Two days later, it was the big day. The day of reckoning. The end of an era. Potentially the end of a valuable partnership between a mother and son, or perhaps the beginning of a new partnership that will thrive forever. Oh, and there was also a graduation happening before.

                I can’t lie, I hated myself for putting so much pressure on this conversation. It took all the joy and celebration from graduating away in favor of nonstop stress. When I first invited her to the ceremony, I imagined myself putting aside all our differences for one last day of guaranteed family bonding. I thought it would be easy to just look into the crowd, see Mom’s smiling face, and just imagine her being proud of me. I imagined myself smiling back, proud to show that I’d made it through school and was finally ready to move fully into adulthood. I’d sincerely hoped that in a world of darkness and impending doom, we’d find the light in each other all over again.

                But we’d both be wearing masks. It wasn’t real, no matter how hard we’d try to push it.

                Five minutes before we started, I got a text on my phone. I’d already talked a couple of times back and forth with Mom and Dad about where they were and if they’d taken their seats and had gotten “good luck” texts from both Eliza and James, so I wasn’t expecting anything else. It turned out to be the supernaturals group chat, with a picture of Hazel in semi-formal wear, next to Moriah, in very familiar seats. “Guess what!” the caption said.

                I dropped my jaw when I realized the seats were from the Northwestern auditorium. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!!!!!?” I texted in back, quickly swiveling my head around to locate my girlfriend, somewhere else in the crowd of people anxious to go on stage, wondering if she’d seen the text. She wasn’t paying any attention; I forgot that she had given her phone up to Ramona before the ceremony for pictures. My phone buzzed again, and Hazel had just sent an emoji with a halo above its head.

                I hadn’t seen Moriah or her family in over a month, having only seen them in person the one time we’d met. We’d chatted of course but had made no plans to meet until after I was done with school. But now that they were here, I was ecstatic to see them. Any doubt I’d had about joining them vanished a few days after the meeting. Considering the group chat between Lizzie, the Bentley kids and I, tension was at an all-time low, and I found it impossible to believe we were being deceived after that. Now that they were here at our graduation, I fully bought into the Bentleys. They cared about me and Lizzie’s achievements and were happy to travel miles away just for us. It warmed my heart significantly.

                Maybe I could enjoy today.

                Eventually we were instructed to take our seats, and amongst the rain of applause the entire time, the soon to be former students played the “I spy” game with their family. I was no different, staring right toward a part of the outdoor auditorium that Mom had texted me she’d be at. It took me until I found my seat to spot them.

                And part of me wished I hadn’t.

                Mom looked like she hadn’t slept in a week. She had makeup and had styled her hair, but even that couldn’t hide the tremendously exhausted look she wore. I couldn’t see from here, but I wouldn’t doubt her eyes were red and veiny. Of course, that all hardly mattered when she was already ugly crying when we made eye contact. I hoped and prayed to a god I didn’t believe in that it was because she was proud of me, and not because of her fear that I’d soon be leaving her behind. Seeing her broke the dam behind my eyes as well, as those same fears erupted within me as well. This was the first time I had seen my mom in two months, and I was seeing the ramifications for what had happened that day.

                Dad looked like he’d aged ten years and hadn’t had sleep since March, which only hurt further. I’d kept occasional contact with him over the months, but it hadn’t occurred to me just how much of an impact that shutting Mom out and having him in the crossfire had been. I wanted to slap myself as I realized just how unfair I was to him. My issue was with Mom, not nearly as much with him; he shouldn’t have been a victim here. Dad was a very passive person, one who ultimately let others take charge when tensions got high. If he made a stance, it was rare, but effective. Perhaps he’d gotten through to Mom at some point. He was one of the few people that could.

