So, what are the chances of ever making a wrong decision in your life? What are the odds of making that one poor mistake that would lead you to an invisible predicament? Well, no one knows. Thousand to one? Millions perhaps? One can't quite figure it out, but poor little Ingrid Purcell would in all of her thousands of choices go wrong this time. And this time round, it would be costly. Wanna know how? It's a story. A long one. Take a seat, let me show you...
The graduation day reached. It happened that the examination sheets were being marked immediately as soon as the units being sat for were done to avoid any alliterations and fraud marking based results. It would take a week to mark the last week bat one's sheets, but ooh those deadlines... people just don't feel human if they didn't do everything on time.
Washington class of 2016 had sat for their final units two weeks ago and the marking process was intense with uncompleted scripts and a lot of data to be processed and information to be input into the university's system needing attention. Graduation was supposed to be the week earlier but as they say, people plan but God decides. It's just how things happened here at the University Of Washington (U.O.W) however. Quick, elegantly and classy; deal with it and move on to the next. This academic year was no different.
It was in the early days of December. The sky was clear. The air was fresh. The cold… its time had come once again. Birds could be heard chirping from afar from whichever direction one came as they entered the campus. For some of the residents from the State of Washington, well it was a day filled with lots of hopes. The arena had been well chosen; The Husky Stadium where everything would go down as it had been for the past many years. How about those decorations? Those event organizers knew what they were doing. They had been sent to do a task and a task they did! Obviously a large multitude would be attending the event. Everything was neatly arranged. From where the graduates would be seating to where their parents would be. The VIPS lounge was also well adhered to...I mean you couldn't miss it if you came into the stadium. Seats were well arranged to avoid confusion whatsoever. The place was full to the brim with people from around the country. Near and far away. Some famous musicians and actors were present too! U.O.W was a big deal and therefore it was obvious that it would attract lots of fame on such a day.
The Purcell family came in about thirty minutes to the event in the family's car: the red Audi RS 6. Ethan Purcell was well dressed in his black graduation gown and his hood. He looked okay after all, it was one of the biggest day in his life since he was born. With him were his mom and dad, not forgetting Ingrid. They looked daring; in some nice official wearing and exquisite dresses. They had a dignity to maintain and public appearance was a serious thing to them. They were here to appreciate their kin and celebrate with him this day. They needed to make him feel special. Feel like a champion. The young mister branched off from his family to join his colleagues to where the rest of graduates were seated. Ingrid tagged behind her parents to the V.I.P lounge. The Purcells were rich, don't get them wrong.
Expected performances from musicians like Hailey Hathaway and Maren Morris kicked off the event with a message to girls congratulating them on how they had emerged victorious in certain fields of profession that were thought to be mainly for the male gender. Boys too had a fair chance to brag a bit about their success in a life in a world filled with crime and drug abuse. Soon as the performances were over the speeches followed. Yes, those boring speeches. To the graduates it was their day; no need to feel afflicted with the amounting time being spent in such a place while to the rest like the likes of Ingrid, it was as if they were wasting precious time. One could understand her since she was just sixteen years. Two things teens don't like to follow up- boring speeches and news. She felt the urge to excuse herself from the event and soon she had one.
"Dad, can I go to the washroom?" she asked her father.
"Okay. But don't stay too long. You know how Ethan will be pissed off if he finds out that you weren't here to watch him receive his academic degree."
"I know how the day is so special to him...I won't stay too long."
"Okay. Go."
Layla just ignored the two. Her son was graduating. She had no time to stop her daughter in her steps. Ingrid walked out of the V.I.Ps lounge to the washroom. In that nice cute little slip azure dress of hers. They almost exposed the top part of her chest and she had a diamond necklace to kill the look. On her feet she had put on some contrasting blue stilettos. She got the eye of many boys and girls. She dressed to please! Counting her steps to the washroom she kept looking around as if she was searching for someone...because she was! She headed towards the tuition block— not where the nearest washrooms for the guests were. Cheeky cheeky Ingrid! She climbed the stairs to the Washington Memorial Library and sat on a bench by the entrance. She took out her phone from her velvet purse. She looked at it and smiled.
"Took you a while..." came a voice behind her. She turned around. It was Ayden, her boyfriend the one whom she was waving goodbye to that car two weeks ago. Turns out Ingrid wasn't really here for Ethan's graduation ceremony. If she'd said no and not come then she would have been left at the hands of baby sitters. And she didn't like that. No teenager liked that. Her dad had been so protective the last two weeks since that incident. She had missed him. She wanted to see him and could use this day as a window of opportunity. So here she was. And here he was. Her plan for them to meet at the campus was successful and the day would even get better than this.