Jesse's POV:
After practice on Wednesday afternoon, I came walking out of the gymnasium with a couple of the guys from the team. We were all joking around and I almost didn't notice her. Alisha Brown was leaning up against the wall across from the gymnasium chatting with another JV basketball cheerleader.
As we came out, Alisha looked up and smiled at us. I wanted to believe she was smiling just for me.
"Make a move, Hall," Brad Wilson whispered to me.
"Are you crazy?" I whispered back.
"Come on," Jerry Evans, the other guy I was with, said. "She obviously likes you. She was eyeing you all last night at the game. Didn't you notice?"
"You think so?" I asked him not really convinced. I hadn't really noticed that. I had noticed Russ flirting with her which was why I had avoided him most of the day. I was starting to wish that little punk had minded his own business out in LA during the Junior Goodwill Games.
"Go for it," Brad said again. He pretended to drop the basketball he was carry and it rolled toward the two girls.
With a sigh I went to retrieve it. Talk about obvious ploys. This was embarrassing. By the time I reached the two girls the other cheerleader had picked up the ball and had handed it to Alisha. As I approached she held it out to me.
"Sorry, about that," I told her. As I took the ball from her our hands brushed. I wanted more than that though. I wanted to be able to walk the halls holding her hand. "Brad always has been a klutz," I told her.
"Not a problem," she said smiling again. I loved that smile.
"So I was wondering if maybe you'd want to go catch a movie or something sometime?"I asked her. I was so sure she was going to tell me no. I didn't stand a chance. How did I even let Brad and Jerry get me into this.
"Sure," she said surprising me. It took a moment for it to register because I was so certain her answer was going to be no. "Actually, I'm not doing anything tonight. How about catching a movie after dinner."
"Um, yeah sure. That would be great," I told her.
"Great," Alisha told me with a big smile on her face. "I'll pick you up at six," she told me.
"Okay," I told her and watched her disappear down the hallway with her friends.
"All right Hall," Jerry said when the girls were out of sight.
"Don't you just love my love matching skills," Brad said.
I threw the basketball at him. He went to catch it but he missed it and it bounced away. As Brad chased the ball I said, "like I was saying, Brad always has been a klutz."
Alex's POV:
Going through the stuff was even harder than I thought it would be. I was actually glad for the dim light in the attic as there were a couple times that I had to wipe tears away and I was trying not to let Charlie and Adam know. I think they did thought.
Between the two of them they were trying to keep a string of light conversation going for which I was thankful. The conversation helped me to keep from dwelling on what I was doing too much.
Right then, Charlie and Adam were busy making predictions for the NBA season. I was listening to the two of them but staying out of the conversation. I didn't mind watching basketball from time to time but didn't really follow it that much. I could probably name half the teams in the league and a few of the players but that was it. Half the time I wasn't even sure what Adam and Charlie were talking about.
And then Adam stopped talking in the middle of a sentence. I looked up from the stuff I was sorting through. Adam was standing there holding a couple of envelopes in his hands. He looked up from them and looked right at me. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn't want to tell me what he had found.
I walked over to where he was standing so I could look over his shoulder at the envelopes he was holding. As soon as I saw who they were from I understood why he was finding it hard to tell me what he had found. The envelopes were from an adoption agency and addressed to my mom and dad. Or should I say my adopted mom and dad. I reached out and slowly took the envelopes from Adam's hands.
"What did you find?" Charlie asked. He was still sitting on the floor next to the box he had been going through.
"Stuff from an adoption agency," I told him still looking at the envelopes.
"Why don't you open them. Maybe there is some clue to who you're birth parents were," Charlie said.
"That's what I'm afraid of," I told him softly.
"If you're not ready then put them up somewhere," Adam told me. "Wait to open them until you're sure you want to know."
"And if I never feel ready. If I decide I don't want to know anything about my birth parents?"
"Then leave them unopened."
"If you opened them you would have family again," Charlie said quietly from across the room.
