Unravelling the Truth by Zoe Etherington (early reader chapter books TXT) 📖

I was sitting outside the office waiting for Emma and her mystery person to arrive (whoever it is I think I may kill as he or she made Emma cry last night and she wouldn’t answer any of my calls once she hung up on me).
I decided to miss half of first lesson as it was boring science and I didn’t really fancy listening about energy and chemical reactions it was hard. Also my lab partner was lead bitch who kept giving me death glares from the corner of her eyes because we - me, Zach, Paul and Toni were now apparently famous and known all around school for our end of school year talent competition which we won even though I never stayed everyone kept saying how good we were and what not. Some people even said sorry for the things they did previous years. It was weird and people were pissing me off, I don’t want to be famous I want to be unknown by the other pupils all I want to know is Emma and the boys, that way I would be safe from being hurt again. They were the people who know me, well not the fact that I am a giant purple thing at night but oh well. I only did the show for the boys who are like brothers to me.
“Kileshia I said that we will meet in second lesson not half way through first,” Scolded Emma as she walked through the front door of the small office/waiting area thingy.
She was wearing a bright blue blouse that matched her eyes perfectly it was tucked neatly into a black pencil skirt that fitted in all the right areas, black stockings with shiny black high-heels and her brown wavy hair was in a bun at the top of her head with no lose bits sticking out. She was trying not to smirk as she walked over to the reception lady.
“Oh well, you’re hear right? So where’s this mystery person I’m meant to meet, or have you kicked his butt? Because I might for making you cry last night and why didn’t you answer my calls? You said I have to answer my phone all the time so why didn’t you? And I thought you said first lesson not second.” I smirked while defending myself.
“Less cheek from you Miss and your uniform sort it! I will be right back I have a meeting with the head.” With that she turned around and strutted her way down the hall until the double doors that read ‘head-teachers office’.
The uniform was black trousers, white blouse with a yellow and red stripped tie that represented the school colours, a black blazer was meant to be worn, school shoes were black leather, you were only meant to have stud earrings. Extreme hairstyles and unnatural colours were a no-no.
I wore black skinny jeans, white shirt with my tie in my hands, the blazer was stuffed at the bottom of my rucksack, and instead I wore a grey overly baggy jumper and blue converses for comfort and warmth. Instead of the stud earrings I wore my six mm ear tapper that had blue rain drops for decoration on my right ear and a smiley face stud earring on my left. My hair was bright pink that I change every week it was short and layered.
“Kileshia I said uniform, sort it!” Emma hissed while coming out of the boss’s office. I gave her the ‘WTF look’ she never cared about my appearance as long as I stayed out of trouble.
I just slumped back on the chair folding my arms.
“Who’s the special person then?” While giving her a knowing look,
“He’s… he’s a friend”
“What about Tim?!” I blurt out.
“What? No… not in that way Esh, he’s actually a friend of Tim’s apparently even though I’ve never met him.” She tilted he eyebrows in confusion as she thought.
“What’s he got to do with me?”
“This is the hard part, I’m not trying to get rid of you, I’m not and I know about ‘Glass half full’ but you can chat on Skype and stuff it’s not like you’re never going to see…”
“What are you talking about?” Now I was completely confused.
“He wants to adopt you and he wants you to live with him in New York.”
“What?” I exploded standing up.
“Esh just listen…”
“New York are you joking? No way, no way he can go suck himself.”
“Look, this may be your last chance of a family your sixteen and you know as well as I do that adults don’t want to adopt teenagers they want babies or small children.”
“You and the boys are my family!”
“We’re your friends Kileshia and I know you’re scared because of your experience with adopting but just give it a chance…”
“As I said before, he can go suck himself”
“Thanks?” A masculine voice said coming behind me sounding more like a question.
“Kileshia this is John Groove” Emma said introducing me to him she was back in business mode a smile plastered on her face.
“John?” I ask in disbelief the same name as my old step-dad, great!
But as I turned around they were nothing alike.
He was dressed in dark blue jeans, white polo shirt he had a black jacket over the top and black shoes on. He was in his mid-thirties and he was very masculine like he worked out hours a day. His hair was curly and messy it was dark brown nearly black his eyes were a light grey. His grin that every girl except me would fall for showed he wasn’t serious.
“That’s me,” John outstretched his hand to greet me but I ignored it and glared at him.
“Umm… well, why don’t we get out of the school and go to a café or someplace where we can talk?” Emma suggested desperate for me to say yes.
I couldn’t say ‘no’ she had done a lot for me in the past it didn’t seem right so I nodded my head.
“Good let’s go,” Emma grinned at me and began to walk out the door with a skip in her step.
“Let me drive.” John offered to Emma whom were walking in front of me to the school car park.
“Well… if you insist.” Emma blushed, OMG she was married!
“That I do,” She giggled like a school girl at his response.
I just stood there as the ink black limo came into view. The others were getting into the back.
“Kileshia? You coming?” John asked worried.
I stepped back and shook my head ready to run for it.
“Kileshia give me a chance please, I’m begging here.”
“I’ll…I’ll,” Something was pulling me towards the limo.
I walked over to the car as John held open the door for me. I nodded in gratification.
It was black leather inside, expensive and not me.
“So Kileshia tell me about you, any hobbies?” John asked who was across from me.
Yeah right as if I was going to make it easy for him. I pulled out my headphones from my bag and plugged them into my iPod. I wasn’t going to talk to him he was taking me away from my home, the people I know, the school I go to and I think I may even miss lead bitch.

To sum up the scene at the coffee shop in one word it would be awkward. John tried a number of failed attempts to communicate with me and drag me into the conversation but I was having none of it.
I sat in the corner booth on my own while the other two sat opposite me in the wooden chairs with light green cushions on that matched the interior design of the place. I leaned against the wall, my legs tucked into my body and my arms wrapped around them hoping for protection of the slight hurt in my heart each time I heard the name ‘John’.
I blanked out throughout the conversation the only thing I took in was that I was leaving for New York on Friday today was Wednesday. I thought the adoption process was longer than this. In less than two days I would be gone not to see ‘Glass half full’ in person for God knows how long. Emma, her husband, there kids will all be left behind. I didn’t know what hurt more: knowing Emma wasn’t putting up a fight to keep me here or leaving everyone. I knew this day was going to come, the day she didn’t want me anymore and today was that day. I took in a shaky breath as I realised another person I loved is hurting me.
John caught my action and noticed an emotion in my blue eyes that softened his facial expression towards me. He leant over to Emma and wisped something in her small right ear, she glanced at me and then back to him after a number of these she finally nodded her head to answer the thing he asked her. I wasn’t certain what he asked but I guessed it was to ask her to leave as the next thing she was doing was standing up and with a final smile towards me which I didn’t return she turned on her sharp heels and walked over to the other side of the coffee shop. (What? No she can’t leave me on my own with him!) She picked up a colourful magazine on her way from the metal rack and sat down at another square table, I kept seeing her eyes flicker towards me trying to be discreet but I caught her. She hated being kept in the dark not knowing what people were saying.
I wanted my iPod back to avoid the man staring at me; I wanted to be distracted by the music and for it to take me away to another world, a world with no pain. But it was in my back pocket I know I didn’t like the man but there was no reason for me to be rude. I sat there picking at my unfiled nails fidgeting in my seat under his bold gaze. My pale fingers travelled down my wrists, across my scars wanting the emotions to leave my system. I wanted to feel numb.
John caught the white and pink slashes lining my arms. He opened his mouth trying to speak but then closed it again like a gold fish.