It's graduation day, and I'm standing on the stage waiting to get my diploma. I've survived high school, and I've found myself in the process. In some ways, it was the worst experience in my life, but in the end, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

"Maya Walker."

I take a deep breath and take my diploma. I shake the principal's hand and smile. He smiles back. I walk past him and to the steps that lead to off the stage. I move my tassel and find my uncle in the crowd with Emma. Tears are in his eyes. I smile at him, and he smiles back.

I walk off the stage and back to my seat. I've done it. I've graduated, and I have my diploma. I have a relationship with my uncle, and he's happier than I've ever seen him. I have a best friend who I can depend on. Life is so sweet right now.

I focus back on the ceremony. The last person walks across the stage and comes to sit down with rest of us. When the person does, we all rise. Then, we all toss our caps into the air and break into celebration.

Music begins to play in the auditorium, and I hurry through the crowds of my fellow graduates to find Alli. As soon as I find her, I rush over to her, and we give each other a big hug in celebration.

Gradually, the excitement wears down, and I leave Alli to go find my uncle and Emma. I find them talking to Mr. Beckham. I almost groan, but I don't see Cassandra over there, so I put a smile on my face and approach.

As I'm approaching, my uncle turns his head to the right and sees me. He smiles at me proudly and excuses himself. He walks over to me and picks me up in a bear hug. He spins me around and kisses my cheek.

"I'm so proud of you, Maya," he says as he sets me down with tears in his eyes.

"Thank you for everything. It wouldn't be possible without you," I reply.

"I don't know how much I had to do with you becoming salutatorian."

I smile. "You had everything to do with it. If you hadn't taken me in, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to get a good education. I haven't realized how much you've done for me until recently, and I want you to know how much it means to me."

He smiles again. "Thank you, Maya. Should we go join Emma?"

I nod. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and squeezes me gently. We walk over to where Emma is now standing alone. Emma gives me a huge smile when she sees me, and I smile back.

She holds up her camera as we get closer and says, "Stop right there. I want to get a picture of you two. Will you put your cap on?"

I slip my arm out of Uncle Sam's and put my cap on. I slip my arm back into Uncle Sam's embrace and smile. Emma takes the picture.

"Perfect. Now, come here and give me a hug, Maya!" she exclaims, a smile still on her face.

I laugh and walk over to her. She wraps her arms around me, and I wrap my arms around her. It's everything to have Uncle Sam and Emma proud of me. They've become two of the most important people in my life. I wouldn't trade them for anything.

"I'm so proud of you, salutatorian! Though, I think you deserve to be valedictorian," she tells me as we pull out of our hug.

I laugh. "I don't think I would want to kick Alli off of her valedictorian stand. We like her, remember?"

Emma laughs. "Yes, we do. Now, where does our graduate want to go eat?"

My uncle wraps his arm around my shoulder again as I reply, "Could we just go back to the house for lunch?"

Emma looks surprised and says, "Of course we can, but it will take me awhile to put some food together because of how special this occasion is."

I shrug my shoulders. "I'm not worried."

"Okay then. I guess we should get going," she replies.

I nod and follow them out to the parking lot. I get inside and ride in the back seat of Uncle Sam's car. I turn my head to look out the window and keep a smile on my lips all the way to the house. We pull into the house very soon, and I hurry to get out of the car, so I can lead them inside to the kitchen. I see them exchange looks in wonder at my eagerness.

When we get to the kitchen, I hear Emma gasp. I smile. Despite not talking to Nick, he got Nicole to decorate the house and hire a professional chef to celebrate my graduation. I wasn't supposed to know what was going on, but I caught Nicole talking on the phone with someone about it, so I told her that we should make it into a surprised for Emma and Uncle Sam.

I turn around and see my uncle looking at me with a questioning look, and he asks, "What did you do?"

I laugh. "It was meant for me as a surprise from Nick, but I figured out what was happening. I didn't want to put it to waste, so I had Nicole help me plan it as a surprise for you two. You guys have done so much for me, and I wanted to find a way to show how thankful I am."

Uncle Sam smiles and pulls me into a hug. "You're the best niece, Maya. Thank you."

I pull out of his embrace. "I also happen to be your only niece."

He laughs. "Minor detail."

"Alright you two, I want to see what all we have here to eat," Emma says to us.

Before she can go over and look at what all is there, the doorbell rings. I rush to the door and open the door to Nicole and all the workers. Alli is also there with her father. I beckon them in and lead them to the kitchen.

"You planned a whole party didn't you, Maya?" my uncle asks with a smile.

I laugh. "I thought it would be nice to give everyone a good meal before the late nights we have ahead of us. Plus, I thought a party would be appropriate for this occasion."

Emma hugs Alli and replies, "I'm not upset. Let's serve the food and get the party started!"

Everyone laughs and drifts toward the food. It's a fun time. What's even better is that I begin to impress most of the event workers. Nicole was right about being myself because I see them treating me differently than when I first met them. They seem thoroughly interested in what I'm saying.

The food is delicious, and everyone seems to have a great time. By around four, the party winds down, and I say goodbye to everyone. The workers part with smiles on their faces, and most of them express excitement over the event, making me feel like they have warmed up to me.