"Would I? I mean how do I know they would even want anything to do with me? I mean they gave me up to begin with," I said.
"Is that what you're afraid of? Being rejected again," Adam asked me.
I thought for a moment. "Yes I guess it is."
"There could've been a lot of reasons you're parents gave you up for adoption. Maybe they weren't ready for a child? Maybe they didn't feel they could provide for you properly? You'll never know unless you find out who they were."
I thought about Charlie's words. I guess deep down I really did want answers to my questions. Ever since my mom had told me I was adopted there has been a part of me that wanted to know who I was. What reason did my birth parents have for giving me up? And Charlie was right. Part of me did want to have family. Sure the Larson's were great but it wasn't the same.
I sat down on a nearby trunk and opened the first envelope. The first letter was basically a letter to the Paris' telling them that a baby had come up for adoption. The second envelope I looked at had copies of all the adoption papers in it but know mention of the name or names of the people who were putting the baby, putting me, up for adoption. The third one however was different.
Inside the third envelope I found a short letter from my birth mother. It was basically a note telling the Paris' little things about me, like my sleeping habits, things that stopped me from crying, what kind of baby foods I liked and didn't like. There was also a photograph in it of me as a baby and a young woman. My birth mother. I knew what she looked like. If I wanted to track her down I had something tangible to go on.
I heard Adam let out a little gasp. He had been looking over my shoulder as I went through the envelopes. Charlie was still sitting across the room and I had been filling him in on what I was finding.
I looked at Adam wondering what was going on. He reached out for the photo and I handed it over to me. He took a closer look at it before standing up and walking toward Charlie.
"Charlie, take a look at this photo," he said as he handed the photo over to him.
Note: I know, its an evil place to stop it but I need to get to sleep. This will probably be the last update for the next couple of days, because as long as weather permits I'm going away for the weekend. Thanks to crazy4nc128, C-chan96, Banks99, Banksiesbabe99 and anne918 for reviewing chapter 10. Can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter.
After practice on Wednesday afternoon, I came walking out of the gymnasium with a couple of the guys from the team. We were all joking around and I almost didn't notice her. Alisha Brown was leaning up against the wall across from the gymnasium chatting with another JV basketball cheerleader.
As we came out, Alisha looked up and smiled at us. I wanted to believe she was smiling just for me.
"Make a move, Hall," Brad Wilson whispered to me.
"Are you crazy?" I whispered back.
"Come on," Jerry Evans, the other guy I was with, said. "She obviously likes you. She was eyeing you all last night at the game. Didn't you notice?"
"You think so?" I asked him not really convinced. I hadn't really noticed that. I had noticed Russ flirting with her which was why I had avoided him most of the day. I was starting to wish that little punk had minded his own business out in LA during the Junior Goodwill Games.
"Go for it," Brad said again. He pretended to drop the basketball he was carry and it rolled toward the two girls.
With a sigh I went to retrieve it. Talk about obvious ploys. This was embarrassing. By the time I reached the two girls the other cheerleader had picked up the ball and had handed it to Alisha. As I approached she held it out to me.
"Sorry, about that," I told her. As I took the ball from her our hands brushed. I wanted more than that though. I wanted to be able to walk the halls holding her hand. "Brad always has been a klutz," I told her.
"Not a problem," she said smiling again. I loved that smile.
"So I was wondering if maybe you'd want to go catch a movie or something sometime?"I asked her. I was so sure she was going to tell me no. I didn't stand a chance. How did I even let Brad and Jerry get me into this.
"Sure," she said surprising me. It took a moment for it to register because I was so certain her answer was going to be no. "Actually, I'm not doing anything tonight. How about catching a movie after dinner."
"Um, yeah sure. That would be great," I told her.
"Great," Alisha told me with a big smile on her face. "I'll pick you up at six," she told me.
"Okay," I told her and watched her disappear down the hallway with her friends.
"All right Hall," Jerry said when the girls were out of sight.
