Hammel Graduation Ceremony, 2015

[Yvette Morgenstern]

Despite having been at Hammel as the Headmistress for several years, Yvette continued to marvel at the fluctuation between class years, and the way that every senior year had its own rhythm. This year's graduating class was smaller than last year's, although it would be no less important or heart-felt.

She sat in her seat on the stage, watching as the auditorium began to fill with faculty, family members, and, most importantly, the students who would leave Hammel behind after the day's ceremony.


((This thread is now open to all students, staff, family, and friends of graduates. I will post Yvette's speech later. For now, feel free to send your characters into the ceremony!

Also, if you want to have your character graduate, be on the lookout for the OOC graduation thread.))

[Adaryn Breslin]

Shaking hands lay against the white of the graduation gown; to some, the excitement was enough to put a smile on their faces, but for the Empath, even with the amount of control she harbored over the power she was damned with, it was still difficult to push every single persons emotions away when there was such a large mass of strong emotions to deter. Even still, her gaze continuously looked towards the door and the seats for the specific brunette that Adaryn called her best friend.

AJ was a source of comfort for it all; they were moving into an apartment together, like they agreed. For the current moment, she wasn't sure exactly which, but one of Adaryn's coworkers said a two bedroom apartment had gone up for rent for within the realm of what she and AJ might be able to afford. It wasn't large, but the fact that it was two bedrooms was god sent. The only places she found within their range was a single bedroom, maybe a studio.

Either way, she waited for AJ to arrive as she glanced back to find Monroe and Eloise sitting in the crowd of guests.

[Lucas Blacke]

Finally the day had arrived that he would leave this place behind, finally had the day arrived where he would start doing something worthwhile, though it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. He woud leave this place behind, but all that he would keep were memories. And even though not every situation was good, he would enjoy seeing the people he cared for even if they experienced it differently. Karalie, Anthy, Zoelle, Marnie, and others. Luckily he had made friends, or he hoped he did, outside of Hammel who he would be able to continue seeing when done with Hammel. All in all, this was a mixed situation, he loved leaving this place, moving on, but he didn't like leaving this place, moving on. He had never moved on in his life, not like this place would make him do.

Oh how he wished his uncle was there right now. He glanced back and imagined his uncle standing near the opening of the door, and for some reason his parents with him. Maybe he didn't hate them as much as he thought, or they were on his mind for some reason.. and then he remembered his little talk with Karalie in which he mentioned getting a letter from them which he still hadn't opened. Maybe graduation was a good enough time to face whatever his parents had to say, maybe they weren't the dicks he thought they were, he knew they probably were, but he knew they also deserved a chance.

All in all, graduating was not the happy event he had thought it would be, with all these thoughts swarming around. He had fun in this place, and now he was going to leave it behind.

Though his mind was in a bad place, a smile was etched upon his face. Though tears were lurking below the surface, a laugh was not far off. Everything would turn out for the best. This was a journey he needed to take.

On to college.

[Zebadiah Hayes]

Zeb always promised himself that he wasn't going to cry at graduation. And although he never bawled or had tears running down his cheeks, there was always a point where he had to take a deep breath or pretend he had something in his eye for a second. He couldn't help it. True, he wasn't technically related to these young men and women, but he saw all the students at Hammel as his children. And he couldn't help but tear up a little as he watched them take such a big step in their lives.

He usually hung out towards the back, wanting to give the families plenty of seats up front. Still he made the effort to look a little more put together than usual. His hair wasn't in it's usual permanent bedhead state. He even had on a tie.

He smiled at all of the students, even the troublemakers as everyone gathered together for the ceremony. He couldn't help but feel proud of all of them.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Graduating was something that never seemed within Lucy Serrano's reach. Before the birth of her ability, she'd been within a year of her initial schooling graduation. That initial display only pegged her for a series of spiraling failures, wrapped with the idea that she didn't really care where her future might take her; she'd been taken away already. Her high school teacher of a mother had anxiously assumed the worst, that her daughter - the oldest, at that - would never actually make it out of high school. For years, unexplained at that, the Australian walked the halls with a sense of aggression, an explanation never quite found.

And now, on the cusp of her own inevitable failure, she managed to succeed.

Really, it was an effort made by overwhelming support, but it was the kind she couldn't quite grasp as she was now. It might have been the estranged nature of her relationship with Rowan that stopped dragging her down, or the overarching influence of the voice mimic she had to love in some way. It might have been the unlikely bond she struck up with the bubbliest blonde on campus. Or it might just have been aligning herself with one of the most uptight work driven individuals the school had probably ever seen.

