I jog my usual route

I see the large-lettered purple sign out front: “Congrats, Grads – Class of 2023”

I remember 18 years ago when that sign was for me

There’s loud music coming from down the road

An expensive Jeep convertible

Two kids in it laughing

The lyrics in their song horrible

The Jeep pulls into the parking lot

University stickers are stuck to bumpers

In front of a big school with a cross out front

In the beginning of summer

Within that brick building is all the private school parents want

I stop from afar to observe the scene

F-words, b-words, and everything in between

The kids hop out of the Jeep as the music still plays

Some other kids pull up in their cars

As some pretty girls make their way

Some of the kids wear purple gowns; others are in ties; the girls in dresses and heels

Some hold their graduation caps

I hear the girls laugh

I remember how it all feels

One boy hangs out the passenger seat of a James Bond film car

He hurls and then vomits

A wad of cash rolls out of the car and a girl steps on it

Watching this is hard

In an hour or so there will be Bible verses read from the same mouths

Eighteen years ago I remember how

It all unfolded

Being 18

On the edge of life

Green

I wish I could say back then it was a different scene

I think about all my high school friends

We’re all mostly out of touch now

Our parents spent so much

All those decisive years spent together

Our parents and teachers wanted us to have better

We drove fancy cars back then; some partied; some internalized every Bible verse

Some of them today would say that place was a curse

I watch the kids don those purple gowns and caps

They walk up the steps to the school then all go inside

It’s interesting how some things don’t change despite time’s lapse

I get ready to run again but there’s a surprise

I hear a car door slam

There’s one lone girl left in the parking lot

She stands outside her car and our eyes meet

I’m on the sidewalk, near the street

She has a face I know

Round forehead, plump cheeks, brown eyes, pinpoint nose

Long dirty blonde hair

At one another we stare

She’s wearing running shoes despite being in a dress

That young girl doesn’t know

She’s my childhood best friend’s secret

No one ever discovered; they wouldn’t believe it

A man casually enters the school from the side

It’s that teacher who made my best friend cry

He’s still there – to speak at another graduation

The teacher and the girl wave to each other

Both completely unaware of the connection there

I look over my shoulder as I jog away

The girl lingers in the parking lot as if there’s a choice to be made

In a moment she’s at the foot of that cross, her knee and head bowed

I’m delighted to see

But sad she’ll never figure it out

I’d made an oath to my friend 18 years ago

When I get home from my run that old friend texts me from thousands of miles away and says, “Did you see her?” And I tell her so

I’m not sure if we’ve graduated