"Don't you just love my love matching skills," Brad said.
I threw the basketball at him. He went to catch it but he missed it and it bounced away. As Brad chased the ball I said, "like I was saying, Brad always has been a klutz."
Alex's POV:
Going through the stuff was even harder than I thought it would be. I was actually glad for the dim light in the attic as there were a couple times that I had to wipe tears away and I was trying not to let Charlie and Adam know. I think they did thought.
Between the two of them they were trying to keep a string of light conversation going for which I was thankful. The conversation helped me to keep from dwelling on what I was doing too much.
Right then, Charlie and Adam were busy making predictions for the NBA season. I was listening to the two of them but staying out of the conversation. I didn't mind watching basketball from time to time but didn't really follow it that much. I could probably name half the teams in the league and a few of the players but that was it. Half the time I wasn't even sure what Adam and Charlie were talking about.
And then Adam stopped talking in the middle of a sentence. I looked up from the stuff I was sorting through. Adam was standing there holding a couple of envelopes in his hands. He looked up from them and looked right at me. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn't want to tell me what he had found.
I walked over to where he was standing so I could look over his shoulder at the envelopes he was holding. As soon as I saw who they were from I understood why he was finding it hard to tell me what he had found. The envelopes were from an adoption agency and addressed to my mom and dad. Or should I say my adopted mom and dad. I reached out and slowly took the envelopes from Adam's hands.
"What did you find?" Charlie asked. He was still sitting on the floor next to the box he had been going through.
"Stuff from an adoption agency," I told him still looking at the envelopes.
"Why don't you open them. Maybe there is some clue to who you're birth parents were," Charlie said.
"That's what I'm afraid of," I told him softly.
"If you're not ready then put them up somewhere," Adam told me. "Wait to open them until you're sure you want to know."
"And if I never feel ready. If I decide I don't want to know anything about my birth parents?"
"Then leave them unopened."
"If you opened them you would have family again," Charlie said quietly from across the room.
"Would I? I mean how do I know they would even want anything to do with me? I mean they gave me up to begin with," I said.
"Is that what you're afraid of? Being rejected again," Adam asked me.
I thought for a moment. "Yes I guess it is."
"There could've been a lot of reasons you're parents gave you up for adoption. Maybe they weren't ready for a child? Maybe they didn't feel they could provide for you properly? You'll never know unless you find out who they were."
I thought about Charlie's words. I guess deep down I really did want answers to my questions. Ever since my mom had told me I was adopted there has been a part of me that wanted to know who I was. What reason did my birth parents have for giving me up? And Charlie was right. Part of me did want to have family. Sure the Larson's were great but it wasn't the same.
I sat down on a nearby trunk and opened the first envelope. The first letter was basically a letter to the Paris' telling them that a baby had come up for adoption. The second envelope I looked at had copies of all the adoption papers in it but know mention of the name or names of the people who were putting the baby, putting me, up for adoption. The third one however was different.
Inside the third envelope I found a short letter from my birth mother. It was basically a note telling the Paris' little things about me, like my sleeping habits, things that stopped me from crying, what kind of baby foods I liked and didn't like. There was also a photograph in it of me as a baby and a young woman. My birth mother. I knew what she looked like. If I wanted to track her down I had something tangible to go on.
I heard Adam let out a little gasp. He had been looking over my shoulder as I went through the envelopes. Charlie was still sitting across the room and I had been filling him in on what I was finding.
I looked at Adam wondering what was going on. He reached out for the photo and I handed it over to me. He took a closer look at it before standing up and walking toward Charlie.
"Charlie, take a look at this photo," he said as he handed the photo over to him.
Note: I know, its an evil place to stop it but I need to get to sleep. This will probably be the last update for the next couple of days, because as long as weather permits I'm going away for the weekend. Thanks to crazy4nc128, C-chan96, Banks99, Banksiesbabe99 and anne918 for reviewing chapter 10. Can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter.