Graduation day came on a bright June afternoon, the kind where the sun baked the football field at Lincoln High and turned the black gowns into sweat traps. Darren stood in line with the other seniors, tassel dangling from his cap, diploma folder clutched in his hand like a ticket to somewhere better. The ceremony dragged with speeches about futures and dreams, the principal droning on about making marks on the world. Darren's mind wandered to Dad how he would have beamed from the bleachers, clapping loudest, maybe yelling something embarrassing like "That's my boy!" But the seats held Mom, Emily, and a few aunts and uncles instead. Someone missing, always would be.
When his name got called "Darren Michael Hayes, summa cum laude" he walked the stage steadily, shaking hands, smiling forced for the camera. Cheers from Alex and Lisa in the crowd, Alex whooping with a robot arm wave he had joked about building. Back in his seat, the emptiness hit harder. No Dad's proud grip on his shoulder after.
Photos afterward on the lawn, families clustering like constellations. Mom pulled him close, her eyes misty behind sunglasses. She had lost weight since the funeral, working doubles to keep things afloat, but smiled real today.
"Your dad would be bursting, honey. So proud." Emily, now fourteen and taller, hugged his side, her braces glinting.
"You did it, Dare! NASA's next, right?"
He nodded, throat tight. "Yeah, Em. For all of us." The photographer snapped away Mom, Emily, him in the middle, arms linked. Perfect picture, but incomplete. A hole where Mike should stand, arm slung casual, grease faintly on his fingers even on Sunday best. Darren blinked back the sting, forcing another grin. Alex and Lisa crashed the shot, Alex in his robotics club tee under the gown, Lisa with her med school brochures already peeking out.
"Group hug!" Lisa yelled, piling on.
Laughter bubbled, easing the ache a bit. Later, at the family barbecue in the backyard neighbors bringing potato salad and ribs Darren slipped away to the garage. Tools still hung where Dad left them, a wrench set he had gifted last birthday. He ran fingers over the cool metal, whispering,
"Miss you at this one, Dad. But I graduated top. Fought for it."
A year flew by in a whirlwind of part-time jobs and applications. Darren stayed home that gap year, helping Mom at the diner on weekends, fixing cars in the garage to keep Dad's legacy humming. Money was tight, but scholarships loomed. He studied nights for the college entrance exams national tests that could make or break futures. Astronomy programs were competitive, but his grades shone, science fair wins padded the resume, essays poured heart into loss and stars.
Exam day in Billings, a sterile hall with hundreds hunched over papers. Questions on physics, math, orbital mechanics his wheelhouse. He aced it, gut told him. Weeks later, the letter arrived: acceptance to Caltech, best in the country for astronomical sciences at the time. Jet Propulsion Lab ties, observatories on campus dream fuel. Mom cried reading it aloud at dinner, Emily jumping around.
"You're going to California! Stars and beaches!"
Darren grinned ear to ear, happiness bubbling real for the first time in ages.
"Yeah! NASA internships, planet hunts. Dad would've loved this."
Called Alex and Lisa that night, group video chat crackling with excitement.
Alex, tinkering in his room with drone parts, pumped fist.
"Knew it, man! I'm off to Germany Technical University Munich for robotics engineering. Building bots for space missions, we'll collaborate someday."
Lisa, from her packed bedroom posters of anatomy charts beamed.
"Congrats guys! I'm headed to Seoul National University in South Korea for medicine and surgery. Saving lives while you nerds chase asteroids."
"Jealous of the travel," Darren said. "But Caltech's got telescopes that'll blow minds. Keep in touch time zones suck, but tech's got us."
Hugs virtual, promises real. Friends scattering like satellites, but orbits intersected always.
Packing for Pasadena felt surreal boxes of books, telescope in case, Dad's old wrench tucked secret for luck. Mom drove him to the airport, Emily waving frantic from the curb.
"Make us proud, but visit!" Tears at the gate, but excitement won. Plane lifted, Montana shrinking below, new chapter ascending.
Caltech campus hit like a supernova: palm trees swaying, buildings sleek with labs humming. Orientation week overwhelmed lectures on cosmology, dorm mates talking over black holes. Darren settled into astrophysics courses, devouring stellar evolution, exoplanet detection. Nights at the observatory, peering through massive scopes, heart racing like a kid with a backyard telescope again.
