I was the only person who knew why.
“I promise,” I said.
I had no idea how hard keeping that promise would be.
The moment we entered the school gym, people started staring.
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Emma carried the cutout carefully, one arm around its cardboard shoulders. It wore the same blue cap and gown as the graduates.
“Is that her cardboard boyfriend?” someone laughed.
“That’s so creepy!” another girl said, pulling out her phone.
Several students turned. Someone started recording.
Emma heard every word. She just adjusted the cardboard boy’s graduation cap and kept walking.
Then Principal William spotted her.
“Emma, absolutely not. This is a graduation ceremony, not a joke.”
“It’s not a joke, sir.”
“Then remove it. You’re embarrassing yourself and disrupting the ceremony.”
My daughter shook her head.
“Please. I just want him to walk across the stage with me.”
“Put that thing away, or you won’t be walking across that stage at all.”
