail to graduate and need to go to summer school and the deadline for the application is tomorrow. My heart sinks even more so. I slip my head into my hands. I look at my mom in the corner with the happy smile on her face. She doesn't even know that her little boy is about to disappoint her.

The service starts. They begin to call out the names of the graduating class. I await to hear if my name is to be called. Suddenly, I look and see above the chalkboard are a list of names from left to right of those being called out. I scan through them once, twice and a third time. I see a "Keith" but the last name isn't "Laverty." It isn't me. I'm not there. I've failed myself. I've failed my mom. It's over. She knows by this time that something is wrong. The smile is no longer there. They've finished calling names. Mine wasn't one of them.

I want this sick feeling to go away. I sneak out of the school. I meet some friends at a bar to have a drink. Joel, Leah and another fellow whom I've never seen. I meet them at a table and tell them about my day. I sit down and say, "well, I didn't graduate high school." Leah responds, "so now you gonna roam the empty halls with the kings?" I drink my coke. Dream ends

I wake up