That's where he met Linda, a pretty girl with dark curls and eyes like deep space nebulas. Astronomical engineering major, shared lab section on propulsion systems. The first day, paired for a project on rocket trajectories, she slid onto the stool next him, notebook open.
"Hi, I'm Linda Chen. You're Darren Hayes? The Montana kid who wrote that essay on NEO threats prof mentioned it."
He blushed, adjusting glasses. "Yeah, guilty. Small town, big dreams. You?"
"I was born in the Bay Area, but my parents immigrated from Taiwan. Love building stuff that flies,thrusters, orbits. This sim's tricky, huh?"
They dove in, banter easy. Her laugh light, ideas sharp suggesting ion drives while he crunched numbers. Coffee after class turned into a habit, talks stretching from classwork to life.
"Lost my dad young too,"
She shared one evening on campus quad, stars emerging.
"Car wreck. Pushed me to engineering control what I can."
Darren nodded, opening up. "Same. Garage talks with him fuel me still. Stars escaped, now purpose."
Connection sparked study dates, stargazing walks. Linda is pretty in an effortless way: jeans and tees, passion lighting her face discussing warp theories. Dates followed: diner burgers mimicking home, hikes in hills spotting constellations.
Friends back home thrilled via messages Alex sending robot memes from Munich, Lisa K-pop pics from Seoul.
"Girl approved?" Alex teased.
"Yeah," Darren replied. "Feels right."
Semester flew: labs building mini-satellites, lectures on universe expansion. Linda beside him, partnership growing intellectual, emotional. Dad's absence ached less, channeled to drive.
Holidays home, sharing Caltech tales with Mom and Em.
"Linda sounds wonderful," Mom said. "Bring her someday."
Future bright internships looming, stars aligning. Fought for place, carving it with allies old and new.
Life twisted, but orbits stabilized. Darren gazed up nights, whispering thanks to missing pieces, ready for launch.
The campus buzzed with energy that first semester, Darren throwing himself into everything. Astronomical science wasn't just classes it was dawn-to-dusk immersion. Professor Ramirez's cosmology course blew minds: big bang theories, dark matter puzzles. He'd raise hands often, connecting to personal asteroids fears.
"What about deflection tech?" he'd ask, earning nods.
Linda in engineering track complemented perfectly her focus on spacecraft design, his on celestial mechanics. Joint projects bonded them: modeling Mars missions, debating nuclear vs solar sails.
"You're the theorist, I'm the builder," she'd say, sketching prototypes while he ran equations.
Dorm life chaotic: roommate Raj from India blasting Bollywood, late-night pizza fuels debates on aliens. Party invites came, but Darren preferred quiet talks with Linda under the observatory dome. She'd point out galaxies, voice soft:
"Hubble images make me feel small, but motivated."
Romance bloomed slowly, first kiss after a successful launch sim, fireworks literal from campus event. Hand-holding walks, sharing losses.
"Dad taught me tools," Darren said. "Yours?"
"Mom's stories of perseverance. We honor them by going forward."
Thanksgiving break, flew home solo Mom's turkey feast, Emily's teen drama updates. The garage still ran, and I hired help now.
"Proud, son," Mom echoed Dad's words.
Back to Caltech, Linda met for winter formal dress sparkling, dance awkward but fun. Friends virtually toasted New Year's: Alex in Berlin beers, Lisa Seoul countdowns.
Challenges hit: tough midterms, homesickness. But support net held study groups, Linda's encouragement. "Fight for your place," Dad's echo pushed through failures like a botched experiment.
Spring brought research opportunities: assisting on exo planet surveys, data crunching transits. Linda designed probe mockups. "Team us," she grinned.
Year one ended strong, GPA shining, internship apps out. Scattered friends reconvened summer plans and virtual reunions promised.
Darren stood on the dorm balcony one night, stars vast. Missing Dad ached, but purpose filled voids. New family in friends, love in Linda, path in skies.
Graduation high school a memory, now college launchpad. Fought, carving deeper. The universe unfolded, inviting.