The day of Adam's high school graduation dawned. As promised, he had stayed on top of his grades and graduated with a 4.0.
He sat rather boredly through everyone in front of him getting their names called in alphabetical order. None of them held any meaning for him. Whatever friends he had abandoned him after he got so busy following his dad's death. He didn't need friends like that anyway.
The only other name he even paid attention to was called after he had sat down with his diploma, a smile still on his face because of the memory of his siblings' very loud cheers of "go, Adam!" Erica Simmons.
Her long, straight brown hair gleamed reddish in the sun and the breeze blew it slightly around her face as she walked back to her seat with a grin, hugging her diploma to her chest. His heart skipped a beat at the sight. She was as beautiful as ever.
He hadn't seen her much the past few years. To say they ran in different circles was a massive understatement.
Adam was on the AP track so the only class they had together at all since his sophomore year was P.E. And they didn't technically share it. They had the same period but different teachers so their classes occasionally combined for activities being held in the gym or pool.
Not that he ever talked to her when he did see her. She didn't know he existed.
They had shared two classes in seventh grade but he hadn't paid attention to her until they were desk mates for a quarter in English. She spent every second she wasn't taking notes doodling these little comics in her planner. Some of them were pretty funny and he barely managed to hold back his laughter so he wouldn't offend her. She was so focused that she never noticed he was watching.
Erica wasn't just good at making comics though. She was very kind, always offering pencil lead or binder paper or erasers to anyone in need.
Adam began pretending he didn't have things so he could have an excuse to talk to her. She would always smile brightly at him as she said "here you go!" and he was head over heels before long.
Unfortunately, they didn't have any classes together in eighth grade and he was far too shy to just go up and say hi to her. She was really popular. She was on the cheer squad and had dozens of friends so she was always surrounded by people. All he could do was admire her from a distance.
They had a class together again in ninth grade but never sat next to each other or had any reason to talk so he didn't say anything then either. She didn't show the slightest bit of recognition seeing him again.
Why would she? There were so many people at school and he knew he didn't make much of an impression.
Adam was a lot more outgoing in front of his family than he was around people at school. His only friends were in Academic Decathlon with him. They stuck together so he had people to sit with at lunch and hang out with on the weekends occasionally but he would always prefer spending time with his siblings.
Someone like Erica would never have a reason to look at someone like him. Everyone liked her. After the ceremony ended, she was swarmed by no less than a dozen fellow graduates wanting pictures with her.
He felt a strange little jolt as he realized that this was the last time he would ever see her. They may have lived in the same city for years but he had never seen her outside of school before. He had no idea what her plans for the future were. There was a good chance she would be leaving town for college.
Adam was still glancing her way when all of his siblings jumped him at once and managed to knock him over because he was caught off guard. "Congratulations, Adam!" they all chorused.
He laughed as he hugged them back before getting up. "Thanks, guys."
Sarah laughed too as she helped him up. "Come on, you guys. Let your brother breathe."
She said that before hugging him so tightly he couldn't breathe then either. Not that he minded. He had always loved his mom's hugs. He let her smother him and gush about how proud she was of him before she wanted to take a million pictures. By the time that was done, Erica was gone.
Why was that even disappointing? It wasn't like they were friends. He had been uselessly carrying a torch for almost six years and she didn't even know his name. Even if he did know where she was right now, it wasn't like he would have been able to say anything to her.
His feelings were pointless. She would go on to spread her wings and he would stay here to take care of his family. Their paths only crossed in the first place by chance.
Adam mentally said goodbye to his first love as he left the football field with the twins both swinging his hands as they held them. He didn't have time to worry about romance anyway. He had a lot to do.
After graduation, he switched to a full-time schedule at the movie theater and got a second job at a gas station convenience store as well. He had to take full advantage of making extra money before starting college and having less time.
Peter and the twins were used to going to day camps for part of the summer. He didn't want them to have to miss out on that so he used his money to pay for it despite his mom's protests.
How could he possibly resent it with how happy they were coming home from day camp with stories about what they did and how much fun they had? He loved seeing his siblings happy. It was the fuel that kept him going.
That was why he bent over backward to make their annual camping trip happen. He paid for all of it and had to switch for some truly terrible shifts in order to get the days off that he needed. But it was absolutely worth it hearing his siblings dramatically sing road trip songs on the way to the campground and run around playing tag and hide-and-go-seek as the older ones pitched the tents with their mom.
It was hard being here without their dad because even being here reminded Adam of him everywhere he looked. This had been one of his favorite places.
He had taught Adam how to start a campfire and get a perfectly golden-brown marshmallow for smores. There was no escaping thoughts of him today. He wasn't the only one either. The younger kids were having too much fun to be down but he caught his mom looking rather broodingly into the flames before Jenna asked her to help with her smore and she smiled like it had been nothing.
It wasn't nothing though. She was missing her husband.
Unfortunately, there was nothing Adam could do about that. He could take over a lot of his dad's duties so his siblings didn't feel the lack in their lives too much but couldn't make his mom any less lonely without the one she loved.
He worried about her sometimes. She had lost her husband of twenty years. How could someone recover from that?
Sarah acted as cheerful as ever though once she got past her first few months of grief. At least when other people were looking. He had seen her with puffy eyes many times and knew it was because she had been crying.
Adam wished there was more he could do for her. If he knew what she needed, he would do it without hesitation. But she didn't want to burden her kids. She already thought he was doing too much but he was only doing what needed to be done.
At the end of the trip when they were packing up the car and everyone else was already inside, she stopped to hug him. "You reminded me so much of your dad on this trip, Adam. He would be proud of you. Thanks for doing this. I think we all needed it."
Adam hugged her back tightly. That was one of the highest compliments she could give him. He wanted to be like his dad more than almost anything.
"Thanks, Mom. I love you."
"I love you too. Come on. Let's go home."
Adam was more satisfied than he had been in months, his mom's compliment ringing in his ears as his siblings did yet another road trip sing-along. He was in such a good mood that he actually joined in.