The next day went great, mum and I shopped to get something nice for her to wear on my graduation. Gia's parents lived in Delhi and had come over. Our apartment was a mess that day. Gia had no room to stay in as she gave her parents her room, so we slept in my room that night.

Gia was the Valedictorian so she stayed up that night trying to prepare her speech. I tried helping out but eventually fell asleep. Tomorrow was a big day, so I needed my sleep.

The next morning, we all woke up and had a very filmy breakfast where a huge family sat on the table together to have breakfast. Gia's mom and my mom made delicious breakfast that morning. Starting from parathas to dosas, we had everything on the table. I wanted Zaid to come over but he had to pick his parents from the airport as they too had arrived from Delhi that morning. I was a little nervous about meeting his parents, but I was hoping that things would go as well with his parents as it went with my mom.

After we were done, Gia and I headed to my room where we started getting ready. Graduation was at five, but we had to get there beforehand in order to wear our gowns and to learn the order of the procession and rehearse it. Thus, we started with our hair and makeup rather early.

Gia had me straighten her hair as she was opting for a sleek look. I wanted waves, so Gia used her amazing skills with the curling iron to get me beachy waves. We also did eachother's makeups and helped eachother wear our Saris.

After we were done, we headed out only to find that our parents were waiting with a cake to celebrate our graduation. It was a dark chocolate fudge cake. My favorite. I couldnt believe all this was happening. After four years, I was finally graduating. It was a proud and happy moment for me. I only wish dad were there. But thanks to Skype, I spoke to dad and my sister and asked for their blessings online.

After our small celebration at home, Gia and I headed for our college as we were having the ceremony in our auditorium.

I had worn the black saree dad had sent from Bangalore. It was a beautiful saree which I liked a lot. And it was a gift from dad. That in itself made the saree and this occasion extremely special. I really wish dad had come. Really.

As we made our way to the auditorium, I saw Zaid and hugged him. He hugged me back but became a little alert as soon as the hug broke off.

"Parents," he whispered.

Damn, his parents were here already. I was more nervous than I thought I'd be. I was meeting his parents. Oh God.
"Stop hyperventilating," I chastised myself.

As his parents approached us, I got more nervous, but then, as they started speaking to me, I felt better.

His mom and Dad were extremely sweet. Aunty even made a joke about how she was shocked that someone as beautiful as me was scored by Zaid. I blushed a lot as it was too big a compliment. Zaid was so handsome that absolutely any girl would go for him. I was very lucky indeed.

We spoke to his parents for a while. Then, as Zaid had to go talk to some of his professors he left and I ushered his parents to good seats. By then, Mom and Gia's parents had also arrived, so I introduced all of them and got them seats that were close to one another.

The graduation ceremony began with our Dean's speech, which was followed by the honour awards. Zaid, Gia and I had received the high honours so we were ecstatic. After that, we got our graduation diplomas. It was such a nice experience. We all walked up as one of the senior professors handed our diploma to us. Even the discipline and the order of the procession impressed me. I felt great when I received my diploma. I was overjoyed when Zaid received his. I was already off the stage when he got his diploma so I left no stone unturned to show how I was the most supportive girlfriend ever. I jumped, hooted and cheered for him. He probably got a little embarrassed. But oh well, I liked doing that for him.

After everyone received their diplomas, Gia went on stage and went ahead with her speech.

"My fellow students, we only arrived here four short years ago, and now it's already time to leave. How did it all go so fast? It seems like only yesterday that we were skinny little freshmen fighting with the locks on our lockers, trying to figure out where our next class was, and looking generally clueless......" Gia went on.

Her speech was quite moving. It made me realize that I was going to miss this place. I had so many memories here. Even the bad ones made me who I was and today, I was bidding farewell to this place. Maybe I even got a little teary around the end. It really was that moving.

After her speech, after one of our professors ended the program with a speech, we headed to the open space in front of where we were sitting to get some refreshments that had been arranged.

"You are such an embarrassment," said Zaid as he lifted me up, swirled me around and kissed my cheek.

Gia snapped a candid right then. It was a very beautiful picture.

So afterwards, we took pictures with eachother, our classmates and parents. It was a good end to a good day.

I was going to miss this place I called home for the last 4 years. But I was optimistic about what my future held for me. Moreover, the memories were going to stay with me forever, that was more than I could wish for.