Nicole is the last of the worker group to leave, and she says, "Happy graduation! I'll see you tomorrow."

I smile at her and give her a hug. "See you tomorrow. Thanks for putting the party together for me. I really appreciate it."

"No problem," she replies and then leaves.

Alli and her dad are next to leave, and I pull Alli into a hug and say, "So happy that I got to celebrate with you."

She pulls out of the hug with a smile on her face and tells me, "Me too. Thanks for everything, Maya. You've helped me more than you know."

I give her a large smile and wave as she and her dad leave. I close the door after they get inside their car and go to the living room where Uncle Sam and Emma are. They're sitting on the couch together, their backs facing me. Emma is sitting about a foot away from him, but they seem to be in a deep discussion that brings me worry once again.

"She just graduated. I can't bring something that heavy down onto her," I hear my uncle whisper to her.

"I guess, but you need to do it soon, Sam. It will be too late if you wait much longer," Emma replies.

I know they're talking about me, so I clear my throat, and their heads spin around to look behind them. Uncle Sam jumps up and comes over to me. He's trying to mask his nervousness, but I can easily see through his calm act.

"I'm going to go up to my room for a bit. I need to start going over the details for tomorrow," I tell him, making his tense shoulders relax a little bit.

"Okay. I guess we'll see you later," he replies.

I nod and quickly run up to my room. Once again, I hate that I know that they were talking about me, but I don't know why. I just wish that he would tell me whatever he needs to tell me.

I sit down at my desk and turn my laptop on. I'm about to continue to write my new story when my phone rings. I groan and get up from my chair to get the phone from my nightstand. All of a sudden, it stops ringing. I roll my eyes and sit back down at my desk without even bothering to see who it was.

I open my new story and stare at the screen. Then, I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and open my eyes again. I place my hand on the keyboard and begin typing. At first, it's slow paced, but my words begin to flow, quickening my typing.

I type and type and ignore the time. I ignore it so much that Emma has to come up and tell me it's dinner time. I save what I've written and close my laptop. I follow her downstairs and sit down at the already set table. Emma offers a prayer for the food and then we start eating.

Uncle Sam asks, "Excited for the festival?"

I serve myself some chicken spaghetti as I reply, "More nervous than excited. I don't know how I'm going to get everything finished when I only have a few days left."

"Haven't the workers been working for a week?" Emma asks.

"Yes. They started work last Saturday, but I still have to make sure the stage gets set up, and I have to check all the acts on the list to make sure they're prepared. Plus, I have to find some people to work backstage," I explain.

Uncle Sam clears his throat and raises his eyebrow as he tells me, "That is a lot, but Maya, don't forget to have fun doing it. Don't put too much stress on yourself. You only just graduated."

I smile at him. "Thanks for reminding me. I'll try to relax a little more."

He smiles back at me and then asks Emma a question. I quietly eat and listen to their conversation about his work and such. Then, something comes up about what she's going to do when I leave.

I stop eating and look back and forth at them when I hear that. I ask, "What do you mean? Is she not staying after I leave for college?"

Emma smiles. "There won't be much need for me to stay here once you're gone. It will only be your uncle here, and I don't think it would be necessary for me to stay just for him."

I raise an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"

Emma blushes but shakes her head. She looks at my uncle and asks him, "Should we tell her?"

I think I'm going to be told what they've been whispering about, but I realize that it's not the same news because it just has to do with the two of them and not an anonymous "they". He says, "Emma and I have put a pause on our relationship. We don't think it's what we need right now."

"Is that why she's considering leaving?" I calmly ask, despite the tightening in my throat.

"Oh honey, no. It was put in by contract that I was expected to leave once you graduated. This has been planned since the beginning. You're uncle and I are still very good friends," Emma says quietly.

I slump in my chair. "I don't want you to leave. You have no idea how much I need you."

I see tears form in her eyes. "Maya," she begins softly, "I need you too, but it isn't in our control. Besides, you have a phone, and I have a phone. You can call me whenever you want to."

I push my plate away from me and turn to my uncle. "You're just going to let her go?" I question.

He looks surprised at my question but quickly recovers his composure. "Maya, after you leave, there won't be any need to have her here. I don't even know if I'm going to stay here when you go off to college."

"What?" I ask, shocked.

He takes a deep breath. "Maya, my work is in New York City. I love you so much, and I wanted to be here as you went through senior year. Once you're gone, what point do I have to stay in Clearwater Bay?"

"What about holidays?" I frantically question.

"Relax, Maya. We can come here for holidays. I'm not going to get rid of the house. I love this house, especially for summer. This house will always be open to you. Whenever you have breaks, you can always come here."

"I just didn't know you both were making so much changes."

"I wanted to wait after graduation and the festival to tell you," he says.

"We just wanted you to have a great year without stressing over any changes. You're already going to have numerous changes happening. You didn't need extra things in your thoughts," Emma puts in.

I take a deep breath and tell them both, "Well, thank you. I guess we should eat dinner."

I pull my plate back toward me and take a bite. I don't trust my words. I don't want everything to change just with a snap of my fingers. I don't want Emma to be gone, and I don't want Uncle Sam and Emma to be finished with each other.

Life is full of changes, and I hate it.