She turned.
“For what?”
“For laughing when you came in. I didn’t know.”
Emma looked at him for a moment.
“You don’t have to know everything about someone to be kind to them.”
Daniel’s face reddened.
“You’re right.”
He stood a little straighter.
Then another student rose.
And another.
Within seconds, several graduates were on their feet. Some had known Felix well. Others had barely spoken to him. A few had arrived at the school after his death.
It didn’t matter.
One by one, they stood.
Then the applause began.
At first, it was scattered and uncertain. But it grew until the sound filled the gym.
Emma climbed the steps carrying Felix beside her.
William waited at the microphone, his eyes shining.
“Congratulations, Emma Carter.”
He handed her diploma to her.
She accepted it with one hand while steadying Felix with the other.
For a brief moment, she looked at the diploma, then at the cardboard figure.
