Two Faces

Chapter 7

   The next morning at about six thirty, I got up and woke Scarlet up for school. While we sat on the couch, watching a little bit of TV, Scarlet still looked like she was in a daze. "Come on, Scarlet. Talk to me," I said. She was not usually this quiet and Jetta had already gone to school. I was the only one who could get Scarlet to talk.

   But my friend only stared at the TV blankly. What could I do? How could I help her? I tried to get Scarlet to talk to me several times, but she wouldn't.

   About thirty minutes later, the bus came, and Scarlet and I got on, Scarlet stumbling along the way. On the bus, Scarlet barely looked at me and had that same blank stare as she looked out the window. I really did want to help her, but I felt helpless, looking at her occasionally, wondering what I should do.

   But there were other problems ahead. How was I going to tell Natalie how I gained a little sister in a matter of minutes? I would have to figure it out soon,because the bus was coming up to the high school.

   Natalie, Scarlet, and I usually ate breakfast together. I was usually the first one there, and then Scarlet and Natalie usually showed up a few minutes after I did. But today would be different, almost everything about today would be different. Scarlet walked alongside me as we walked to the cafeteria, but still did not speak. As we went through the breakfast line, Scarlet and I said our lunch numbers to the lunch lady at the computer. When Scarlet said her number, it was loud enough to hear, yet barely audible.

   When we both sat down, Scarlet didn't start eating. She pushed her tray forward, only to lay her head on the table, and cross her arms to cover her face. Then, I heard her start to cry again. All I could do was stare at Scarlet sadly.

   Where was Jetta when you needed her? I was sure that Jetta could comfort Scarlet and help her. When Natalie came in, I was reminded that I had to explain what was going on. When Natalie sat down, she looked from me to Scarlet, and looked confused.

   I was debating whether I should tell Natalie in front of Scarlet or not. I kept telling myself the same thing: Jetta should be here. It must have been two minutes of just sitting there before Natalie had had enough. "Addison," she said quickly. I quickly shifted my gaze from Scarlet to Natalie.

   "What's going on? What's wrong with Scarlet?" Natalie asked. I lowered my voice so only Natalie could hear. "Scarlet's parents and brothers got into a car crash and died on Friday night," I said.

   "And she's living with us now. She hasn't said a word to me since last night." I added. Natalie's face turned expressionless and we both looked at Scarlet. "Scarlet?" Natalie said quietly. Scarlet did not move. I longed for everything to go back to the way it was before Friday. But of course, it would never be normal again.

   But then I decided something. This had to stop. Right now. I grabbed one of Scarlet's arms and pulled it away from her face. "You need to at least eat something. If Jetta was here, she would say the same." I told Scarlet. She stared at me for a moment, but finally started to eat.

   I sighed with satisfaction. I felt proud of myself. That was something Jetta would have done. After we had all finished, we walked out of the cafeteria and began walking towards the high school building.

   As we walked, Scarlet strayed off away from me and Natalie, almost running into things. I had to grab and pull Scarlet back over to us several times. She was not paying attention to anything at this point! But I could not get angry with her, she was having a hard time. I had no doubt in my mind that first hour was going to be a struggle.