The Bench

You act so innocent now, but you lied so soon...

(This is a flashback episode)

Cecila opened the front door and allowed the heat of the house to envelope her as she stepped inside.
It had been freezing all week long. Not once had the temperature gone above 32 degrees.
She gratefully shed her backpack and layers as she made her way to her bedroom.
It had been a particularly tough day at school academically speaking. The current lesson of math just wasn't getting through to her. She had a nice cup of tea and warm socks on her mind when she opened the door to her bedroom to find Mrs. Woodfield sitting on her bed.

Wait...

Panic spread throughout her body. She immediately assumed a guarded position with her arms hugging herself. She wished she hadn't taken off her coat so soon, as the comfort would've done her good in this icy confrontation.

"Mrs. Woodfield..." Cecilia began.
"Cecilia," Mrs. Woodfield cut in before she could say anything else.
But, I've only been in this family for about 2 months! I didn't even have time to start anything! Much less cause trouble like this! In fact, this family seemed like the "perfect" family so far..
"Listen, honey," she said with another sigh.
Cecilia's thoughts raced. She combed through her every action, word, and even thought, trying to remember something that could've made her foster mother upset.
"We are very..." she paused to find the right word, "accepting, in this household. "But there are some things that make it hard for us to... be... that way..."
Mrs. Woodfield uncrossed, and crossed her legs, fidgeting with her fingernails.
"I'm sorry, I'm not very good at confrontation." She said while trying to sort her thoughts.
"I'm sorry..." Cecilia began with a small voice.
Mrs. Woodfield held up a finger. "While trying to find your homework, I stumbled upon your journal."

Cecilia's eyes widened.

"Now wait, before you speak. I wouldn't usually read it, but a piece of paper fell out, and I couldn't help but read my name."

Her heart stopped. She kept her drafts for her confessions in her journal... Mrs. Woodfield had read her confession!
"Wait, what?!" Cecilia started. "Hold on, that's... that's... supposed to be private... I don't understand... how could you..."
"Cecilia!" Mrs. Woodfield abruptly interrupted, "How could I!? How could YOU write those things about us?! I thought we could trust you! I thought you liked us!"
"But wait, that was never supposed to..." Cecilia began in vain.
"Never supposed to what!?" Mrs. Woodfield stood up and tossed her hands in the air. "Never supposed to be seen by me!? Well too late Cecilia! I don't understand why you're so "uncomfortable" around me! I try so hard to make a home that my kids will love, and you do this!"

She put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. "Listen Cecilia, I don't ever want to see something like that again. I'm afraid I'm going to have to revoke your after-school privileges unless I approve them."
Mrs. Woodfield moved past Cecilia and grabbed something off of the shelf behind her.
"And I'm sorry, but I'm going to confiscate this until I can think clearly."
Cecilia caught a glimpse of her journal disappearing into her apron pocket as Mrs. Woodfield excited the room.
She paused before she closed the door. "I promise I won't read it."

"Hey Cece!" Jake waved from the field.

"Hey Jake." Cecilia replied, flashing a halfhearted smile that disappeared as soon as it appeared. "Can we talk?"

Jake frowned. "Um, can it wait? We're almost done, I just need to put these in the locker room." He held up two duffle bags.

"Sure, I guess." Cecilia said. "Meet you at the food court?"

"Yep!" He called over his shoulder, already on his way to the locker rooms with the other guys.

"Yep..." Cecilia repeated quietly to herself.

Jake plopped next to Cecilia in a heap, opening a cold Gatorade. "Oh man C, practice was HARD today! I can't wait to tell you about it!" He began gulping his drink down.

"Um, actually Jake, is it okay if I tell you about what happened last night?" Cecilia asked, watching the blue liquid disappear behind his lips.

"Ahh" he gasped, and he wiped his mouth. "Yeah sure, go for it." He crushed the container and went for a shot at the trash can behind Cecilia.

"When I got home last night, Mrs. Woodfield was in my room." Cecilia began, staring at a blank spot on the wall behind Jake. She wrapped her arms around herself as she continued. "She just started lecturing me about how I'm making it so hard for them, and how she's trying so hard to make it a good home for me..."

"Oh man, C, I... don't know what to say. That sucks..." Jake said. He seemed a bit taken aback.

"Yeah. I don't really know what to do now..." Cecilia trailed off.

The two of them sat there for a good 5 minutes in silence.

Tristan, one of Jake's friends, jogged up with a gleeful grin.

"Jake! Coach wants to see you! I think it's a good thing!" He said, slapping him on the back.

"Oh, um," Jake said, shaking out of his strange behavior. "Yeah, tell him I'll be there in a minute." He looked back at Cecilia. "I should probably get back... um... I'm sorry that happened."

Cecilia sighed. He was always so busy with football; it seemed like they never got to talk anymore. "Yeah, okay. See you tomorrow then." She said looking down at her hands.

"Yeah, we'll talk, I promise!" He said as he stood up to leave.

"Sure." She muttered after he left. "Sure Jake..."