Adopted by Gabbie Hanna

5: I Confuse My Entire School

Gabbie POV

   I had a surprise for Beth that night. We were going back to where she used to live and seeing her friends. After lunch, I pulled the plane tickets out of my pocket and yelled, "Surprise!" Beth jumped back as she processed the information. "Where are we going?" she asked. "We're going somewhere special," I answered.
She look closely at them, and she opened her mouth wide in shock. "No. Freaking. Way," she said, "I don't believe you." I smiled wide and said, "Well you better, because we're going. You should go pack for a 3-day trip." She squealed as she jumped up and down. "I'm going to see all my friends!" she squealed, and she ran to her room to go pack.

Beth POV

   We landed at the DFW airport pretty early in the morning. I was super exhausted, because I can't sleep on planes, and our flight was at night. We got Starbucks to wake ourselves up, and left the airport in an Uber. I had to tell the guy my address though. At least I technically don't live there anymore.
   When we got to my house, I spread my arms out like a tour guide and said, "This is my house." "It's bigger than our apartment," she responded. We went in through the garage because I didn't have a key. When I opened the door, all of my memories came flooding back. Laughing, playing, crying, spending time with family and friends.
Tears started to form in my eyes. None of these memories felt the way that I would feel for the rest of my life. None of them had a looming hole in the background, right in the core of my heart. Gabbie put her arm around me, almost as if she knew I needed it. It was probably just my wet eyes.
I slowly walked into the kitchen. I remembered eating around the kitchen table with my family. A single tear escaped my left eye. "I love your table!" Gabbie exclaimed, "where'd you get it?" "It used to look ugly," I responded, "my Mom painted it." She realized her mistake and stepped back (figuratively) from the conversation. We slowly went through the house until we made it up to my room. I set my backpack and my new suitcase down, and then left the room.
"Where do I sleep?" Gabbie asked. I hadn't thought about that. "The extra bedroom?" I said, "I'll show you where it is." We went downstairs, and into the extra bedroom. She set her bags down, and then asked, "Where's the haunted bathroom?" "Oh, that bathroom?" I answered, "that's the one guests take a shower in." I smirked and said, "Good luck." I walked into my haunted guest bathroom and said, "I'm in there right now." She came in there with me and said, "I can do this."
"I think I'm ready to pick my stuff up from school, but I'm hungry. Can we eat first?" I said. She nodded her head, said, "Sure," and we went to Chipotle.

                                     ~~~

   After eating, we went to my school. I told the lady at the front office who I was, and she immediately let me in. I went to my Theater class to pick up my costume from a presentation we had to do. Then I went to my Home Economics class to get my folder. When I went in the Band room to pick up my flute, I could hear the sounds of the 6th grade flute players. It made me smile. I picked up my English journal from my English classroom.
   When I walked into the History classroom, I realized that it was 5th period. All of the kids in the room were from my class, and there was a new student teacher too. "Do we have a new student?" the student teacher asked, "or are you lost?" The teacher said, "She used to be in this class." "Oh," the student teacher said. "I'm just here to pick up my folder," I explained, "and I'm never coming back here." I picked up my folder, but one classmate, Abigail, said, "I'm sorry for your loss." "What did they tell you?" I asked. "That your family died in a car crash, and that you had to move away," she responded. I stared at her, straight in the face, and said, "They lied to you. My family was murdered, and I was there. I had to move away for my safety." Everyone's eyes widened, and Abigail burst into tears. The bell rang just as I was about to apologize for making her cry. I guess it was too late now. Then I heard, "Oh my god. Are you Gabbie Hanna?" and left the room with everyone else.
   When I left the room, I saw my friend Marie taking a picture with Gabbie. "Wait," Marie said, "why are you here?" "Marie?" I said. She turned to face me. "Oh. My. God," she gasped, "is it really you? And Gabbie? At once?" I laughed and said, "Yes. It is."
   I launched into the full story, and the bell rang. She stayed anyways, and I kept talking until I finished my story. "I have to go to class now," she announced as we hugged. "I'll text you, and remember, there's no 12am," I said as we parted ways, and she went to her next class. "Was that an inside joke?" she asked, "the 12am thing?" "Yeah," I answered, "we have a lot of those."
   I didn't need anything back from Math or Science, so I was done. As I left the school I said, "Goodbye. I'll never see you again." When the Uber drove away, I watched my old life vanish behind me.