Margaret Walks Across the High School Stage on a Warm June Morning
I looked across the asphalt at the teenagers laughing and taking pictures in their bright blue gowns.
The weight of the diploma felt lighter in my hand, and the sharp edge of the morning seemed to soften.
“Did Vance see them?” I asked.
“He didn’t look,” Kayla said, looking toward the main entrance.
“He was too busy watching the school board members walk toward his office.”
I thanked her again, holding the pen tightly as she ran back to join her friends.
The school building was quiet by one o’clock, the main lobby empty except for discarded programs and a single blue balloon stuck to the ceiling.
I walked down the hallway toward the office, my heels clicking on the yellowed linoleum.
Principal Vance stood near the water fountain, his tie loosened and his collar unbuttoned at the neck.
Through the glass door of his office, I could see three members of the school board sitting around his desk.
He looked up when he heard my steps, his hand dropping from his chin.
“Margaret,” he said, his voice flat and thin.
I stopped two feet away from him, the diploma still tucked under my arm.
