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"Language, Weller," Griswold hissed, sans whistle Tiff lifted a narrow shoulder, the satin of her white gown ainst her hair "Okay," she replied, utterly unruffled I held in the walrus bark with an effort

Jonesy didn’t, giving a raucous guffaw that made Griswold’s brows drop into a unibrow above her eyes

Griswold stalked off roup His eyebrows popped as he watched Griswold circle us ruffian teens like a shark on the blood scent trail

"She a hard charger?" Graly

Tiff turned her head to look at hiot in sorill

I instantly translated Old Guy Speak, "She gets ’er done"

"Hell yeah," Jonesyfake sweat off his forehead and Griswold hissed frohed "Good hearing too"

He had no idea

Mia came up with Bry, their hands laced intiiven a collective sigh of relief Although, if Bry didn’t get his act together and start to think again ere going to be driven insane

Mia had graduated last year and was attending today just for us Bry was here with his one hundred and one siblings enthe tip of his nose to push Mia’s hair away froet better access and s only she could hear

Gra His face said sohe’d taken in the sphere world were still on his face and he claimed they were character marks He had a lot of character then

Jezebel the Organic hadn’t been able to fix him totally and he still limped when the weather turned cool

It uilty as hell

I saw Gramps’ hand stray to the pocket of his perfectly pressed shirt He was itching for a s to quit

Tiff gaveme that it sucked ass that Hamilton was by Jade but I consoled raduation He wouldn’t try anything stupid

Right?

They announced ot to be right next to Ha expression He’d love toand watching

So were the cops, the sick fucks

I leaned forward and caught Jade’s eye and she winked, the e out of existence for a second and then reappearing like found treasure She was so brave, sitting not far from Haured ere e and I watched him, my scrutiny probably not unlike his parents’ Out of all of us, he’d fashioned his future I was proud of him So was Jonesy, who turned around, no embarrassment over eyes that were shiny with our friend’s accomplishments

Terran opened histapered fingers that matched his tall body perfectly I couldn’t help but think of the Guys with Gills as the ettable memory

John had that look He was unfinished, not yet nineteen and too lean by far, but he had that look Minus the gills

"I was going to give the perfect speech," John said gazing out at the audience The sound of crickets was clear in the well of silence that struck the outdoor auditoriu to speak about what really matters instead of what is expected" His pleasant face, fraotten older, looked at the sea of faces, his light blue eyes scanning the crowd for a readiness that ht not be there

Every eye was trained on him and when he had their full attention he said, "I want to talk about Brett Mason"

Even I sucked in a lungful, and I’ht John would abandon the Perfect Lecture for e airsick bags as atched I just knew it

I got a sudden i and smiled until rinned "This oughta be good," he said with barely contained glee

Yeah

"My biggest lesson was not learned through my textbooks And I am very aware that this should be the time to talk about how fine an education I’ve received" His icy eyes held the crowd’s without rancor but with a purpose

Maybe Grisasn’t the only hard charger in the auditorium today

"I’ll leave that for others My finest lessons ca on Jones and ht me the value of individuality," and his speech halted, a s his face and I knew, just knew, he was thinking of Jonesy "However, Brett Mason taught me the finest lesson of my life"

The audience held their collective breath

"Bravery," John said and they stood

Every cap and gown, every parent, everyone who had legs stood Even that bastard Ha a girl that I loved

Who, I was certain, would one day be my wife

Sometimes milestones are not measured by the accority

Brett had taught John that

Hell, he’d taught us all

I turned to look at Jade as the clapping died down and saw the tears on her face, seeing through the sadness to the joy that lay underneath

Brett was gone but he was still a part of us

There would have been no "us" if it had not been for him

We all understood it

That’s why John had committed himself to a speech about a mundane from a broken faotten

Never that

I don’t knohat possessed John’s parents to host a huraduates at their house Obviously, serving a red fruit punch over obscenely white carpeting was nothing short of idiotic Even if it did have plastic runners bisecting the center

Especially watching Jonesy doing the hip-swiveling dance with his punch A la beer pong cup

He was having fun with that part He’d flung his ar every effort to act like she was indifferent to the attention

"And here’s the thing, Soph John’s mom’s doin’ quarters baby," his voice dropped to be hidden by the low drone of thewith red punch

Hell, even I was nervous I watched Terran’s eyes dart around like a ping pong ball without a paddle There were si over to my side