[GL] Someone Once Told Me the Grass is Much er on the Other Side-Chapter 130: Graduation Arc: Five

Aurora wore her blue cap and gown with the other seniors of her class. This was it.

The graduation ceremony was underway, the principal’s voice droning through the speakers. There was a distinct scent of freshly cut grass mixed with the faint chemical odor of the rented plastic folding chairs.

It was warm, the sun high enough to make her sweat under the heavy robe. Aurora only heard fragments of the speeches, something about "potential" and "the journey ahead", but she was scanning the crowd. Her eyes landed on her sires and mother, sitting stiffly beside each other yet smiling.

They gave a wide, long smile when he noticed her gaze. Next to them, Lacy waved happily her expression was completely reasonable. Aurora’s fingers tightened imperceptibly on her program booklet, creasing the glossy paper.

The principal adjusted his microphone. "And now, it’s time," he declared, voice abruptly sharpening. Silence fell, thick and heavy like wet velvet-ooooo, here it comes.

Aurora felt her pulse thrumming in her temples, a frantic counterpoint to the stillness. The first name echoed, "Anderson, Liam!", followed by scattered applause.

A ripple went through the sea of blue as someone moved forward. Aurora’s focus narrowed to the stage steps, worn wood gleaming under the sun.

Only the rhythmic calling of names sliced the quiet, each syllable precise, disembodied, falling like stones into a pond.

"Here she comes!" Adama screamed standing up in the bleachers.

Aurora Theresa’s name cut through the humid silence like a scalpel. One heartbeat stretched into three as every hair on Aurora’s arms rose beneath her polyester robe.

She moved forward, walking toward the stage.

The bleachers roared with indistinct noise. Aurora heard a sharp whistle, probably Adama, but she kept her gaze fixed on the worn wood steps. Her breath rose up as her foot touched the first one; beneath her palm, the railing felt warm and slightly sticky from layers of varnish and sun-soaked sweat.

She took the diploma from the principal and smiled. She waved her hand at her parents and her sister. She walked off quickly from the stage back to her seat. She was ready to move forward with her life. She was excited.

Aurora descended the stage steps, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. She sat down in her black seat and listened to the other names be called. Once the event was over, she found herself running to her family.

The Alphas gathered around Aurora hugging her while Lacy stood to the side. When Samantha, Salmona, and Adama stepped away, Lacy came forward.

Aurora kissed her daughter on the cheek and hugged her. "You did well, Aurora," Lacy said. She looked at her daughter smiling. "You’re gonna do amazing!

Aurora ran to the car and got into the back seat with Adama and Salmona. She placed her seat belt on. "Alright where we going? Hopefully not ma’s restaurant," she added.

"Whats wrong with my restaurant?" Lacy asked from the front seat, the Omega getting playfully offended.

"I wanna eat somewhere different," Aurora laughed.

’Alright, alright," Samantha said. "We’ll go get pasta or something." Aurora smiled wide and looked out the window. It was bright out, nothing had changed, unusual for Ashley, since the city is so used to rain and snow.

They drove up to the pasta restaurant. It felt surreal to be driving as a graduate. She was already thinking of the past, how she was gonna miss it.

They walked into the restaurant, stepping from bright sun into cool excitement. Plastic plants brushed Aurora’s shoulder as she squeezed past a booth. It was crowded due to many families coming from the same graduation ceremony; in fact, Brie and her family were already seated.

The scent of oregano, garlic, and yeasty bread crusts wrapped around Aurora, thick enough to taste on her tongue. Her family moved with purpose, Salmona scanning for a table, Samantha guiding Lacy by the elbow as Aurora trailed behind, fingers brushing the cool, sticky vinyl of a booth back.

"So," Samantha started as the five person family sat down in the booth. The waiter coming forward to request what they wanted for drinks. "What are you thinking now that you’re out of school, high school?"

Aurora was nervous and took a sip from her water glass. "Nervous, very nervous, I still don’t know what I’m going to major in. I want something I can get a job right after college, but..."

Her parents listened in while they scanned through the menu.

"We’ll see," Aurora said.

"Are you going to any parties tonight?" Adama asked.

"Yeppers," Aurora said with a smile, dancing in her seat. "Mosiah is hosting one."

"Don’t be doing nothing," Salmona said drinking her beer.

