Daimian and Faith sat in the third row of the crowded bleachers as the graduation ceremony prepared to conclude. Dan, who was looking at the whole scene from Faith's phone, started clapping along with everyone else as the principal started to end the morning with the graduating class of 2022.
   "I can tell you from my own personal experience that if you are looking for meaning in your life, there is no better place to find it than in sharing your life with somebody else,” the principal spoke to the mass of students in crimson and gold gowns in front of him as the massive crowd watched in the bleachers above. “All of those teachers sitting around you, you see in the arena, all of your parents and grandparents and family in the arena, they shared y- their life with you. Now I ask that you go and do likewise.”
   As the principal said those words, Alez looked into the crowd at her little family watching intently. She concernedly looked over at Daimian holding their mother’s phone, showing Dan the sights of the ceremony. Faith looked down at her daughter, giving her a slight nod and a thumbs-up as the crowd started chanting their school pride. She stood up with the rest of them without chanting, only throwing her graduation cap into the air in unison with the rest of the graduates.
   The crowds started to clap at their family members in the area below with great pride. Daimian and Faith walked through the bleachers and into the tight main hall as the rest of the crowd did, waiting to see Alex. After waiting for a few minutes while talking with Dan, the family heard two voices get closer to them.
   "Okay, so your place at nine then," Alex asked the person next to her as she walked over to her family from the bleacher doors.
   "Yup," Alex's friend Chell nodded her head. "Bring whatever you want, we'll be doing anything and everything we can think of, so don't be late, ‘kay?"
   "Well then. I'll try to get there a little early so I don't miss out," Alex chuckled. She approached Daimian and Faith as Chell started to slow her pace. Turning around, Alex pointed at her friend for a reminder. "Nine."
   "Nine," Chell pointed back at Alex.
   "Alright, I'll see ya there, Chell."
   Daimian smirked, looking over at Chell as she turned and left the three of them alone. He moved his gaze to his right, where he caught a glimpse of a group of people looking at her as she walked before darting their eyes at each other again. Daimian peeked at the figures, one a taller man in a graduation gown and another person that was shorter, had blonde hair, and seemed to be about his own age. Quickly turning away in a slight confusion, he saw Alex going into Faith's arms for a hug.
   "There she is, my fully grown baby," Faith said, reaching around Alex's back and holding her tightly. "Oh, I'm so proud of how mature you've gotten over your life, Alex!"
   "Heh, thanks, Mom," Alex said, gasping for air, "could I please breath a little bit?"
   "Oh, sorry about that," Faith let go of her daughter, who tried to catch her breath.
   "Gahd, that's Alex?" Dan shifted his phone to get a closer look. "You're telling me this young lady on my screen is your daughter, Faith?"
   "Oh Dan," Alex perked up, looking down at the phone before grabbing it from Daimian's hands. "I'm so glad you're here with us., even if it’s just on a screen How's it been going over there, though?"
   Dan chuckled for a moment. "Yeah, been gettin' better the past few days. The doctors say they finally see some life in these old eyes, so they must be doing somethin' right for me."
   The four of them looked at each other and embraced their laughter as Alex held the phone up to get the whole family into Dan’s view. "Well that's good," Alex looked from both sides of her at her brother and mother. "Think we could visit sometime soon?"
   Dan shifted in his medical cot and looking above him before answering the three. "Eventually. They say probably within the week."
   "Yeah, well they said that last time," Daimian looked up at Alex before returning to the phone screen, “I mean, we only just heard of you getting better on the tenth. Either way, I'm glad you're getting better," he finished with a nod.
   "Ah, it's about time I let you guys go," Dan said, seemingly swiping across his own screen as his eyes darted left and right. "These guys are sayin' that I should get a lotta rest before I get outta here, so I might as well leave ya'll to it."
   "It was nice hearing from you again, Dan. Once I let you go, I have to talk with Alex about this party I'm only just now hearing about," Faith said with a cough of suspicion under a smirk, looking at her daughter then back at the phone. "We'll have to find a good time to come and visit you now that summer's just around the corner." The family said their goodbyes as the call on Faith's phone ended. "So," Faith put the phone in her purse and looked at Alex's face, "a party?"
   "Oh yeah, Chell's having a party at her place," Alex pointed up in thought as she looked back at her mother nervously. "You know, it's pretty much a few floors between us. She said it was around nine, but I'll probably just stay a few hours."
   "Oh, can I come," Daimian chimed in over Alex's shoulder as the three started walking towards the parking lot. “I’m not graduating now, but wouldn’t it be fun if I went?”
   "Not a chance, buddy. If I’m looking at this situation honestly, you'd probably die if you stood around that many drunk people for that long."
