I was really looking forward to this one.
And then it took that turn.
But, good to see what caused her to stumble so hard. It made no sense for her to just "not be good enough" with how hard she worked and the aptitude she showed up to that point.
I'm guessing she didn't tell anyone about the reason she fumbled and didn't succeed. Whether that was because it was private to her, or she felt they wouldn't take it seriously, or whathaveyou -- I can't imagine that middle school person was that good of a friend though, if it seems like she never once asked what was wrong (when clearly something was) - only to be so blissfully ignorant as to come up and be like "hey so what happened why didn't you come to graduation hahaha"
I'd have probably run off into the rain too, in her shoes.
But the ending was cute. And I imagine this is her reevaluating her life and what she really wants - and I personally hope it's to spend more time at this school together.