252 Graduation Night

"Hey," Zaksus looked over and said to me as the boat started sailing up the Helliger River, making it so that the beautiful skyline of Nocsinis and Lumina began to slip by. "How much do you think this ceremony costs?"

"I don't know," I responded as I leaned against the railing, taking in the wonderful breeze atop the river.

"Where did they get all this money?" Zaksus wondered, frowning as he leaned forward a bit more, thrusting his face into the path of the wind.

"The ceremony will begin in a few more minutes," Loyd walked up behind us and said. "Should we go and grab seats?"

"Sure," Irina smiled and said.

"Alevian," Loyd looked over at me and said. "You can take in the view later on. The boat will make a turn just before we make it out past Vanille and Mistelheim."

"Let's go," Alvelyn whispered to me, nudging me on my elbow.

Slowly, I retreated from the deck railing and started walking after the others as we made our way to the interior of the boat where the ceremony will be taking place in the specially designed theater area in the boat. At the far side of the theater was a large stage, and before the elevated theater was plenty of seats in neat rows that curved with the curvature of the theater. There was also an upper level to the auditorium with plenty of seating as well. The floor to this upper level was slanted, a design that ensured that each ensuing row of seats were taller than the previous ones so that everyone could see the stage.

The first few rows of seats nearest to the stage were reserved for graduating students, and the seats behind them were open to sit in for the attendees. However, it is an unspoken rule that the seats were left to parents or family, making it so that us students who weren't graduating and are simply here to congratulate graduating friends or seniors in our respective clubs filled in the back row seats and the upper level seats. When we entered, the ground floor seats were all taken, leaving only the upper floor seats available. So after taking a flight of stairs up to the upper level, we all sat down on the open seats at the front of the upper level where we can see the stage without any issues.

The theater soon filled up and the door closed, signalling the unofficial begin of the ceremony. However, it will still take a few more minutes for the ceremony to begin as there are still some minor preparations that must be finished first. As exactly what those preparations are though, I do not know the answer to that. In the meantime, the theater was filled with the chattering sounds of conversing and whispering, mostly originating from the audience down stairs. That went on for a while longer until the blinds on the large windows on either side of the theater folded up, revealing the beautiful city view of Palisia from the center of the wide Helliger River. Upon this reveal, the chattering ceased for a bit as people looked over to take in the view.

I leaned back in my seat, relaxing my entire body as I waited for the ceremony to begin. I turned my neck and observed everyone, taking in the look of excitement on Irina's face.

"You're excited," I whispered to her.

"A little bit," Irina smiled in an embarrassed manner as she answered. "It's just that...this will be us next year."

"And Zaksus still got two years," Noah said in a mocking manner as he looked at Zaksus in a playing manner.

"God..." Zaksus sighed. "I don't think I can last that long..."

"At least you got basketball to keep your mind off of school," Noah said, suddenly transitioning into a state of depression. "I don't have that luxury..."

"Oh," Loyd suddenly sat up in his seat and looked over in our direction. "Aren't some players on the basketball team graduating today?"

"Yeah," Zaksus nodded. "Our starting point guard, backup center, and some more important players on Varsity."

"Would you all take a big hit from their loss?" Loyd asked.

"Yeah," Zaksus sighed and smiled. "They're all important players in our rotation..."

"Guess you'll have to step up next year," Noah commented.

"We'll have to replenish players..." Zaksus said, obviously worrying about the status of the team.

"How long is the ceremony?" Noah then asked, leaving Zaksus to worry on his own.

"It should take approximately two hours," Muria answered as she read from the brochure on her phone. "But the boat cruise will take about three hours."

"Three hours?" Noah took out his phone and checked the time. "It's 6:14 PM already, so...we'll be done at what? Around 9:20?"

"Around that time," Muria nodded.

"Ah!" Irina pointed out to the rest of us. "It's about to begin."

We all looked towards the stage as the lights in the theater dimmed, leaving the only major source of illumination being the ones coming from the large open windows. Lights shined on the stage as a select group of faculty members walked across the stage and took a seat on the cushioned chairs. These were the teachers that taught major core academic classes, and among them, I immediately recognized Mura and Emilia. Then, the school principle, a woman in her mid thirties, walked towards the podium where a microphone was placed.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen," she said into the microphone. "It is my honor, to be here today..."

The principal then went on with the usual opening speech that almost every graduation ceremony would have. To be honest, the graduation ceremony is like every other ceremony. The principal would make a speech, then some of the more senior members of the faculty would give a speech, and an accomplished alumni of the school would give a speech before the ceremony would progress and enter the process of handing out the diplomas.

The ceremony took a while, and only ended after a large group photo of the graduating class of students. After that, the ceremony was over, leaving us with the liberty to enjoy the remainder of the river cruise as twilight loomed over the world. I left the theater with the others, and in one of the larger rooms just before the open deck, there were long tables with food served buffet style. The options available were rather top notch, with items such as full roasted pig and lobster spaghetti. In addition, there were also catering staff hired to take care of used plates and eating utensils.

After grabbing some food for myself, I followed the others onto the open deck, enjoying the fresh air. Here, we stood around and dug into our food as we waited for Luna and Erith to stop by after they finish chatting with their parents. None of us were in a rush as the cruise has just gone halfway and is making a turn so that it could flow down the river and back to the starting port.

Coincidentally, when we finished with our food, Luna and Erith walked over to us. They were still dressed in their graduation gown and had a relatively happy countenance on their faces.

"Congratulations!" Irina said to them, smiling happily.

"Thank you," Luna responded with a pleasant smile.

"We're done with school," Erith said in a teasing manner as she tapped me gently on the head with her diploma, almost as if she was playfully showing off.

"Congratulations," I said with a forced smile. "Now you got another four years at college."

"You're such a downer," Erith frowned and said to me. She made a puffy face, and it would appear that she was genuinely in a good mood as she would never do such a thing when she's her usual self.

Our group then continued to converse, chatting about casual topics mostly about Luna and Erith's plans for college. It's a rather bland topic, but...it's rather pleasant. It's just this...calm and everyday feeling of the topic that made me feel satisfied. And combined with the beautiful skyline of Palisia, where lights began to dot the skyscrapers and creating a beautiful painting of a light show, and the windy nature of the river's surface, the formula simply combined to add an even more tranquil atmosphere.

I leaned against the railing of the boat, taking in the neon skyline of Palisia and the reflections of the city on the river surface, I took a deep breath as I enjoyed this pleasant retreat. In this hot, summer day, the wind that blew atop of the river is still cool and comfortable. It reminded me greatly of the breezes that blew in the riverside walkway just beneath my house. In fact, I can see that walkway right now as the boat crept towards the mouth of the Helliger River once again and towards the docks.

Once the boat docks...our summer will officially begin.