Mom is already up and out of the house to run her food stand when I wake. I don’t have plans, so I decide to head to Chestnut Ridge to spend some time with Finesse. Before I leave, I grab my cat, Maj, and give her a few cuddles.
Tambara: I wish I could take you with me. When I get my ranch, you can meet Finesse, and we can all be together.
Maj stares back at me like she knows what I’m talking about. She doesn’t look very excited about it. I put her down and get ready to head out.
Once I arrive at Mr. Xavier’s ranch, I spend a few moments loving on Finesse and brushing her coat the way I learned from my horse care books. Once she’s calm and willing to accept me, I mount her and guide her into a canter in front of the ranch.
After we’ve warmed up a little, I give her a good workout practicing barrel runs. I’m sure I’ve increased my riding skill, based on the way we float around the barrels at high speed with no issues. I can’t wait to enter competitions, but I know we still have some practicing to do. There’s no way I’m entering just to lose.
Once Finesse is tired out, I take her back to Mr. Xavier’s ranch. But I don’t immediately head home. While I’m here in Chestnut Ridge, there’s something else I’d like to take care of. I pull out my phone, glad to see five full bars, unlike the last time when I got lost in the Chestnut Ridge hills.
I leave Mr. Xavier’s neighborhood and head south. My phone says I have about a fifteen-minute walk. I’m glad I wore my more comfortable boots as I begin the short hike.
As I walk, I notice the houses becoming bigger, and the land surrounding them growing more spacious, which is exactly what I need. I continue to follow my phone’s directions until it tells me I have arrived at my destination. That’s when I look up, and there in front of me is the ranch of my dreams. It’s the one I saw listed online, and I’m finally seeing it in person. As I’m standing there looking at the for sale sign and the sprawling land beyond the fence, I see a lady heading toward the ranch. I hurry over.
Tambara: Excuse me!
She stops just outside the fence.
Juanita: Oh, hey there. Can I help you?
I study her for a moment, trying to decide who she might be. Is she also looking to buy the place?
Tambara: My name is Tambara, and I’m interested in purchasing this ranch. Are you the owner?
The lady chuckles to herself.
Juanita: I wish! No, I just work here, keeping up the land until it’s sold. Name’s Juanita.
I’m relieved.
Tambara: Oh, okay. Do you mind if I look around?
Juanita: It shouldn’t be a problem. But you’ll have to stay outside. I don’t have access to the inside of the house.
Tambara: Outside works.
I step onto the property with Juanita following behind me. There are no animals on the ranch. I can only guess that the owner moved them or perhaps sold them when listing the property. The house is enormous, unlike anything you’d see in the city, and the land looks as spacious as Gran and Pop-Pop’s farm.
Juanita hums to herself as she heads toward the pasture. I walk over to the barn to see if it’s suitable for Finesse and immediately see that it’s much better than where she is now at Mr. Xavier’s. There’s a stall for her and several more for other animals.
I climb the ladder that leads to a small loft and step out onto the little balcony to get a better view of the property. A chill runs down my spine because this place already feels like home, like it was specifically designed for me.
I stand there imagining a barn full of horses and an active ranch with big parties and hoedowns or whatever else you do on ranches. But there’s a lot more to see, so I leave the barn to look at the pool and the greenhouse. Suddenly, I get a text from Mom.
Maia’s Text: Where are you?
Somehow, I can detect the urgency in Mom’s typed words.
Tambara’s Text: I’m in Chestnut Ridge, why?
Maia’s Text: You realize you graduate in an hour?
Graduate? Oh crap. I suddenly remember that my high school graduation takes place tonight. It’ll take me at least forty minutes to get back to San Sequoia. I’ll barely have time to grab my cap and gown and get to the high school.
I run across the grounds, realizing that this place is huge. But I step outside the gates feeling confident, like I’ve finally found where I belong.
Mom and I arrive at the school gym where the graduation is being held just in the nick of time. Dad meets us there, and we all take a seat in the front row. I managed to slip my gown on before I left the house, but as I’m sitting there, I realize I forgot my graduation cap.
Maia: I don’t know if they’ll let you walk the stage without your cap.
Tambara: It’ll be okay. I’ll just tell Principal Tanaka that Maj pissed on it.
Maia: Tami!
Mom doesn’t have time to fuss before the school’s valedictorian, Sabira Poustel, steps up and begins her speech.
Sabira: Welcome, class of 2025! We did it!
Everyone applauds.
Sabira: But as Principal Tanaka loves to say, today is the first day of the rest of your life. And this rings more true right now than it ever has. Today is not only an ending but also a complete beginning.
Sabira goes on to low‑key brag about all of her accomplishments and her full scholarship to Britechester University. My plans suddenly feel so mediocre compared to hers, but I guess that’s why she’s standing up on the stage and I’m not. She drones on and on about what the end of high school means as I silently beg for her to stop talking.
Mom nods her head and seems pretty engrossed, which is not surprising. These things are usually catered more toward the parents than the students, anyway. I have to resist the urge to pull out my phone and scroll Social Bunny.
Sabira finally sits down, and Principal Tanaka steps up to the mike dressed in a nonacademic robe. All I’m thinking is that if he can wear his bathrobe to a graduation ceremony, I can get my diploma without my graduation cap.
He yaps, repeating some of the same garbage that Sabira just spouted. Finally, he announces that it’s time. He calls out names one by one, and we step up to get our high school diplomas. It’s not until I’m walking toward the stage that I feel the impact of what it means to graduate high school. It’s not exactly a feeling of accomplishment, like Sabira was saying. To me, it’s more about the joy of being done…no more classrooms, poorly dressed teachers, or homework.
After I’ve received my diploma, I sit and watch other students walk the stage. Principal Tanaka steps to the mic one last time to announce the end of the ceremony. I clap for the first time, glad that it’s over.
Mom insists on taking a picture of her “recent graduate,” so I borrow a cap from one of my classmates and let her have her way. Then we step over to the buffet table to grab something to eat.
The other parents and students migrate over and fill the tables. We end up sharing ours with another family. Daddy doesn’t have any food, but he sits down at the table with us anyway.
Wade: I’m so proud of you! I can’t believe that you’re a high school graduate.
Tambara: Thanks, Daddy.
Wade: Mom told me you’re looking to buy a ranch. Let me know how I can help you with that.
Tambara: You can help by buying it for me.
Mom sighs, and Daddy laughs as if it were a joke, but I’m dead serious.
Wade: That’s not what I mean. I can’t say I paid as much attention to what it took for my dad to run our farm, but I know the basics of upkeep, so just let me know.
That’s not as helpful as him buying it for me, but I guess I can benefit from his knowledge.
Overall, I’d say I’m happy I didn’t miss the graduation. We finish the night with a few family selfies, me in yet another borrowed cap. With the pictures done and my parents satisfied, I grab the cap off my head and toss it in the air to complete the tradition before returning it to its owner.
(Generation 5 Chapter Summaries)
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