Everyone wore gowns of maroon and the caps were white.  Seulgi was almost certain that the cap and gown should have been the same color, but she was far more glad that it had been raining white caps a minute ago than maroon ones.  She would have preferred it if none of the caps were raining but that really wasn’t her choice and she wouldn’t have wanted to spoil anyone’s fun on graduation day.

She’d always envisioned graduation as being glorious, an occasion to show everyone that she’d made it through four years of high school unscathed.  That wasn’t the case, but Seulgi didn’t mind.  She was rather glad that she had the battle scars that she’d gotten from the trials of life.  It made her feel like she had something to be proud of that she’d overcome her struggles.  She would want to carry the bruises on her body for the rest of her life, just to remind her.

She had just finished posing for pictures for Seungwan’s mom when the other two girls came up with their families.  Seulgi stood on her toes, looking for her own mother who seemed to be lost in the crowd.  She hoped her mom wasn’t being pushed around by other families trying to reach there own children for some post graduation photos.  It was the possibility of that that made her feel that it was ridiculous everyone was crowding in one area when the entire football field was open for picture taking.

“Have any of you seen my mom?”  Seulgi asked. craning her neck even more.

“Seulgi!  Kang Seulgi!” she heard her mother’s voice.  

Her mom was loud so it wasn’t that hard to spot her through the throng of people.  She was being escorted by Jongin.  Seulgi smiled and waited for them to get to where she and the others were standing.  

When they were close enough, Jongin let go of her mothers hand ran straight to her.  She felt his arms circle tightly around her waist and a second later, she was being lifted off the ground and twirled in circles.  She clutched on to his shoulders tightly knowing that he was strong but she still felt as though he could pull a muscle and possible drop her.

“You did it, bear.  You just graduated,”  Jongin smiled.  “What are you going to do now?”

“Go home and eat ice cream with the girls, whining about how you totally embarrassed me at senior prom?”  Seulgi suggested.

Jongin sighed.  “For the last time, dancing better than you isn’t an embarrassment.  I can’t help it I have natural skills.”

Seulgi frowned.  “You were just being a show off.  Even Sehun agreed with me.  Sehun’s the only one that understands me these days.”

“Sehun is a brat,” Jongin argued and then groaned, looking over Seulgi’s shoulder.  “Why is he walking over here? No, he should go away.”

“You two are so dysfunctional.  I don’t even know how you’ve managed to stay together for three years,”  Joohyun laughed.

“My post graduation bliss is now ruined.  I say we all go get something to eat,”  Sooyoung suggested.

Seungwan tapped her forehead.  “Pictures first.  Don’t you want to remember our precious high school years?”

Seulgi could tell no one really wanted to but as soon as Sehun arrived with Mark and Suzy, the whole lot of them posed for a picture.  Their parents stood in a line, snapping photos of their genuine happiness, silly faces, short arguments and the candid moments in between.  

It wasn’t until they had all piled into the car and were on their way to some restaurant Joohyun’s mom had made reservations at that Seulgi realized that she was no longer a high school student.  She didn’t feel any different in a physical sense.  It was just the fact she would no longer have to wake up at six in the morning to go to the same building she went to everyday and see the same people she’d been seeing for the past four years.  In fact, she’d probably never see some of them ever again.

That alone made her heart clench.  Seulgi might not have known some of them as much as she may have wanted to.  She hadn’t revealed much about herself either and even though she’d changed so much throughout every year, many of her more casual friends, never really knew her.

She wondered if she would ever meet some of them again.  She would miss hanging out with Min, Hyoyeon and Hyuna.  Seulgi had formed fond memories with them and she knew it would be hard to let them go.  They’d never dance together for some pep rally or halftime show for a sports competition ever again.  

Memories of every single little thing, even ones she wouldn’t classify as noteworthy made their way into her mind.  She couldn’t entirely describe what she was feeling.  It was a mixture of sadness, nostalgia,  regret, but she was also happy.  

“You okay?”  Jongin asked her, taking a strand of her hair.  He separated it into three sections, obviously attempting to braid it.  Even after three years of dating, he still hadn’t lightened up on all the skinship.  He still acted as if they were a newly dating couple.

“Yeah, I’m okay.  It’s just hard to accept we have to move on now.  How do they expect to spend four years in that building and then reinvent ourselves i