When it came to graduation day, Lucy was genuinely nervous. She had every reason to be; there was a block-out quarter row of Australian relatives who'd saved and come all this way just to see the spectacle that was the ink manipulator's walk. Fingers ran across the heavily tattooed nature of her arm, and she could almost feel how they fed off her own anxiety. For someone who stood out so obviously, she certainly blended in when it came to forced attire. At least she got to sit with a friend. That was good, right? It had almost been instinctive how she draped an arm across the back of Carleigh's seat as she leaned back in her own. If only she could stop the way her foot bounced off the ground.

As she looked out to the sea of invites, she did her best to ignore the obvious faces that stared back at her. The broad grin on her father's face or the silent pride her mother wore. They brought far too much on, and at that point, there was only one set of eyes that could rightly dull the knot in her stomach.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

A year ago, the roles were reversed. Penny herself was within the crowd of students, dressed in cap and gown waiting to be handed their high school diploma. This time, she made her way into the seating designated for those watching. Crowds of people was never something the psychometrist dealt with well, but it was well worth handling in order to watch this. Lucy Serrano had pushed through all the doubt to get through this day. How long ago was it that Penny herself had doubted her counterpart's academic ability to graduate? Although, since then, so much had changed. She would have never thought she'd be rooting for the Australian to make it this far.

There was a decent section of the auditorium which held a handful of Australians. Ones that Penny did her best to avoid. She was fortunate enough to arrive after them, and carefully chose to sit a few rows away. They were easy to recognize; they all stood out. And loud. They were certainly loud.

Her focus left the group quickly, however, as she settled in her seat, hands folded neatly on her lap. Gaze set forward, to the graduating seniors. Specifically, to one individual who stood out in the sea of faces. Lucy might not have looked as if she belonged in graduating attire, but she certainly looked good in it. Even as her lips pursed at the sight of an all too bubbly blonde sitting next to her, she still looked. Still stared, even catching the barely noticeable bounce of her leg as it shifted the material of her gown. The corner of her mouth twitched upward, but only slightly, as she waited.

[Marnie Sullivan]

When was she supposed to feel different? The students around her - did they feel like adults yet? Since waking up that morning Marnie had been waiting for it to hit her. A real sense of accomplishment, maybe, or a clearer idea of where to go from here. This was the first day of the rest of her life! But the excited nerves that chewed her lip and wrung her hands in her lap was the same as those that had colored every homework assignment, even every last-minute detention of senior year.

Somewhere in the crowds around them, although Marnie hadn't managed to spot them yet, were her parents and her aunt Roz. Her parents had left her grandfather with a caretaker back in Maine to watch her walk; Aunt Roz had traveled from New York City, the only other meta in the family. Marnie had never expected a larger turnout just for her - small family, what could you do? - but it didn't make it any easier to catch a glimpse of them now.

Twisting in her seat, craning her neck for a better view, at least gave Marnie a good look at the faces around her. Of the ones she knew, most of them she'd only really become familiar with in the last year or so. Kids from her classes, the Australian she'd gotten drunk with once, her first ex... a lot could happen in a year. A lot had happened in a year. Even if today didn't change anything at all.

[Carleigh Davidson]

The best way to describe graduation, according to Carleigh, was bittersweet. A little sweet, because it was kind of a big accomplishment, yet a little bitter because she was leaving the place she had spent the last six years behind. Kind of. While she managed to graduate the academic portion of her career, Carleigh was required to stick around and do more powers training. Not that it surprised or let her down, really. For someone who so rarely used her ability and could never find the means to train the subtle power, she wondered why she even had to.

She had plans, though; none of them involved moving back to California. Pilot Ridge managed to find a way into her heart. Though, the blonde was almost 100% certain it had to do with the people more than anything else. And here, as she sat next to one of them, her best friend, Carleigh felt proud. They did it. They were graduating and moving on. Blue eyes shifted, looking over to Lucy with a wide grin. Ecstatic that the day had finally come, but also incredibly nervous about what the future had in store. Not that she betrayed the uncertainty in her expression. "You're gonna stomp a hole in the floor." Carleigh commented, gesturing with a nod towards the floor where Lucy's foot was.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

For the past twenty-five years, Sean had attended the Hammel graduation ceremony. Despite the fact that it was a more casual affair than at many other high schools, he always wore a suit, because he considered it respectful to the students who had achieved this milestone. He always sat in the same area, although not always the same seat. The front rows were reserved for the graduating students and their family members, which pushed staff members further back and off to the side. He didn’t mind; it wasn’t his moment, even if he felt pride on behalf of many of the students who would leave them today.

This year, they were losing a few of his mentees, which always brought with it mixed emotions. He was happy for them and wanted to see them spread their wings in adulthood, but he would miss them. When Marnie turned around to glance at the other people in the audience, he offered her a smile and a small wave.

With that, he settled in to listen to the speeches as they came. He never gave one, which suited him well enough; while perfectly comfortable with public speaking – as his annual seminar demonstrated – he had never desired that type of administrative role.

