Chapter 29: Entrance Ceremony
I stood in front of my mirror, fixing my uniform and combing my hair. My uniform featured a dark blue jacket with a white buttoned shirt tucked in underneath. Around my neck was a gray tie, and the pants were black and loosely fitted. When I finished straightening myself up, I grabbed my bag and exited my room.
As I opened the door, Alliah was standing right outside. This would be the last time I would see her for a while, and I could tell she was feeling sentimental about the whole thing. She gave me a forced smile and then fist-bumped me on the shoulder.
"You ready for your entrance ceremony?"
I returned her smile with a nod, and we both proceeded to her car. It wasn’t long before we arrived outside the gate of the academy—the place where I would spend the next four years.
"You remember why you’re doing this?" she asked, but before I could answer, she answered the question herself. "To gain a life for yourself. Just remember, no matter how things turn out, I will always be proud of you. And if it comes down to it again, you’re always welcome to stay with me for as long as you want." She said this while ruffling my hair—the hair I had spent all morning fixing.
I’d rather it not come down to me living with her again, but she was right. I came here to start a different life—a life far removed from the one I’d led so far.
"Try not to get into too much trouble," she added.
She was calmer than I expected, putting on a calm and collected act. For some reason, I thought she would ask me to stay but she didn’t. A couple of times it looked like she wanted to say something but held back.
She had done a lot for me over the last couple of months, and since we weren’t going to see each other for a while, it wouldn’t hurt to show a little appreciation.