                Eliza and James looked relatively normal. James in his impatient mind was already bored of the wait for things to start; his ADHD mind was not set out for graduation ceremonies. Eliza, by contrast, was more dressed up and cheerful than usual. She normally wore a bit more of a gothy look, and while her dress was still midnight blue, she wore much more vibrant makeup today. When I made eye contact, she gave a polite and supportive wave. Back when my powers were revealed, Mom seemingly tried to turn my siblings against me by refusing them to even interact with me until she figured out what to do. Eliza had been the one to dare a conversation with me, only to ask me if I was doing okay. Considering that we’d had our own separate lives growing up and weren’t particularly close, that one moment meant more to me than she knew, and it was heartwarming to see her make a greater effort to support me even now—even when I couldn’t return the favor for her high school graduation.

                Seeing Eliza’s resolve reminded me of what I was fighting for. Even with everything crumbling down around us, Eliza had found a way to support me. That’s what family did for each other. And if today went well, I might get that same support from my mom and dad. My heart warmed anew, I tried to give a genuine smile to Mom, to let her know how much I appreciated her strength to show up under all her stress. That only seemed to ignite her further, and her cries were causing others to look in her direction. I hoped given some time she’d calm down.

                I turned my attention to finding Moriah and Hazel. They hadn’t given me any indication of where they were seated, so I had to scan the entire crowd. The size of the audience was immense, with so many different faces, that finding two people who I had only seen in person once was proving more challenging than I’d anticipated. It wound up taking up the entirety of the time before the ceremony started, and even midway through the president’s opening speech before I found them.

                In complete contrast to my family, the Bentley duo looked more vibrant and excited to be there. Hazel was wearing an ocean blue dress down to her knees; I wondered how intentional that color choice was, and it made me smile a bit. Moriah, sitting to her left, wore a colorful shirt with a pattern I couldn’t discern from where I was. Hazel met my eyes and beamed with a wave. I waved back, looking toward Moriah, who had her attention on the first speaker. I didn’t see Cole with them, but I didn’t think anything of it. Cole wasn’t a big fan of ceremonies and celebrations, especially for people he barely knew, so chances were that he was just sitting out. That was fine with me, I wasn’t even expecting Hazel, so anyone being there was a pleasant surprise.

                The difference between my family and the Bentleys was night and day. It felt like a sign, I realized. On one side, my past. Exhausted, stressed, and broken. On the other side, my future. Optimistic, full of opportunities, the ability to explore my powers in the way I wanted, and most importantly, warm and inviting. It was harrowing to say the least. The fact that a family I’d distrusted and feared only a month ago was now more real and caring to me than my actual family…

                Then again, I was the reason for the turmoil in my family. If it wasn’t for me cutting my mom out, then there’d be more happy faces replacing the miserable ones Mom and Dad were showing.

                No. Happy thoughts. Save the stress for later.

                I moved my attention to finding Lizzie’s family, who’d also given me their seating arrangements. In attendance with them were Ramona, Alejandro, Marianne, Frank, and Marco, who was still as healthy and chipper as ever since he was hospitalized from a cardiac arrest two months ago. Most of them were politely eyeing the speaker, though Ramona was teary-eyed watching Lizzie a few rows below me. This was another example of a family that seemed broken, but from a far different context. With Ramona’s haunting divorce and Marco’s cardiac arrest, the Gomez family had had to fight their own battles these past two months. Alejandro struggled to fight his drinking addiction, Marco’s body was wearing down, and Ramona… well, she might just be battling the most, both literally in her divorce and mentally.

                Three families, all with different routes as to what brought them here. Lizzie’d have a field day with a story like this.

                For a while, my strategy was just to avoid eye contact with my mother and let the ceremony play out, but eventually my eyes found hers again. Now that the ceremony had finally gotten started, she’d managed to contain herself enough to avoid gazes from her neighbors. I gave her a reassuring smile, and she returned it weakly. Our mutual gaze lingered for a while, and like a faucet getting shut off, the tears from her eyes started to wane. I thought back to what Ramona had said a while back. She’d felt that Mom was very worried I was cutting her off, and the one thing she wanted was to hear my voice, to see me again, and to know that I was still in her life. Maybe the fact that I was making eye contact with her was finally giving her the long-awaited reassurance she’d needed these past few months. My smile went from one half-forced to one of complete sincerity, and I saw hers widen a bit too.

