Today’s the day. Valedictory. Our final time as a year group. The final time I’m going to see some of these people. The final time I’m going to sit in this school hall. It’s not quite hit me yet but I know it will. I can guarantee that by the end of the day, I’ll have cried. Whether it’s in the Valedictory ceremony, after with my friends, or privately at home – I will cry today.

It started and felt like any other day. I walked into the college building and up to meet my friends. I sat down with them and we chatted for a bit. That’s when I realised, I had a little bit of work to do before I could enjoy my day. “Sam. Hey. You know my Valedictory speech, right?” Patrick took me aside privately. “Yeah, what about it?” I asked. I had an awful feeling in my stomach. “Well, I’ve not actually written one yet.” That explains the awful feeling.

Patrick is prone to this. He always does this. Homework: does it the morning it’s due. Classwork: does it after class. Valedictory speeches: does it three hours before he has to say it in front of 200 people. He’s going to have no time to memorise it. I knew that if he was reading it off a piece of paper, like he’d have to at this point, we had to make it really good. “You want my help?”

“Well, yeah. You’re a writer. I figured you’d know how to word it all better than I would.” He had a valid point, at least. I know how to take nothing and make something alright from it. “Okay, sure. What’ve you got so far?”

Nothing. He had nothing written down. But he did have a vague plan for me, which I guess is something to work from.

We sat down together in our last shared free period. Again, it still hasn’t hit me. I keep saying last, hoping it’ll spark something: happiness, sadness... something. But it never does. Anyway, we were sat together and writing. Like I said, this had to be perfect. There had to be references to things everyone would understand; there had to be classic school stories; there had to be jokes; and it had to be sincere and emotional. That last point was the most key. There’s nothing that makes people remember a speech like getting them to cry at it. In a good way, of course. You don’t want people crying because it’s an absolute mess.

The bell rang and that was our time up. We created a speech in three hours. Whether it was effective or not – good or not – we didn’t know. We were about to find out though. It was time for the Valedictory ceremony.

Our group – me, Eddy, Patrick, James and Olivia – all met up in the hallway before going in. We wanted to be sat together for this. As we entered the hall, we noticed a video playing on the two large screens on either side of the podium. Playing on the screens was a collection of photos and videos that people must’ve submitted. I missed the memo on that one, but Olivia didn’t. It was perfect timing. On our way to our seats, our videos and photos played on the screen and I felt like a celebrity with a highlight reel playing. That’s when I got the first hit. I didn’t cry but I choked up. Watching videos from the party that me, Olivia, Patrick and Emily had, followed by a selection of photos of us all... it made me realise that this was it. That’s the first time this has felt real. It wasn’t just something I was writing about anymore; this was the end of an era.

I looked to my right and I wasn’t the only affected by the video. Patrick and James were in a similar state I was: choked up but not crying. Then next to them, Eddy was trying his best to hold back tears but he was failing so hard. It made me laugh whilst also making me want to cry with him. Then, on my left, was Olivia. She was gone. She had accepted that she was going to cry and didn’t fight it. I just smiled. It wasn’t an overly happy smile. It was a soft, gentle smile. One I hoped showed that I cared and I think it did as she smiled back at me with the same kind.

The ceremony went on and a few people performed songs and such. Then we got to Patrick’s speech. I was the only person ready for it. I was the only person who’d seen it. Now it was time to see whether or not our speech was good enough to close the show.

“Okay, so here it is. The day I’m sure never expected to come quite as fast as it did. It’s been 7 years for a lot of us and a little less for some others but either way it’s been a helluva ride. From the time half the year tried to break into Harry’s room on that trip to James’ awful EPQ presentation, and everything in between, we’ve had some great times. We’ve also had our fair share of lows but the important part is that we did it all together. We might not all be best friends - we probably don’t know each other all that well - but we’ve shared the last 7 years of our lives together. We’ve shared just under half our lives together. So, even though it doesn’t feel it, we most definitely are a family. A dysfunctional, messy family but still - a family nonetheless. I’ve been thinking a lot about this: about the end. I’ve come to realise that it’s not really a bad thing. It’s uncomfortable because we’re moving away into the unknown but that’s okay. It’s been great. I mean, if someone asked me tomorrow or the day after or the day after that... “would you do it again? exactly the same, no changes, would you do it all over again?” I’d say yes in a heartbeat. I really would. I’ve loved every second of this, even when I didn’t think I did, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. Thank you.”

He stepped down from the podium and returned to his seat to a thunderous applause. It was brilliant. The perfect final words. Everyone around us was crying. James was even on the cusp of tears himself, which said a lot. Then there was me. I wasn’t crying but I had hot, red cheeks and something stuck in my throat. I couldn’t help but smile as I looked around one last time.

It’s been a good ride. I’m going to miss this place. I’m going to miss these people – even the ones I thought I hated. I know I’m still not ready to say goodbye yet, so I’ll simply say ‘see you later’.