On Graduation Day, He Pushed Me Aside For Her Chapter 11
Gloria lost her spot in the grad program, and almost everyone on campus avoided her. The poise and outstanding reputation she valued above all else had been shattered to pieces by her own choices.
Patrick Muller fared no better. His failure to enroll on schedule and unexcused absences had already sparked widespread gossip.
Paired with the whole scandal, he was stripped of his position in student programs and student representatives.
Word spread that he rarely took part in campus events afterward and grew taciturn… Occasional passersby would spot him standing dazedly outside the library, clutching an old photograph in his hand.
I never bothered to inquire further just because I did not care anymore.
Seattle had a damp fall. On a rainy day, my roommate and her friends took me for smoked salmon and dungeness crab. I got sting by the hotness as they laughed and handed me yogurt with jokes. But they also left food for me.
I drifted back to years ago, when I was always scurrying to keep up with Patrick Muller, terrified he would leave me behind.
It dawned on me then that genuine friends would never force me to look ahead to them. They would slow down to wait, and help me forward side by side.
Later on, I joined the student government, competed in debate tournaments, worked on research projects with professors, and
—
earned academic scholarships.
Days of a small figure shadowed by someone big had gone. I was the unique Ivy Anderson. Whether ordinary or exceptional, I had full grip of my life.
In the winter of my sophomore year, I posted snow-capped mountains on Instagram. I was grinning brightly in the picture. Patrick liked the post for a split second before quickly retracting the like. I noticed it, yet had no urge to tap into his profile.
My phone was snatched away by my friends who urged me to hurry up. “Ivy come on! We’re going to watch the sunset tonight.”
I laughed and hurried after them. A cold crisp winter breeze drifted over, carrying the distinctive fresh scent of Seattle’s winter air. I glanced back briefly at the path I had traveled. That chapter of youth thousands miles away had finally, truly come to an end.