Tod slid open the window, peering outside, the sky blue as the ocean and the sun gleamed down with all their warmth. He opened the doors of his room and saw a mountain of beer bottles lying around the living room.

I guess I don’t need to clean those after I leave...

He moved into his wardrobe, full of wigs varying from blue to black and tuxedos varying from white to red. He put on the black wig and grabbed his red tuxedo. He padded makeup onto his face to give his pale face some life. He forced the gloves to cover his twitching hands, the only piece of skin not covered by cloth. Perfect, he thought as he posed in the mirror.

It was the day of graduation, and Kevin wouldn’t let anything stop him from going. He grabbed his cane, disguised as a baseball bat, and hung onto it as he trotted forward.

He gazed over the horizon to see his school for seven years of his entire life. On his way into school, he saw his classmates, smiles across their faces, talking about their plans for the days to come. “Yo Tod! Wanna go with us to Alaska in the summer?” said Ted as he embraced Tod in a hug.

“I’ll think about it and tell you soon.”

Ted nodded, and the pair went to a table with three other boys. The boys were talking rapidly, effectively using their entire body to deliver a message, and when Tod walked closer, he could hear their conversations about the summer, about college, and about the future that followed. Their faces gleamed as they illustrated a beautiful picture of their lives full of love, money, and freedom. Tod let out a wry smile to respond to them.

“Tod, what’s your plan for the future?”

Tod hesitated; he hadn’t really thought about this question yet. He started to imagine the numerous colors of fresh flowers in the yard of his new house, the warmth of a hug from his lover in a yellow skirt, and the sight of an orange dusk. Tod opened his mouth, yet before words could come out, he felt cold in his lungs—a stinging freeze. He quickly stood up and said, “I need to go to the restroom. Be right back.” The casual stroll became a frantic dash as he closed the door to the room. He stood in front of the basin as he violently coughed, his eyes closed from the sting.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a liquid in the basin, yet it had no color. He looked through the mirror and saw his red tuxedo turn black and white, as did everything else. He touched his face with his hands to try to snap back to reality, but nothing changed, and his fiery lungs with the warm liquid he had put on his face clarified this point. Tod sighed and quickly washed his face, strolling calmly back to the classroom, nodding and smiling at all he saw in the corridor.

“Where were you, Tod? Let’s grab some food; the ceremony’s probably going to take up our lunch time.”

Tod nodded and followed the group, regularly engaging in the conversation as if nothing had happened. They walked past the gym, recalling all the sports they had played and the time they spent fooling around when they should’ve been studying. They walked past the long corridor that they had walked through, ran through, and crawled through.

The second Tod stepped into the cafeteria, he smelled the familiar aroma of fries and meat. The cafeteria seemed like it had never changed, and, though he couldn’t see them anymore, he remembered the color of every inch of it. He rushed forward with his friends, just like they had for the past seven years, and ordered their favorite dishes. When they all sat together, Tod could smell the grease that oozed from Ted’s cheese pizza, the fiery spice from Bob’s Mapo Tofu, and the sweet and sour taste of Ned’s orange chicken. Tod looked down at his plate, full of the fries and pasta that he knew he would crave after graduation. He held the plate close to his nose and inhaled, but he smelled nothing. He tried again, and again, and again, yet he didn’t smell the zesty lemon, the creamy cheese, or the salt of his favorite pasta. His friends looked at him and asked, "Is everything okay, Kevin?” Their concern quickly broke Kevin away from his confusion, and he nodded, smiling.

"It smells like it always has. I’m going to smell it more so that I will never forget it.”

His friends nodded and did the same while Tod stared down at his plate, trying to recall the smell, yet nothing could come to his mind.

“Imma go wash my hands.”

Tod stood up from his chair, and tears began rushing through his eyes as he turned his backs towards his friends. He stared hard at the sky, yet the color wouldn’t change. He inhaled with his nose as hard as he could, but the smell would still not return. Finally, he took out a tissue and wiped his tears away before returning to his friends.

The group walked up to the auditorium and gazed down from the top row. It seemed as if it were yesterday when they sat in the same hall seven years ago, joining a new school—a new beginning. They returned to backstage as the crowd slowly trickled in. Ted walked in front of Tod and started tidying his smooth tuxedo. Ted nodded, and Tod did the same. He patted the tuxedo and pants, smoothed the tie, and made sure Tod’s hair looked perfect; however, Tod noticed that he couldn’t feel the smooth texture of the tuxedo or the silkiness of the tie, and the prickly hair no longer stung his fingers. Tod frowned at this but quickly returned to his smiling face.

“Are you really ok, Tod?”

Tod looked up and saw Ted looking wearily into his eyes. “I’m fine, Ted; you’re looking very fine today”. Ted broke into a laugh and gave Tod a hug. “Let’s enjoy this moment and worry about what comes in the future. Tod nodded, and soon he heard the host say, “Now let us give a round of applause to the graduating class!” The crowd went into an uproar as the host called out names, and members began trickling down the stairs to the stage. Tod paced around as his classmates around him thinned. When is it going to be me? Then Ted also left, and the only person left was Tod. It was just like the first day of six grades. Tod stood in the same auditorium by himself, but at that time he looked forward to what awaited now, but now all he saw was black and white with no future. Suddenly, he hears the host yell out, “And last but not least, Tod!” and snaps back into reality. I’m not going to let anything stop me from enjoying this last moment. He slowly walked up the stairs as the light began shining brighter, and when he reached the top, everything went dark. Complete darkness, as if all light in the world had been consumed, yet he heard from all his directions the chant of, “Tod! Tod! Tod!” He smiled as tears began trickling down his face. He could no longer see the path to the stage, but he didn’t need to. He walked forward steadily, just like he had done for seven years. He waved to the left and to the right, and his smile remained unwavering.

He stepped onto the stage, back straight, head up, and steps steady. When he heard the uproar as he received his graduation certificate, he seemed to have regained everything he lost; he could see the red of the seats, the dark stage, and the brown walls; he could smell the salt and pepper on the crispy French fries; he could feel the warm sunlight that shone on him; and he could see his friends who were all clapping at him. He walked over to his friends and hugged everyone of them: Bob, Ned, and Ted. They trotted together to the school gate; each of them looked far across the horizon, speaking no words. Finally, Ted broke the silence, saying, "Well, I guess this is it. See you guys in a couple of weeks for vacation!” Bob and Ned smiled, but Ted remained silent. They looked towards Ted and asked, "Are you coming too?”

“You guys go first; I’ll catch up later.”

The three nodded and walked off together. Then everything turned dark again, but now Tod couldn’t hear anything; he could no longer hear the wind blowing, the car horns blaring, or the sounds of Bob, Ned, and Ted frolicking around.