And tonight, he was sure there would be celebrations throughout the dorms.

[Axelle Flint]

Axelle fidgetted only slightly in her chair, she'd already tipped over once, sprawling into the aisle like an ungangly white bird who was trying to leave the nest (damnit) and somehow failing. She was supposed to magically turn into a capable adult now wasn't she? I mean EVERYONE knew that's how life worked. She was excited and nervous of course, her grandfather and father were here to see her graduate, the only family that was important enough for her to want there and somewhere she knew that Corbin was planning their post-graduation date. Because that's what they'd agreed on wasn't it? Post-graduation date and if it went well, she might even let him kiss her goodnight. Not that he hadn't kissed her already, but while the little butterfly kisses on her forehead were not exactly “exciting”. Though, there had been that one kiss behind her ear that one time that had weakened her in the knees a bit. How was SHE supposed to know that was a spot she liked?!

She knew that her family would want to take her out first obviously, so she and Corbin hadn’t really set a concrete date and as graduation had neared she had started feeling nervous. What if after all of this he decided he didn’t want a relationship? That seemed incredibly far-fetched with how much time the two of them had spent together over the last few months. She was happy that they had taken the time to get to know each other. While she still thought of her time with Koty with a lot of fondness (damnit they talked all the time these days) she had come to realize very early on that she and Corbin just…fit together really well. She liked that. He was also intensely respectful of her choices and boundaries (and there had been boundaries set at first) and well…frankly…she was excited.

She carefully brushed her fingers against the fabric of her graduation gown and grinned when she felt it slid against her legs. She’d decided that an occasion such as graduation required a dress of some sort and she’d saved up her money from her work and bought one for the ceremony. She’d also wear it on her date later because she wasn’t the type to waste money that way. She hoped that Corbin would like it, she certainly did. As she looked around at the people she’d spent a good deal of her life with she couldn’t help the pang of loss that echoed inside her. Of course she wouldn’t miss Lucas, but she would miss Marnie. She really needed to stay in touch with the other girl. They had hit it off rather well when they’d gotten to know each other better almost a year ago. She didn’t want to lose that. The red-head continued to sit attentively as graduation proceeded.

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

AJ weaved betweeen students, trying to get to Adaryn who was across the auditorium it seemed. She had just left a very awkward, but heartfelt meeting with her parents who had traveled from Minnesota to see their daughter graduate, even though she hadn't been the best to them since she'd arrived at Hammel. She'd called them and apologized, breaking down in tears on the phone, feeling like an idiot. But her mother had made her daughter get on the other cordless phone and they listened. That's all AJ had wanted. Was for them to listen. And they told her that they hadn't blamed her. That was enough to calm her a bit to invite them to her graduation ceremony.

She had yet to see Oliver in the crowd of people forming, but had managed to find the short brunette, so she was headed towards her, not wanting to lose sight of her friend. "Addie!" she shouted, waving an arm up above the heads of other students. She was excited and nervous at the same time, and all of the energy was making her feel like she could run over to Adaryn if there wasn't so many people. So much was about to change.

[Yvette Morgenstern]

((OOC: I finally got a new computer, so please forgive the delay in this post.))


Yvette looked across the audience, allowing her gaze to fall on a few of the students. She could see how happy and proud some of the students were to be graduating, whereas others simply looked relieved to be able to leave for good within the next hour. Fortunately for them, she planned to keep her speech short and to the point; that had served her well the past few years since taking the position of Headmistress, and there was no need to tamper with a winning formula.

“Good morning students, family members, friends, and colleagues. It’s my sincere pleasure to welcome you to the Hammel Institute’s 2015 graduation ceremony.” She coupled that with a proud smile. “Our graduates are smart, hardworking, and capable young women and men. They are prepared to live their lives to the fullest and change the world in ways we can only imagine even with the adversity ahead of them...”

Adversity had only increased since last year’s graduating class. The economy continued to lag behind, and jobs continued to be fewer and farther between than they should have been. One of the only positives was that, for anyone who chose to stay in Pilot Ridge or Vermont as a whole, there were more jobs because Vermont was one of the states that had been affected least by the Great Recession. They also had greater individual protections than in many other states and better healthcare. However, that wasn’t the purpose of her speech.

The purpose of her speech was to allow the students to focus on the achievements that had brought them to this moment. The purpose of her speech was to allow the students to take pride in their accomplishments, before a few other speeches were made and diplomas were handed out. Hammel might not be the typical high school, but they could give them some pomp and circumstance as a way of seeing off their graduating class.

“...words cannot express the pride I have in each of you, for your accomplishments here and for what your futures will bring. Hammel will always be here for you, and in return, we know that you’ll continue to make us proud. Congratulations, Class of 2015 and the best of luck in all that you will do.”