04

                                    

                                          
Adelaide didn't wear the skirt that she had set out the night before. Instead she wore a white tennis skirt with a red sweatshirt over a white collared shirt. She tied her hair up in a half up half down ponytail with a white ribbon. She put on some light makeup and headed downstairs to eat breakfast. 
She greeted her father who was sitting at the kitchen table eating oatmeal and reading the paper. Adelaide grabbed the milk and poured it into a large bowl of Fruity Pebbles. 
"Good morning," Her mother breezed into the kitchen. 
Adelaide hopped onto the island stool. "Good morning," she said. Her response was slightly muffled due to the fact that she was talking with a spoonful of cereal in her mouth. 
"Honey what have I told you about talking with your mouth full?"
Adelaide swallowed her food, "Sorry mom."
Her mother pursed her lips, "Honey, that's a lot of cereal, are you sure you want that much?"
Adelaide set her spoon down and slid her bowl away. She suddenly wasn't hungry.
"Emily, " Adelaide's father, Robert, warned his wife.
"What? I was just saying,"
"You're upsetting her,"
"No I'm not-"
"It's fine" Adelaide cut in, "I'm running late anyway," She hopped off her stool and kissed her dad on the check. 
"Have a good day at school," her father called out as she slipped her white tennis shoes on and grabbed her books.
"Honey, don't you want to run a brush though your hair?" Her mother said.
"Emily,"
"I gotta go mom,"
Adelaide slipped out the door as her parents continued to argue.
WIthout Bob to give her a ride she now had to walk to school. She kicked a pebble in front of her. She started thinking about her parents. Sometimes she thought her parents only stayed together because of her.
Adelaide was abruptly pulled from her thoughts as an arm sound around her shoulder with a "Hey doll face."
She turned her head to see Dallas Winston puffing a cigarette. "Hello Dallas,"
"I told ya' call me Dal,"
"No, you said that your friends call you Dally. We are not friends,"
The boy placed his hand over his heart and stumbled back a few steps in mock pain, "You wound me,"
Adelaide rolled her eyes with a smile "You'll live,"
Dallas jogged a couple steps to catch up with her and slung his arm back over her shoulder. 
Her and Dallas kept walking. Adelaide had left earlier than necessary to avoid her parents arguing and had decided to take the scenic route to school. And that is how she ended up in front of a bakery, she opened the door and walked inside with Dallas still on her heels.
She grabbed a croissant and a bottle of water "Do you want anything?" She asked Dallas. 
"This place got any beer? "
"It's a bakery."
"So no?"
"No."
"I'm good then." 
Adelaide rolled her eyes as they walked up to the register. 
"Keep rollin' your eyes like that and they'll get stuck back there,"