Nadine and Adele

Being a Good Person

When it comes to coordinating the clothes she wears, Adele Wilson doesn't rely upon fashion sense; but utilizes her inner sense instead. If an outfit feels comfortable...and more importantly, if it makes her feelgood...then she'll happily wear it. This method of dressing has subjected Adele to frequent scrutinizing critique and brutally insensitive and humiliating comments over her wardrobe selection; especially dealt out at the hands of Christy Rosenberg and her followers...and others like them...who allow their clothing choicest o be dictated by the fashion dogma prescribed in periodicals such as "Teen Vogue" and "Shout" magazines.

But that doesn't matter to her. Adele's the kind of person who likes what she likes; and not the kind who likes what others say she should like. And for this, Adele is typically much happier than those who rigidly conform to the latest trend just because everyone else is. Unfortunately, sometimes happiness can come with a cost. For Adele, it's usually ridicule and isolation.

Today, Adele's dressed in light blue overalls; a white, flower-print turtleneck; outdated canvas sneakers...or 'Bo Bo's' as they were once commonly referred to as...and a floppy, 70s fashioned denim sunhat adorned with a big, plastic daisy. And as she care freely strolls through the schoolyard during lunchtime, students are snickering and pointing at Adele while making demeaning comments about her attire; sharing them with each other, or addressing them at her directly.

Eventually, she walks by Christy's group sitting at a table eating lunch. As the leader of the pack, Christy's naturally obliged to make the first comment; which she readily throws out...

"Nice ensemble there, Freak. Were they having a fall special at the Goodwill?"

Leah, who is essentially Christy's little 'lapdog', takes it upon herself to follow up by cruelly remarking, "Yeah...that must be the latest collection in the retard fashion line."

They start to mean-spiritedly laugh just as Nadine, who just so happened to catch Leah's insensitively cruel insult, walks up behind them and shouts...

"She's not a retard!" She looks to Adele. "I think you look nice."

"Thank you."

"You want to eat lunch with me?"

This was more uncharted territory for Adele. No one had ever asked her to eat lunch with them before; she usually ate by herself. Although still slightly overwhelming to her, Adele's beginning to find it easier to accept these unbelievably extraordinary events as not so much a case of her must be dreaming, but indeed, a reality. She immediately accepts with a gracious smile and an appreciative...

"Yes."

"Great. Come on..." Nadine looks reproachfully at Christy's table, "let's go find a better class of people to be around."

As they're walking away, Christy glares at Nadine.

Adele leads Nadine to a lone tree at the other end of the schoolyard; far away from the area that most of the students usually congregate to have their lunch. This is where Adele has her lunch. It's kind of apropos; just her...often being shunned by the rest of her classmates...and a tree...standing alone by itself...keeping each other company.

"I like to eat my lunch here...if it's okay with you?"

"It's fine."

"Thanks."

Adele sits down under the tree, gets her lunch from out of her backpack and starts eating. Then Nadine sits down next to Adele and places her lunch tray off to the side for the moment.

"Adele; you know...you shouldn't let people talk to you like that."

"Like what?"

"Tease you...call you names. It's not right."

Adele sounds resigned as she looks downward and responds, "I guess...but what can I do?"

"Uh...you tell them to knock it off...or give it back to them."

Adele shakes her head, "No...that would be wrong."

Though not directed at Adele, Nadine appears perturbed over the situation. "And what they're doing's wrong...so why not give them a taste of their own medicine?"

There had been one other person almost as close to Adele in her life as her grandmother is...and that was Grandpa Joe. Adele looks to Nadine and explains...

"Before my Grandpa Joe died, he used to tell me that when people are mean to me, it's because they're uncomfortable because they don't understand me. Or that they couldn't help it, because they were just plain mean; and that's just the way they are. Either way, just because people are being mean to me, doesn't mean I should be mean back. It won't help none...if anything, it makes things worse; because then I'd be a mean person too. And being a mean person is way worse than having people be mean to me. That's what he'd say to me." She pauses briefly before concluding, "I just want to be good; so my Grandpa Joe would like the kind of person I am."

Adele returns to eating her lunch. Nadine tells her...

"I'm sure your grandpa would like the person you are, Adele. But I don't think he'd like the way people are treating you. You know; it's okay to stand up for yourself, Adele. I hope you realize that someday."

Adele stops eating and looks at Nadine for a brief moment; then resumes eating. Nadine puts her tray on her lap and starts eating her lunch. Though they sit together the whole lunch period, neither speaks again for the remainder of it; while they each think about what the other had said.