X-Kid

Much More Beautiful Person

I walked into the last hour of the school day one Friday afternoon, still laughing to myself about something Jack had said in Biology. I plopped into a desk near the back of the room, knowing my English teacher wouldn’t call on me at all anyway. I noticed an older man, dressed nicely with slightly graying hair talking to the teacher at her desk. I wondered what he was doing here, but didn’t question it.

Students filed into the classroom slowly, talking to each other animatedly while I just stayed quiet, like always. My eyes wandered to the whiteboard at the front of the room, noticing the name ‘Craig Hamilton’ scrawled on it in messy handwriting. My heart pounded fiercely in my chest. It had to be a coincidence. I couldn’t be him, could it?

I looked back at the man talking to my teacher, scanning his features as closely as possible. I didn’t know what I was trying to find, but I needed answers. Why was he here? Was he the person I thought he was?

The bell rang, and my teacher left her desk to talk to the class. She explained that we had a guest speaker today, and we were free to talk to him after class if we so chose. The man stood at the front of the class now, thanking my teacher for the introduction before he begun speaking.

“Hello,” he greeted. “I’m Craig Hamilton, and I was asked by your school counselors to talk to the Sophomore class about business management, since that’s the field of work I’m in. I am the owner of a local food processing company, and it’s located about 30 miles outside of Baltimore, where I live...”

I didn’t hear the rest of what he said. This man was exactly who I thought it was: my biological father. It simply had to be. There were far too many coincidences for it to just be some random stranger.

I squirmed impatiently in my desk for the whole hour, watching as he spoke to the class with ease. He had no idea who I really is, his own daughter sitting in this classroom. How could he know? Would I tell him? I was terrified, and all I wanted was someone to help me. Too bad none of my friends were in this class.

The bell rang once more, signaling the ending of school for the day. My classmates left the room in a hurry, leaving me to go up and talk to the man responsible for giving me life. He seemed like a good guy, so why did my mom insist on never telling him about me? Thoughts swam in my head as I made my way up to him, nervousness coursing through my veins.

“Excuse me,” I said, my voice shaky and wavering. He turned to me, smiling gently. “Hi. Um, I’m Nora Adams. Listen, uh, this is crazy, but I think you might know my mom? I just recognized your name from stuff she’s told me.”

“What’s your mom’s name? Perhaps I remember her,” he replied.

“Laurie. Laurie Adams,” I responded. My hands began to tremble from how anxious I felt, so I get a grip on the straps of my backpack to keep them still.

A look of recognition crossed his face. “Ah, yes! You look a lot like her come to think of it. How is she doing nowadays?”

“She’s good,” I mentioned with a slight nod. “Um, she told me she dated you for awhile, is that correct?”

“It was sort of a fling, yes. I thought you came up here to ask me questions about business though?” He asked, an eyebrow raised in questioning.

I cringed. “Well, um, I really hate to say this right here, right now, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get an opportunity again so...I...I...I think I’m your daughter. At least, my mom is pretty sure you are.”

He looked astonished. “Look, I don’t know who you are, but that’s not a funny joke, okay kid? I have two kids, a boy and a girl, and they are both out of high school. I’m not your daddy. I just can’t be,” he replied.

“Come on,” I said, exasperated. “Think! You were with my mom almost 16 years ago, and guess what? I’m almost 15 and a half. It’s the perfect time frame.”

He wouldn’t look me in the eye anymore. “Get out of here, kid. School’s over, and you probably have to catch a bus or something. Go.”

My heart sank, and I sped out of the room as fast as my feet could take me, barely even noticing Jack standing outside of the classroom and waiting for me. “Hey, what took you so long? Usually you come right out.”

I couldn’t speak. My mind was replaying the moment that just happened over and over, trying to process it. I shouldn’t have said anything. I mean, who would believe some random girl coming up to them and telling them they are your kid? It didn’t change the fact that it hurt though. I didn’t realize how much I had hoped that would’ve gone well.

“Nora? Nora, what’s wrong?” Jack prodded, concern showing on his face.

“I just...can we go to your house now? It’s Friday after all,” I said, trying to distract myself. Fridays were the days that Jack’s mom picked us up from school and took us back to their house to hang out. I always looked forward to it, but today was a little different.

“Not until you tell me what’s going on,” he declared, staring back at me intently.

“I’ll tell you when we get there, okay? Let’s just go, please,” I begged, my voice coming out slightly choked.

“Come on, I’m worried. You look like you’re about to burst into tears,” he commented.

To be honest, I was surprised I wasn’t crying already. In that moment, the door to my English class swung open, and my dad walked down the hallway with a briefcase in hand, not even glancing our way. “That man right there is why I’m upset.”

“What? Why? Who is he?” Jack questioned.

My vision became blurry as tears filled my eyes. “Jack, that’s my dad.”

His eyes widened. “Wait, what? Are you serious?”

I nodded, a drop rolling down my cheek now. Jack pulled me into a tight hug and I cried into his shoulder, sobs shaking through my whole body being muffled by his t-shirt. We stood there in the middle of the hallway like that for a few minutes before we finally started heading out to Mrs. Barakat’s car. We were confronted by a plethora of questions once we got into the car, but Jack convinced his mom that things would be explained later. He kept a comforting arm around me the whole time, lightly tracing circles onto my waist with his finger.

I couldn’t believe I had been rejected by my own father. I wanted nothing more than to just hide in a hole and pretend I had never made a fool of myself, but I knew it couldn’t happen. Instead, I focused on Jack’s attempts to make me happy, which surprisingly worked. Little did I know, this whole thing was far from over. I would be seeing my dad again very soon.