“James Reece.”
Rounds of applause continued to surge from the audience as James strode out, clad in full graduation robes. Despite the sea of Arlington West High’s blue and gold that seemed to consume the stage, he could still manage to pick out Natalie and Jeremy’s faces from the crowd. Man, he was gonna miss those guys. 
Time had seemed to move in bounds. It had been nearly four years since he had first asked Nat out; looking back on it now, it seemed like it was only yesterday. He and Jeremy, well, they’d hardly been separated since the first grade. Through all the ups and downs he’d been there: the best friend a guy could have. Jer had even helped him write his valedictorian speech 
“And now, the class of 2015 valedictorian, James Reece!”

Jeremy wiped the bead of sweat that had started to run down his temple. The heat of the lights was almost unbearable, but it was worth it; the day of independence had finally come.
Sure he’d miss everyone, but that’s what high school was about: graduation, nothing more, nothing less.
Images of the MIT campus fluttered through his mind, but quickly departed as his friend began to speak. Writing was never James’ strong suit, but he had always been a phenomenal speaker; charisma and allure came second-nature to him, and his voice bellowed into the auditorium of three thousand. While most of the speech had been Jeremy’s own, James’ magnetism managed to give the words more personality than Jeremy ever could.
But he was happy for James, and he wasn’t going to let his thoughts get in the way of a great day.
Applause ricocheted off the walls of the auditorium as James delivered the closing line and re-entered the mob of graduates. With Principal Wagner giving the signal to shift their tassels, Jeremy felt himself become free of the competition that he had felt for so long, as he and his friend set out to forge their own paths.

Pulling up in his new, white convertible, James felt out of place. After rushing to make it to his hometown from work, he felt his business suit was a bit too extravagant for this kind of event. The last thing he wanted to do was act like he was trying to show off to his former classmates, but he supposed it would have to do. Tucking his car keys into his jacket’s inside pocket, James made his way into the Arlington West High for the first time in a decade.
Surprisingly enough, he wasn’t the only one that seemed to have “suited up.” Kenny Morrison, the former striker for the state champion soccer team, was now the head of the legal department at Uber; not bad for “Two-Keg Ken,” rightfully nicknamed after his exploits at the post-championship festivities. Then there was Karen Sho, the class stoner who had gone into the pharmaceutical industry six years back. Most surprising was probably Natalie Blackwell, his old high school girlfriend, packing a baby bump the size of a watermelon. But the person that he was looking forward to seeing most had yet to arrive. 
Then, suddenly, Jeremy Firsk climbed up the steps to the old cafeteria, his nametag slightly crooked on a light blue button-down.
“Jer! Hey Jer, over here!” James waved his hand in his friend’s direction to grab his attention. Jeremy turned to him, returned the wave, and weaved through the maze of tables and chairs to make his way over to the group.
The two shared a short embrace before Jeremy began to press James about the past decade: “So, what have you been doing since school James? I know it’s been awhile since we were in touch, but last I checked you were at Berkeley for grad school.”

Jeremy waited for his friend's response, which came after a somewhat awkward pause: "Sorry, I've just had a lot on my mind recently. But yeah, grad school for two years, before I dropped out in '22 for my tech startup. From there it's been pretty slow going, but we're getting there."
Intrigued by this news, Jeremy inquires further: "What are you guys into? Robotics? Software? Kids toys?" 
James cracked a smile. "Actually space shuttle computers mostly. Prototype autopilot for flight computers; AeroTech's been getting its fair share of contracts.
On the outside, Jeremy feigned congratulations for his best friend, but on the inside it felt like the water inside of him him had just boiled over, as a rush of frustration came upon him. 
"That's...great. It's great to see you've been doing so well lately."
"Well, it's fun, but it's slow going. Not to mention the actual business isn't running as smoothly as I'd hoped. My best programmer just quit on me last week, so I've been struggling with a replacement."
Jeremy had a masters in computer programming from MIT, but he hesitated in offering himself as a replacement. He remembered how it finally felt to be free of James' success, to strike out on his own, and after hearing that his friend had started his own company, Jeremy was already feeling his jealousy grow.
"You know, James, I've got my masters in computer programming, plus the job market has been pretty tough lately. If you were willing to make the hire, I wouldn't mind helping out an old friend."
James looked surprised to hear the offer. Happy, but still surprised.
"Are you sure you'd want to? Right now the pays pretty low and the benefits are practically nonexistent. Plus I don't want you to feel forced into this."
Jeremy knew that if he wanted out, this would be his chance, but there wasn't a part of him that knew helping his friend was the right thing to do.
"I'll do it, it only helps the both of us."

James was glad Jeremy had returned; almost as glad as he was that the lead programmer position was finally filled.
After their exchange, the two best friends broke off to continue catching up with everyone. Upon hearing James was single, many women decided to seize the chance they had been unable to way back in high school, and James ended up leaving his first reunion with six phone numbers. As he left the building to the parking lot, James tore them all in two.
Settling himself in the driver's seat with a heavy sigh, he questioned how far he'd come in life. Was he really happy?
He shook that feeling off as he pulled out of the parking spot. What was he saying, of course he was happy; who wouldn't be happy with all the success?

Jeremy had started the job only weeks later. Things were slow at first, but at the head of the AeroTech programming team, he was able to get things moving along. Soon, he was refining the products that were already programmed; making them sleeker, more sophisticated and increasingly innovative. And every time the new product hit the shelves, James Reece was the name plastered to every news site: CNN, Businessweek, even Forbes.
Not an ounce of credit even came his way, and James never even singled him out for all the work he was doing, only bringing up how amazing his programming team was. It was infuriating, and it just pushed Jeremy to work harder.
He stayed for days and nights working, getting the bare minimum amount of sleep night after night. All he wanted was James’ acknowledgement, just any amount of recognition for all the work he was doing.