Lost



I need to find something. I dig through the massive piles of clothes on my floor, but can’t find something I want to wear. I pick up a Hello Kitty sweatshirt. Why do I even own this? I make a mental note to throw it out, and keep searching. I finally find my favorite dress; a classic, black sweater dress. I quickly throw it on, and brush my already straight hair. I am ready for today. I have a feeling I’m going to have an awesome day. I go down the stairs, and see my foster mother.

“Hey Adeline,” she calls to me as I enter the kitchen.

“Hey, Kendall,” I respond, grabbing a red apple from the basket of fruit on the counter. “You ready to go to school?” she questions. I nod, grab my bag, and leave. I get in the passenger’s seat, and turn on the radio. One Direction comes on.

“I LOVE them,” I say to Kendall.

“Really? I didn’t think you did. I thought you ‘hated boybands?’” she asks. I laugh. Sometimes, Kendall acts like she hasn’t been living with me for eleven years. I look out the window, and see it begins to rain.


...


Of course it’s raining. What goes right in my life? I pull at the turtle neck on my sweater dress. What possessed me to wear this? It keeps choking me. Well, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if I was choked. I hear a little “chirp!” from Kendall’s phone.

“Adeline, can you read the email I just got?” Kendall asks me. I sigh and reach for her phone.

“You have a business meeting at 5:00,” I respond.

“Will you be alright home alone?” she interrogates.

“What, am I five?” I am twenty years old, I can handle a couple hours by myself.

“Just making sure,” Kendall responds, sounding hurt. I reach over and shut off the radio. Pop gives me a headache. We pull up to Lyndon B. Johnson High School. Another day, another chance to fail. It’s not bad enough that I failed out of high school and couldn’t get into high school; I have to make up my senior year. I get out of the car.

Kendall says, “I love-”

I slam the car door shut and cut her off before she could finish. I would try to run in before I get too soaked by the rain, but I’m at the point of my life where I just don’t care. I walk in the school, and find people crowding my locker.

“Adeline, finally! We’ve been waiting for you forever!” a preppy girl squeals. She must have me mixed up with someone else.

“Why?” I cautiously ask.

“We always wait for you!” she exclaims, looking very confused. She looks at her little B.F.F., and you could practically see the wheels turning in their heads as they thought about what was going on.

“Cute dress,” one of the girl finally comments.

“Yeah, well, great. Let me through to my locker,” I say with an eyeroll. Little Miss Preppy looks kind of hurt, but her and her pink sidekick step aside. They walk away, speaking in hushed, urgent sounding tones. I open my locker, exchange some books, ands leave. First period: English. I start heading up the stairs, and bump into some guy.







...





Oh my God, I just bumped into Nick Taylor. THE Nick Taylor. The one I’ve been in love with since the fifth grade. “Sorry,” I say, picking up some of the books I knocked out of his hands. “Don’t worry about it, Adeline,” he responds, taking the books from me before walking off. Oh my God. Why am I such a stupid spazz? I think to myself as I walk to class. I enter the room, and see the teacher re-arranged the desks and got new posters on the wall.







…


The posters are so pretty! I think, looking around the big room. All these big kids keep coming in. Why do they keep coming in? I keep looking for other kids my age, but none come in. I take a seat by the window and look at the teacher.

“Good morning, Adeline,” he says.

“Good morning.”

I hate being called Adeline. I like Addie. Adeline sounds like a grandma’s name. A pretty, big girl sits next to me and smiles.

“Hey, Adeline, what’s up?” she says.

“Nothing.”

“Well, you’re in a quiet mood today,” she tells me.

“Oh. Really? Well, I’m really tired. I stopped taking naps.” The girl laughs.

“I know what you mean. I just pass out on the couch sometimes after school.”

The teacher gets up in the front of the room and starts to talk in a deep voice, just like my Grandpa. “Good morning, class, take out your stories I asked you to draft,” he says loudly. I don’t know what story he’s talking about. I like stories, though. My favorite is Little Red Riding Hood. I want to be her for Halloween this year. I love red. I think it’s my favorite color, but I also like blue . . . and pink . . . and also purple.

“You want to revise each other’s stories?” the girl next to me asks. I don’t know what that means.

“Where’s yours?” she asks. I start to get nervous. I didn’t know I needed a story! What if I get in trouble? What if the teacher calls Kendall, and she yells at me?

