Chapter 35. The Valedictorian

Aaron had been angry ever since. 

He’d never been that angry in his life. And as he’d kept everything bottled up inside, that anger had festered…worsened…was totally lethal now. He just…

“Hey Aaron, your name was just called,” The girl sitting beside him nudged Aaron with her elbow.  

“Oh. Wish me luck, Ruth,” Aaron said as he stood up.

“You don’t need it,” The girl giggled. “Showtime!”

Immediately Aaron got on stage, the room erupted into applause. The Chancellor took his seat and Aaron placed his papers on the lectern. He launched eloquently into his speech with so much confidence and calm, clearly not intimidated by a thousand people gawping at him. Aaron’s speech was interspaced with funny little stories about his time on campus which made the audience erupt into laughter. He would pause and look up at the captivated audience with a sweet smile on his face whenever they burst into laughter. 

On one of such pauses, Aaron looked t