   "Wait, drunk-" Faith tilted her head and looked into the sky.
   "And you're saying you'd survive longer, Alex?"
   "..."
   "That's what I thought."
   "So Mom, could I please go?"
   "I guess you won't be driving anywhere... Alright," Faith said with a smile, "I'll let you go to the party if you promise to be sleeping in OUR apartment when I wake up in the morning. No exceptions."
   Alex looked at her mother as they all got in the car. "I'll see what I can do."
   "Well now, we should probably get you ready for it then, huh," Faith asked as she put her seat belt on.
   "If you mean take a nap, then hell yeah," Alex sat down and turned the ignition key. "Who knew getting a piece of paper would be so exhausting."

   At the apartment later that night, Alex put on a pair of flats, tugging on her cheap, dark dress hovering just over her knees. After grabbing a little purse off of the door handle, she opened the door into the apartment hallway. "Alright, I'm going now, Mom. See you guys later."
   "Hold on," Faith rushed up to her daughter and kissed her on the cheek. "Be safe over there, Alex, and don’t forget about sleeping here. I love you."
   "I love you too, Mom," Alex said trying to pull away from Faith, chuckling. "Mom, please, I gotta go." Turning around from the door, Alex looked over at her brother sitting on the couch and called out to him. "See ya, you little dumbass!"
   "Bye, bitch," Daimian exclaimed, raising his middle finger from where he was laying on the couch as he started to sit up in the couch.
   "Aw, you guys-" Faith cheerfully sighed as she shook her head at the two. She started playfully shooing Alex out of the door before she finally left, strolling down the stairs. Faith closed the door and sighed once again, walking over to Daimian and laying in her recliner. She looked over at her son reading a worn comic and picked up her own book off of the coffee table in front of them.
   At around five before nine, Alex entered Chell's already crowded apartment, most of the occupants being newly graduated students she'd worked with in the past. Weaving her way through the dozens of people, she looked over at Chell before she was called out by her. "Alex, over here! Come on!"
   "It's uh," Alex looked back through the crowd as she approached her friend, "a couple more people than I was expecting honestly. Kinda crowded, don’t you think?"
   "Don't worry about it, Al," Chell muttered in a wispy tone, throwing her hand around with a rolled up piece of paper between her fingers. She then clasped that hand around her face, staring into Alex's eyes before she spoke again. "It's time to party, ya bich. We gots punch, we gots people, we got all the things," Chell said, bobbing her head at every object she mentioned.
   "Yeahhh," Alex's words faded as she got a glass and took a small splash of green punch from the bowl. Her eyes wandered, looking at all of the people she'd been working with the past few years. When one girl passed her, she elbowed Chell in the forearm. "Yo, is that Soph?"
   "Oh shit, is it," Chell asked, violently turning her head in the direction Alex was pointing at with her mouth agape.
   "Dude, how'd you manage to pull that off?"
   Chell shrugged. "I don't know, but whatever I did, I was a genius for it." She hopped up in a quick burst of excitement and leaning on Alex, shoving the roll obnoxiously close to her face. "Hey, did you see if Randy showed up here yet? I've been waiting for---ever for him to sell me some good shit."
   "Oh, I think I saw him over there somewhere," Alex pointed to her left towards the front of the apartment. "If not, he's either not here or takin' a piss."
   "Thanks, honey," Chell turned her focus to the figures in the direction Alex had pointed, swatting her hands down. "Enjoy yourself here, Alex. Maybe get some bitches while you're here for once," Chell started to disappear into the crowd before she held her hand up to wave. "Byeee-"
   Before she could do anything, Alex gave a worried look as her friend disappeared from view into the gathering crowd. She paused a moment before shaking her head and grabbing another small glass of punch. "Tonight's gonna be a good night," she quietly said to herself, pouring the dripping laddleful into her cup and wincing at the bitter yet sour taste in her mouth.

   "I mean, she's a great friend and all, and she's pretty fun. Kinda wacky." Alex shifted into the cushions of the firm couch she was sitting on. "I just feel she could’ve had a better venue for the party, even if it's just a dozen," she stopped to look around, "or so people here. You feel me?" The person next to her laid on her left shoulder, completely still save for a small bit of spit sliding down his cheek. Alex looked over at him and sighed before lifting her head to see the clock saying it was a few minutes past eleven.
   A little later, she shoved the guy aside, hitting his head on the opposite armrest. Alex looked away from the clock, trying to walk towards the door to leave the party. Inching through the crowd, she could hear some footsteps from the hallway just a few feet from her. The footsteps grew heavier and she stopped in her tracks, almost inspecting the door and noticing the light from the crack was almost gone. She looked back up in concern as she heard a quiet knock on the door.