Uptown Girl

13

"Did you guys hear about Josh?" Marcia said as Adelaide and her friends sat down at thier lunch table.

"No what happened?" Chelsey asked.

Marcia leaned in and the rest of the girls followed suit,"Well, I heard from Lizzie who heard from Connor who said Josh called last night and told him his mom was shipping him off to some boarding school in Denmark."

Adelaide feigned surprise. "You're kidding," In truth she knew that Josh wouldn't be coming back to school. Last night she had gone to Josh's mother, Dianna and told her about everything.

Adelaide had known Dianna since she was a child. Dianna and her mother were part of the same friend group and were in the same book club.

Adelaide knew her mother secretly hated Dianna. Dianna was everything Emily SinClair would never be. She was dignified and kind. She naturally drew people in in a way Emily never could.

Emily and Dianna were polar opposites from Emily's bleach blonde hair and over the top jewelry to Dianna natural chocolate waves and simple but classy pearls. Emily always seemed like a person trying to be someone they were not while Dianna was a person who knew who she was and was content with herself.

Many people would have assumed Adelaide was Dianna's daughter. They both had the same easy confidence and natural beauty people should hate but their kind natures made them beloved by almost all.

Adelaide had thought about going to the police about Josh but as a courtesy to Dianna had decided to let her handle it how she would. Dianna had assured her Josh would be taken care of.

"Do you guys know why?" Chelsey asked.

"Well..." Marcia paused and glanced at Adelaide before continuing, "People are saying its because of what happened with Adelaide,"

"Well yeah, but boarding school in Denmark seems pretty extreme." Chelsey popped a fruit snack in her mouth, "I mean we all know he didn't mean to hit Adelaide. He was clearly aiming for Dallas."

Marcia and Chelsey started gossiping among themselves.

Adelaide pushed her lunch away, no longer feeling hungry.

Cherry noticed and leaned closer to Adelaide, "You okay?"

She nodded,"Fine, I'm just going to walk a little."

Cherry nodded. "Okay, let me know if you need anything."

It was Adelaide's turn to nodd. "I will."

She gathered her books and walked a couple paces away before turning back to survey her friend group. That was another thing about her life that looked perefect from an outsiders vewi. The four girls complemented each other. They were the kind of friends that just aesthetically looked nice. Marcia's hair was styled in a short black bob, Chelsey's family was from Spain and she big brown eyes and shoulder length chocolate curls. Cherry had her ionic red hair that curled at the bottom and Adelaide with her long blond hair always stilled in soft waves that fell down her back. They simply looked perfect. Even their personality's aligned nicely even if Cherry and Adelaide were closer friends and Marcia and Chelsey were their own pair, preferring to slip off and gossip while Cherry and Adelaide did their thing.

Adelaide couldn't pay attention during English class. She hadn't slept much the past few days since talking with Josh's mom.

The first night she had woken up at 3 in the morning with nightmares that sent her running to the bathroom to throw up.

The past two nights she had spent staring at her ceiling for hours on end.

She was starting to look like a zombie.

"Are you okay?"

Adelaide was pulled out of her thoughts. She looked to her left to see Ponyboy staring at her. "What?"

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice low so Mr.Symes wouldn't yell at them for talking in his class.

She forced a smiled. "I'm fine. Why?" He shrugged, "Dunno, you just seem real outta it."

"Oh yeah, just tired." The conversation about Josh had really rattled her.

Ponyboy nodded and turned back to his notes.

Adelaide bit her lip and debated whether or not she should ask her question. "Hey, do you know where Dallas is? I haven't seen him in awhile."

It had been three days since she had heard from him.

Pony looked at her, "Oh, Dal's in the cooler."

"Mr.Curtis and Miss.SinClair! No talking in my class, I will not tell you again."