Fly

"She so beautiful in blue cap and gown", the fit, tan man in his thirties thought as he looked upon his sister on the front of the stage.
"Mane we getting old, Bennet."
"Yeah, I know it, Boosie." The black man with long hair in plaits smiled at the young woman on stage, equally proud of the young woman on stage.
"I can remember when Charity was only a little girl. Now look at her. All grown up."
Bennet smiled as he looked at his baby sister. Boosie looked at Bennet's family and smiled as he looked at how age finally caught up with his family members.
Boosie thought about the journey both their lives took them on. "Who knew," He thought, "that the young man who carried the superhero book bag and the young man who wore a DC beanie religiously would grow up to be as successful as we were." Boosie thought about the millions of dollars he had made writing and rapping and the large amount of money that Bennet had made as a personal trainer to the stars, and he knew that they served as an inspiration to Charity. "I'm glad I can be a part of this Bennet." Boosie said after he licked his large, dark lips. "I feel like I watched the future grow up my dog."
"I know the feeling, Boosie." The principal began to give a speech and both Bennet and Boosie could see that Charity had been nervous on that stage. When he began calling out student's names, Bennet and Boosie's smile had grown to the size of Jupiter as they anxiously waited for him to call out her name.
When the principal did call her name out, he announced her, "The valedictorian of Sneedville High School, Charity Bennet." Bennet and Boosie stood out of their seats along with the rest of Bennet's family and friends, and gave a roaring round of applause.
Boosie could remember how close Bennet had been with his baby sister, and he knew that out of everybody in attendance, none were more proud than Bennet had been.
Charity rose out of her sweat as a queen would out of her throne and walked to principal ready to grasp his hand. The principal offered the school's star pupil the podium to give her speech. Her voice was loud and clear as she began her speech. Having gave a speech before, Boosie could sense her nerve, but she took the advice that Boosie had given her so long ago, turning her nervousness into an adrenaline that propelled her into the greatest speech she had ever given. "Family and friends, this is the last speech I will ever give as a high school student and as a young woman of Sneedville, Tennessee, I am proud to have graduated along with the class of 2021. I have been surrounded by a group of muses who always pushed me forward to pursue my dreams of graduating and becoming the valedictorian of Sneedville High. There are so many people I want to thank, from my mother and father to all my brothers and sisters and friends who kept my head on straight through the years, but the person I would like to thank most of all besides my Lord and my Savior, is my big brother, Nicholas Bennet. Without you, I don't know if I would have been able to make it as far as I had and even though all the thank you's in the world could not express my gratitude, I still wish to thank you big brother, in front of our entire community, from the bottom of my heart for helping me to achieve greatness. Thank you big brother. I love you like I love you all," Boosie looked around the small auditorium crowded with all Charity's friends and family and Boosie saw tears well up in Bennet;s eyes, and he knew at the moment what he had felt like when he had watched his own baby sister walk across that stage some eleven years ago, and he was glad that his old friend could know such a feeling that Bennet felt could not been replaced by any other. "Thank you for not only helping me,"
Charity turned to the other members of her graduating class, some whose eyes were filled with envy and some whose eyes were filled with pride, and she added scrupulously, "But all of the members of the class of 2021. Without the help of our tight-knit community, I can honestly say that at least for myself, I honestly do not know where I would be right now. I will leave you with a quote that seems like it is older than time itself. It takes a village to raise a child, and I hope that I have made the village of Sneedville, Tenneessee proud of me. On behalf of my graduating class I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
She smiled and closed her eyes for a mere second, the nerves in her body subsiding to the pride in her heart. Boosie looked to the seated Bennet and he placed his hand on his long time friend's shoulder to offer comfort to a situation of great pride. Bennet's baby sister had become a woman right on that stage in front of their eyes. "Thank you."
With that a roar of applause emanated from not only Bennet's family, but from everyone in attendance as a star by the name of Charity had been born, and like her name had suggested, she had donated all of the praise from her many accomplishments to older brother. The principal continued to call out the names of the rest of her graduating class and when he announced the class of 2021 to the auditorium, everyone erupted in applause and Bennet broke down into tears as Boosie picked his friend up by his shoulders. Boosie never realized how muscular his friend was until he had to pick him up.
Boosie smiled. "Now's not the time for tears old friend. You had helped raise a beautiful, young woman who is going to change thee world and I'm proud of you my dog." Bennet composed himself and stood erect as he realized that his baby sister had crossed the threshold into greatness. As she walked to the outside of the auditorium, she caught eyes with Bennet and flashed her beautiful, large smile filled with pride toward her brother and Bennet knew at that moment what it would feel like when his own child would walk across the stage.