San Diego, California. January 2017.
"Petty Officer Third Class, Jonathan R. Bartman." A middle-aged gentleman said, dressed impeccably in Navy dress whites, his left breast coated with different assortment of awards and ribbons. He had blue eyes, black hair that hand strands of grey inside of it, his hair was also well groomed and he had a clean shaven face, he had a small smile on his face as he introduced the next person that had graduated from class 202. This was Master of Ceremonies, Lieutenant Commander William Jones.
Jonathan, or Jon for short, walked on stage as the 50 or so people along with his several peers clapped for him as he walked on stage. He was a 22 year old man, 5'8 in stature, and dressed in Navy dress whites with short sleeves, he was a Caucasian man with short brown hair and a clean shaven face and light brown eyes. He had a slender, yet athletic, build.
Jon briefly glanced out, noticing that his reserved 2 seats, with a plaque that said, "Bartman", were empty, his originally proud smile strained slightly.
'Of course.' Was all he could think.
Not having time to dwell on the matter as he walked up to Lieutenant Commander Jones, saluting each other in a brief but crisp manner, before Lt. Commander Jones placed the Navy SEAL trident on his left peck. They shook hands, firmly, smiling cheesy but small smiles at the camera as they took a picture.
Jon moved on fairly quickly, going to go sit down on the wooden chairs with the gold trim and white cushion on the stage. He sat next to some of his graduating class while the rest were getting called up.
The ceremony continued on fairly the same, family members and close friends of his peers clapping enthusiastically. Lt. Commander Jones must've known that the families would've gotten rowdy, because he started the ceremony by insisting that they can clap, but shouting and yelling wasn't allowed despite how proud they'd feel of their respected family member/friend. Thus, the only way to tell was by the enthusiasm of the clapping on who was here for who.
Nevertheless, Jon sat there, hands in his lap as his heel tapped in a steady but fast pace, staring into space as Lt. Commander Jones words came in muffled, as though the man was talking with mask covering his mouth. Despite the achievement, how important it was and how extraordinary the ceremony was, it all passed by in a blur. Soon, it was already the end of the ceremony, and all the seated graduates smiled with their hats under their left arm, they all smiled as Lt. Commander Jones also sat next to them and several other officials and their instructors sat as they took a final photo.
As the ceremony came to an end and the celebrations with friends and family came in full swing. Jon walked past, patting shoulders, sharing a laugh and smile here and there with his peers, telling a parent or 2 how proud of their child they should be and how good their child was in BUD/s and such. It didn't last long though.
Within the hour, he was already heading to his truck. It was a white Ford Bantam, 1.6L. He'd bought it on Facebook Marketplace for about $4,800, he bought it when he was 16, it was simply a way to get from point A-B without needing to ask his parents for a lift or take Uber's, but it had grown on him over the years, and while now he could afford a better truck, he just kept it around still. It was light on fuel too, so that was a plus he reasoned.
As he settled into the truck, placing his hat next to him on the passenger seat, he started the truck and put on his go-to song on bluetooth, Congratulations by Post Malone. He decided to head home, crack open a few cold ones and just chill in his apartment until tomorrow and head back to base.
As he stopped at the red light, his phone rang, and because it was connected to bluetooth, the ringing was practically amplified. He looked at the caller ID as his phone was sat in it's phone mount, mom.
He stared at the phone for a long while, watching it ring... ring... ring... Missed call.
He sat there for a moment, just staring at the phone as it showed the red unanswered missed call from his mother.
'I wonder what the excuse was this time?' He wondered idly.
A honking brought him back to reality, making him realize the light is green, he regained his senses and began driving off back home.
"Now they always saying congratulations!" Came Post Malone's voice as his song came back on, "Worked so hard forgot how to vacation!"