                After what seemed like hours of nothing but speeches by people who I didn’t know, and a guest speaker celebrity I’d never heard of, it was eventually time for commencement. Starting at the front of the stage, the students began to line up in a single file line to queue up to get their diploma. With a relatively late last name, I was closer to the top of the stage, waiting patiently for the “queue person” in the row below us to go before our row would stand and head for ours. The entire time, I shifted my focus to my three families in the audience and catching their eyesights at various points. There were no frowns on faces anymore, even on Mom and Dad’s. A seeming mutual appreciation of each other’s companies had been established and we could genuinely put our shields down, just for one moment.

                For maybe the first time in weeks, I took a steady breath of relief.

                Lizzie’s family stood and applauded hard when her turn came up, and although Ramona flinched when Lizzie “LeClair” was announced, she still whooped along with the rest of them. I saw Frank give a wink as well, making me wonder what kind of face Lizzie was making at the cameraman as she got the diploma. I was starting to realize just how much I liked Frank, despite being the most technically distant of Lizzie’s family since he married into it. He was a positive force in every way.

                Eventually it was my turn. I took the long stroll after hearing my name blasted over the loudspeakers to meet with the Northwestern dean, who was all smiles. I had to give him credit, he’d handed hundreds of diplomas out already, and he was still as energetic as ever. He quickly handed the certificate, already framed, and extended a hand. We’d already rehearsed it, so I followed through with my role, and I turned to look at the cameraman to give my best smile, silently hoping my eyes weren’t red with tears. The moment the flash vanished, I was shooed off stage, but I took the split second to try to find my family in the crowd. I couldn’t find them in time, so I have no idea if they’d stood and cheered like Lizzie’s family did.

                And in the blink of an eye, it was all over.

                I was done with school. No more classes, no more learning, no more homework. The promise had been fulfilled. I’d gone two months without using my powers. The feeling was indescribable. I’d never felt so many conflicting emotions all at once. Excitement for the future yet dread for the conversation I was about to have. Disbelief that for the first time in eighteen-ish years, I was not going to school, and I was completely free to do whatever I wanted to do as an adult; Lizzie and I could finally start planning our future together. Fear that I still didn’t have a plan yet, that I didn’t have a job set up, and that I was incredibly in debt, especially after paying so much for an engagement ring for Lizzie. Disappointment that I didn’t see Mom’s reaction to me receiving my diploma. Giddy that Hazel and Moriah were here, and that my family could meet them—assuming I could still trust them to keep quiet after our conversation.

                I was shaking when I met Lizzie’s eyes on the way back to my seat. For a moment, I stood still, soaking in her hazel eyes, for once without glasses to block their way; Lizzie had decided that she wanted her commencement photo to be without glasses for some reason… I always preferred her with glasses, but I supported her, nonetheless. Her sheepish, innocent grin snapped me back to reality and my emotions settled. As usual, Lizzie was my calming force, the person who grounded me back to reality. She was my reminder that no matter what happened, she’d have my back. We’d be together forever, and there was nothing that I could do to break that trust between us.

                My mom’s eyes awaited me when I found my seat again. She had no phone in her hands, unlike a good number of the audience trying to capture the moment when the graduates moved their tassel to the other side. She was trying to live in the moment, to burn the memory into her head, like she was always known to do. Taking inspiration, I tried to shut out everyone else in the audience until only my family was in my focus. I eyed each of them while I slowly turned my tassel, smiling proudly as the graduate I now was. When I got to Mom, I presented the biggest smile I’d had all day. Are you proud of me? I wished I could ask her telepathically.

                She whooped and wept with a wide grin of her own. Seemed like I had my answer.