“Adeline, I printed a copy of your story last night. Thanks for letting me know your printer was broken,” the teacher called out, handing me a paper. The girl takes my paper and gives me hers. These words are REALLY big, I think. I try to read her story: Once . . . up . . . upon a time, there was a . . . I love fairytales. They always start with “Once upon a time.” I wish I was a princess.

The girl next to me interrupts with, “Can you check to see if my central metaphor is good?”

I learned about metamorphosis one time, but I don’t know if that’s the same thing. Grandpa told me about it when I saw a caterpillar. He told me it would turn into a beautiful butterfly.

“Did you find it?” she asks. I shake my head. I didn’t see anything about a butterfly so far.

“I didn’t think it was clear enough. I just needed another perspective. Your story is good, though. I like the emotion in it.”

She trades papers with me again. I look out the window and see a rainbow! I love rainbows! One time, Grandpa and I saw a rainbow. He told me there was a pot of gold beneath every rainbow. If I found a pot of gold, I’d buy a pony, but me and Kendall would have to share it. I don’t know if I can buy two ponies. I hear a big, loud bell, and all the big kids get up to leave. I don’t know where they’re all going.

“Hey, Adeline you ready to go to math?” a boy behind me asked.





...





“Yeah, hey, Toby,” I say. I must have been really out of it in English today, since I couldn’t remember a thing I did. We begin to walk, and I see my AP Calculus teacher, Mr. Mason, along the way.

“What happened yesterday, Adeline?” he questioned me. I have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about.

“What?” I say dumbly. It’s the only thing that came to mind.

“You never showed up yesterday. You missed the unit exam.” I feel numb. I’m about to burst into tears.

“What? But . . . I was in school . . . I just . . .” He shrugs.

“I can’t help the fact that you didn’t bother to show up.” He walks away. I can’t believe that just happened.






…


I can’t believe that just happened. Who does he think he is? I slam the binder I was carrying on the ground and march right up to him.

“Excuse me, I wasn’t finished talking to you,” I state forcefully, making him turn around.

“I’m sorry?” he says, almost in a sarcastic way.

“Well, you SHOULD be. So what if I didn’t feel like going to class? Maybe I needed a break. Is that so much to ask for? You don’t need to harass me about it, Mason. I have enough problems as it is, flunking out of high school, and needing to repeat my senior year! Why don’t you just leave me alone, and let me go on with my life?” I storm off, not bothering to pick up my binder. I don’t know where I'm going. All I know is that it’s far away from here. Toby, and the rest of the hallway, just stare at me as I exit. Just what I need. Rubbernecking. I fume out of the building and just walk. I walk towards the woods, where my P.E. class goes hiking.







…


I love nature! I like to make up stories as I walk outside. I can be anyone I want to be in my stories. I can be a princess, or a fairy, or even a superhero! I walk through the orangey trees, and bend down to pick up a flower. Flowers are so beautiful. No matter kind of flower it is, it always is super pretty. There’s probably a rule somewhere that you can’t be an ugly flower. I walk around a bit more, and find a huge tree, that is even bigger than my house! I sit under it, and start making up some stories. Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Addie . . .







…


“Miss? Miss?” I open my eyes, and see two police officers hovering over me.

“What’s going on?” I look around, and see myself surrounded by trees.

“We were going to ask you the same question. Come with us,” the cop with the mustache says. I stand up, and follow them out of the woods. I soon realize I was in the wooded area of my school, where we go for hikes in gym class. We approach the police car, and Officer Mustache opens up the door for me. I climb in, buckle up, and try to piece together what happened.

“What happened?” I wonder aloud, hoping someone will answer me.

“You were reported missing by your school, so we sent out a search party,” the clean-shaven, sickenly skinny cop answered impatiently. Missing?

“I was at school,” I began to protest.

“And then you went missing.” Well thank you, Captain Obvious. I figured out that much when you said it two seconds ago. We pull up to the police station within ten minutes. Inside, I see Kendall, looking frantic and worried.

“There you are! Oh, Adeline, I’m so glad you’re okay! I was so worried about you!” she cries, throwing her arms around me.

“Miss, we’re going to need to bring you in for questioning,” Officer Mustache says, hustling me away from Kendall and into an interrogation room.








…


I want Kendall here. I miss her. I’m scared. Grandpa and Kendall always told me to trust cops, but this room is so scary! It’s so big, and dark, and gray.

“Sit down please, Miss,” the bigger police officer says. I sit down, but am still really scared.

“Can you tell us why you left school today?” he asks me, writing stuff down on a pad of yellow paper.

“I didn’t leave school. I went to class with the big kids!” The two police officers look at each other.

