Chapter 329 - GRADUATION CEREMONY II

The students have prepared themselves for the procession already, wearing their togas and graduation hat properly. Usually, parents would escort the students during the procession but because there were so many students, they'd be taking so much space in the gym. Thus, the teacher came up with an idea to pair the students instead.

The group was divided into two; males and females. It would be better and those who couldn't get a female partner could only choose to stick with a male. Despite this arrangement, the students were all happy. After all, they're finally ending this chapter in their life to move on into the next stage.

Cayenne was watching her brother from a distant and flashes of memories came into her mind. She could still remember how easy it was for Luiz to calculate mathematics at the very young age. She remembered that he won a contest in Math and came home with a prize happily. He's very good in science as well and he likes to experiment things. From the little boy who loved to cling on her, to a grown young man who's starting to fulfill his dreams; Cayenne was very happy to witness all these. The only regret she had was for her mother to miss something so important.

Her body couldn't hold on to wait for few months anymore. 'She must have been so tired already.' Cayenne thought of her mother. Nonetheless, she knew that her mother must be watching them from wherever she was and must be happy to see how much her son achieves.

"Good morning teachers, students, parents, family and friends. Today, we will witness the 105th graduation rites for the senior high school students. These students have gone through a lot and now, they're ready to face the society with the better version of them. Let's welcome our graduates! The processional!" The emcee announced and soon, the song for their graduation march started.

The students walked down the aisle in pairs with a wide smile on their faces. Some students waved their hands towards their parents while some just smiled and nodded their heads. Luiz was very prim and proper. He only smiled at the visitors while scanning his eyes in his surroundings.

'Huh? Yen isn't sitting on the ground floor area?' Luiz asked himself but since they came together, he knew that his sister was just somewhere there.

After almost ten minutes of marching, all the students have come to their seats. The emcee took over once again and talked her part. The school principal gave his opening remarks and after his speech, the class advisers started to present the number of students who were graduating.

An hour has passed and finally, it was time for the Valedictorian to give his message and get his awards. "Let's welcome the class Valedictorian, Mr. Luiz Ardolf, for his valedictory speech."

A warm applause echoed inside the gym as he made his way to the stage. Luiz looked around to find where his sister was and found her sitting at the upper deck with their family and friends.

"In my life, I've always believed in the saying 'poverty is not a hindrance to success'. From a very young age, I learned that my family belongs to underprivileged people. And life was even harder when our father was sent to jail. I thought, my life was over. I thought that god must have punished us. However, there's one person who never gave up on us. And that's my sister. She works so hard for all of us, trying to make ends meet. She works from morning to night time and come morning again. And she never complained. She always encourages us to do better because we are the only ones who can help ourselves. Some of my classmates asked me why I disdain those girls who spends so much time on make ups. It's not that I disdain them but I just thought a woman with callous hands, dark eyebags, messy hair but still full of energy when she came home from work was the most beautiful woman. She takes care of the whole family without caring so much about herself. She's the epitome of someone who selflessly love other people. Because of her, my brother and I worked so hard. When there's an open scholarship, we'll grab it. In all these years, we survived from the scholarships that the school offered and I am so thankful for that. I'm so thankful that there were many foundations out there who helped less privileged students like me. I am so thankful that there are teachers who understand the situation of their students and helped them as much as they can. The heck I care about poverty. I'll beat it with hard work and perseverance. I'll kick it with my diligence and patience. I'll emerged victor from all the struggles and obstacles because I have my family. So, to my classmates and school mates who's going through so much like me, don't give up because there's always a light at the end of the tunnel but if you give up, you will not make it out of that dark tunnel. Let's end this chapter of our life and soar high to the future of our adult life. Even so, let's not forget all the memories we had and let's stay connected. I hope everyone here will be successful in the path they choose in life. Aim high!"

From the beginning of his speech until the very end, Cayenne had been crying on her seat. She didn't expect that the little things she did for her brothers would bring a huge impact in their life. She didn't really think much when she worked. She just wanted to have money to pay for her mother's medical bills, have money to pay for their school fees and have money to buy their daily needs. All she could think of was for them to survive in this cruel world.

Stefan just hugged her and let her cry her heart out. 

Kyle was sighing helplessly while handing out his handkerchief to his sister. "How did you become such a crybaby?"