"What?" Aurora laughed along with Adama.

"I’mma miss you," Adama said.

Aurora turned to her little Alpha sister and smiled. "You’re the best little sister I could ever ask for. Plus, you’re gonna make someone very proud. You make me proud already."

The waiter reappeared, balancing a laden tray above the fray. Without a word, he slid steaming plates onto the laminate tabletop, garlic knots glistening with butter, salads crisp and vibrant, fettuccine Alfredo radiating rich creaminess.

Aurora watched as tendrils of fragrant steam curled upward, blurring the faces of Salmona and Samantha momentarily. The clatter of forks meeting plates replaced conversation, a symphony of scraping ceramics and muffled chewing.

Aurora’s own carbonara arrived, pancetta crisped to perfection, egg yolk silkily coating each strand. She inhaled deeply, woodsmoke from the kitchen oven, the tang of aged parmesan, and felt her stomach knot with anticipation.

Forks clicked rhythmically against plates, punctuating the silence that settled over them. Salmona’s brow furrowed as she speared a garlic knot, steam curling like ghostly fingers vanishing into the cooled restaurant air.

Lacy dipped her bread gently into oil, watching Aurora toy with her fork. Aurora’s gaze drifted to Brie across the room, laughing with her parents, gesturing wildly, and a pang of bittersweet envy tightened her throat.

The pasta warmed her mouth, rich and comforting, a stark contrast to the chilling uncertainty about college majors looming like a fog. She focused on the chew of the al dente spaghetti, the salty bite of pancetta, letting the flavors ground her in the solidity of this shared meal, the last one before everything shifted.

The shed thrummed, its exposed wooden beams vibrating under the assault of cheap speakers duct-taped to the rafters. Strobe lights sliced through the thick haze of sweat, spilled beer, and cloying perfume, throwing Aurora’s shadow into jagged, fleeting animations against the graffiti-scrawled walls.

Bodies pressed close, a pulsing organism of limbs and torsos slick with condensation, moving in a shared, frantic rhythm to the distorted bassline.

Aurora was at the center of it, eyes closed, head thrown back. She wasn’t thinking anymore, about college, majors, or tomorrow.

Her clothes were crumpled; now, she wore ripped jeans and a thin tank top plastered to her skin. Her feet pounded the rough wooden floor, jarring her ankles, each stomp reverberating up her spine. She felt untethered.

Aurora danced amongst all her friends: Brie, Gordan, Mosiah, Yong, and even Shatwa.

The pounding bass erased names, futures, doubts, replacing them with pure physical sensation. Sweat stung her eyes, mingling with the damp air clinging to her skin.

Aurora’s throat felt raw from unheard screams, muscles burning as she surrendered completely to the beat.

Only the relentless thump in her chest and the jarring vibration through the floorboards felt real. Time dissolved into the heated dark.

Shatwa whispered into Aurora’s ear. "You wanna go somewhere?" She asked the Omega.

"You’re a rapist, Shatwa, no Omega should go somewhere with you," Aurora whispered back, hearing the Alpha smack her lips. Aurora leaned her head into Shatwa’s shoulders and said, "I’m proud of you though. For getting help." She looked up at Shatwa’s face, she smiled softly at Aurora.

"Imma miss you," the Alpha said.

"Imma miss you too," Aurora responded.

Silence descended again as Shatwa pulled Aurora closer, their foreheads touching, sticky skin merging in the heat. Shatwa hummed softly against Aurora’s temple, a low vibration harmonizing with the thundering bass, speaking volumes without words.

They moved together, wrapped tight, hips swaying as if fused by the rhythm. Aurora’s fingers dug into Shatwa’s damp shirt, her own breath catching each time the strobe illuminated the Alpha’s fierce, proud gaze.

No words needed to pass between them, the pulsing bassline was their language now. All around, bodies blurred into streaks of motion and shadow, throwing wild silhouettes against the graffiti-streaked walls.

The rough wood floorboards trembled under Aurora’s feet, each stomp sending waves of sensation up her legs, jarring her ankles, vibrating her ribs, connecting her physically to the frantic energy of the packed shed.

She leaned up and gave Shatwa a kiss on the lips, leaning into her. They went through so much together that Aurora truly did love this Alpha. She hoped that they could at least remain friends through it all.