The Ghost of the Lake

Chapter 30

After swimming practice I showered and then went down to dinner. Nelly had made a wonderful dish of steak with mashed potatoes, broccoli, and corn as sides.

I had just sat down when May comes into the room in one of her usual moods. She was making a big show of it. She was stomping her feet and her hands were clenched in fists. She was like a bear with a sore head. She fell down on her chair and put her head down.

"My! Someone is in a black mood," Nelly says as she hands me a plate.

May looked up and gave us a look that shot daggers. Nelly didn't notice it. She was busy putting the plates with food on the table.

Soon everyone else arrived for dinner. Rue wasn't in a great mood either. Jackson looked like he had been throwing a tantrum. I could tell that a dark cloud hung over the dinner table. If any one said the wrong thing, it would start to pour rain with lightning and thunder.

We started to eat in silence. Nelly gave Rue a sympathizing look. Rue's expression softened. Aunt Rose didn't want to say anything. Meadow followed her mother's example and also ate in silence. May was playing around with her food. You could tell that a storm was brewing between her and Nelly. Nelly had low tolerance for people picking at their food. Jackson was eating slowly. How strange. He usually finishes his dinner before anyone else.

I cleared my throat and said, "I'll have my first swimming meet tomorrow."

Blank faces from everyone around the table. I wished I had just kept my mouth shut like everyone else. All of a sudden Nelly smiles and so does Rue.

"Well good luck tomorrow," Aunt Rose says with a smile.

"Thanks," I say appreciatively.

"What time tomorrow?" Rue asks.

"At ten in the morning," I reply.

"Oh. We'll be awake by then," he replies with a grin.

May rolls her eyes and pops a piece of broccoli into her mouth. She then starts making the most extraordinary sculpture out of her mash potatoes.

"So, tomorrow is also the fair," I say. I had sort of been looking in forward to it.

"There will be a fair?" Nelly asks.

Reu nods and says, "Yeah, I hadn't known until I saw rides being brought in."

"Well I'll sure enjoy it," Aunt Rose said.

"I'll be going to watch Leo's baseball game after my meet," I say.

"I guess we could all go and support the baseball team," Rue added.

I was about to say sure when Nelly gave May a tongue lashing. "May, stop playing with your food!" She roared.

She stopped and started eating it. Then she dropped her spoon so suddenly it made me jump a little. She stood up and said, "If I could be excused, I would like to go upstairs and clean my room."

I gaped at her. Clean her room! She was lying of course, but Parents didn't know that. They would think that she was being serious. Still, couldn't she have come up with something more believable?

My parents excused her and she jogged upstairs.

"She doesn't look like she is in a good mood," Aunt Rose says.

Nelly shakes her head.

"She's not in a good mood," Rue clarifies.

"Why?" Nelly asks.

"I wouldn't let her walk Balto in the woods," he replies. "The worst part about it was that Jackson wanted to go too," he adds.

"Oh my," Aunt Rose says. "Doesn't she know the dangers that she could face in there?"

"She knows. She was just being stubborn," Nelly says.

"She always wants to get her way," I add.

"Well she should start to learn that that is not always going to happen," Meadow says.

"You could have just told her that there were ticks and that she would contact them. She would have stopped complaining," I say. Of course, everyone ignored me.

I finish what May had left because I just can't let food go to waste. I was, although, too full to finish it. I dumped what was left on the ground so Balto could lick it off.

The adults started to talk about how kids these days were spoiled. I looked at Meadow, who had finished her dinner a while ago but had no where to go.

I mouth the words, Do you want come with me?

She nods and excuses herself. I stand up and grab my plate. I walk around the table and gather everyone else's plate. I walk into the kitchen and lay the dirty plates in the sink. It's May's turn to wash the dishes. I hope she washes them so I don't have to wash them tomorrow.

We walk out of the kitchen and walk upstairs into my room. I could hear May listening to really loud Rap music in her room as I entered my own room. She usually listens to rap music when she is mad and is trying to calm down. I'm the total opposite; I listen to classical music. Nothing works better than listening to Beethoven symphonies.

Meadow gives me a look of surprise at the type of music May listens to. Especially what type of language it has in it.

"She sure has a taste of music," she says.

"Yeah I know. Its either Pop or Rap. She can't seem to get enough of it," I say. Then I ask, "What type of music do you like?"

"I like to listen to Country music. And you?" She replies.

That question got me by surprise. I never really gave it much thought about what type of music I like. I don't really know. So I say, "I guess I like a little bit of everything."

"Oh. So do you want to go outside?" She asks me.

I didn't really have anything else to do. Plus I think it would do Balto good to walk a bit. "Do you want to go walk Balto?"

"Sure."

***

Once we got home it was late. It wasn't dark yet but it is summer. Days are longer in summer. It was around 9:45 when we entered the house. Nelly was a bit cross that I had been out late, but she let it slip by. I hung Balto's leash on a nail that was sticking out of the wall, for some reason, in the garage.

I walked upstairs. Meadow beside me. "Do you ever feel like an outcast in your own home? I mean, you do look like you were adopted," She says to me suddenly.

The question leaves me stumped for a while. I lost all awareness around me for a couple of seconds. No one had ever told me to my face that I looked adopted. The thought of me being adopted had never even come to my mind. I mean, I am the only girl, correction, person in the family with black hair; and I am the only person in the family that inherited Gramp's skin color; and I guess to someone else, someone who doesn't know my family, they would...probably think...I'm............adopted.

I stayed silent. Meadow realized that I was uncomfortable. She bowed her head and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to ask that question so brashly."

I shook my head and said, "Its getting really late. I should go get ready for bed," and walked into my room without another word.

I don't remember Meadow ever being this immodest. I'm not adopted. I have many similarities with my family. Like Nelly and I both love dark chocolate, and how I inherited Rue's ways, we both like only certain types of meat, and how we show ourselves to other people: we both seem cold on the outside.

I go to sleep reassuring myself that I'm not adopted. I shouldn't really let it bother me, but I can't help it. I know I'm not adopted.