“What do you mean?” the small cop asks.

“At school, I had big kids in my class.”

“I see.” The bigger cop whispers something to the smaller cop.

“Secrets, secrets, are no fun, unless you share with everyone!” The big police man just looks at me. He reminds me of a rhino, because he’s pretty round and tough-looking.

“How old are you?” The rhino man asks.

“Six and three quarters. I’m almost seven!” I cannot wait until my birthday party! I’m going to go to Build-a-Bear Workshop, and make myself a pink bear, and I’m going to get clothes for her and everything! The scary policemen can’t come. I don’t like them very much.

The small cop tells me to stay, while he and the rhino guy leave. I wonder what it’s like to be a rhino. The door opens, and for a second, I see Kendall! I hope she can come get me soon!






…


I wonder when the police officers will ask me the questions. It’s giving me anxiety, the kind I have before handing in a big paper or taking a test. Officer Mustache struts in, followed by Officer Stickfigure.

“What grade are you in?” Officer Stickfigure asked.

“I’m a senior.”

“How old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

“Why did you lie before?”

“What?” Our game of quick fire came to an abrupt stop.

“You said you were six and three quarters.”

“You . . . didn’t come in before,” I retort. The officers share a glance. What is wrong with them?

“Can you tell us why you were missing?” Officer Mustache asks.

“No . . .”

“And why not?”

“Because I have no idea.” The cops keep looking at each other. Officer Mustache tells me to stay put, as both men leave. And I still have no idea what happened to me. Maybe I hit my head or something when I was in the woods . . . but why was I in the woods in the first place? The cops came back in, and I grew more nervous.

“Is there a reason you keep lying to us, Adeline?” Stickfigure asks.

“I already told you, I’m not lying!”

“Then why can’t you keep your facts straight?” he screams.







…


“What the hell do you want to know? How I can’t do anything right? Is that good enough for you?” I screech, jumping out of my chair.

“Sit down!” the fat cop shouts. I reluctantly fall back into my seat. I don’t need an arrest on my record.

“What we want to know is why you were in the woods,” he says, taking a calmer approach than his scrawny partner.

“I had enough. All of you are the same. Everything is MY fault. Why not just blame all the world’s problems on me? It’s not like anything CAUSES me to do what I do, right? I make everything happen, don’t I? It’s all MY fault. What else is new?” The look at each other, as if I’m unable to see them.

“Thank you for your time. You may leave,” Tubby says to me. I immediately get up and exit the room.

“Tell your mother we’d like to ask her some questions,” he calls out.

“FOSTER mother.”

I tell her that she’s needed. I can see into the interrogation room now, but I couldn’t see out of it before. Kendall looks lost. What else is new. She can’t raise a decent child, and now can’t even answer some simple questions. To my left is a receptionist, with a big bowl of lollipops.





…


I really want a lollipop! I skip over to the lady next to me with the bowl of candy.

“Excuse me, can I please have some candy?”

She nods “yes”, and I try to decide on the yummiest flavor. I like grape, but there’s also strawberry . . . OOH! There’s cotton candy! But I want something fruitier . . . I hate orange . . . there’s raspberry!

“Anytime, now,” the lady says. Well, she’s a meanie. She can’t come to my birthday party, either. I take the raspberry lollipop and sit down on a big, comfy chair. Raspberry is so yummy! The door to the room I was in before opened up, and I saw Kendall.

“KENDALL!” I jump out of my chair and run up to her. I give her a big hug. Grandpa tells me that “Addie hugs” are the best kind of hugs there are! Kendall looks down at me, but something’s different about her. She looks a little sad.

“Hi, sweetheart. Listen, why don't you sit down, so I can make a phone call?” I sit down, and the rhino officer sits next to me. He’s still scary.

“Hey there, Adeline. That is your name, right?” Rhino Man asks.

“I like Addie. Adeline sounds like a grandma name.” He laughs a little, and pats me on the shoulder.

“Hang in there, kiddo. Everything will be fine.”









…


I can still hear Kendall a bit, although she’s all the way down the hall. I hear little snippets of her conversation.

“No, I . . . seventeen . . .this will be the first appointment, yes, and . . . well, we’re not sure what’s . . . um . . .wrong with her, persay . . . well, that’s what we need you to figure out . . . okay . . . okay . . . I am the foster mother, and . . . yes . . . eleven years . . .Great. We’ll see you next week, then. Thank you, Dr. Faden.”
A doctor? Why am I going to a doctor?