Family Portrait (Fam Series #1)

Chapter 5 - Sacred Heart College, Newtown

Adeline Isobel's POV:

I've noticed something ironic and simultaneously irritating about myself.

I am such an ungrateful cow.

I complain about working in the cafe 24/7, and always say I'd rather be at school, but then when I step into school...

I always wish I could be back in the cafe.

I don't know what I want in life anymore.

"Sorry about the delay Addie, surely the school will understand" my bus driver says, as he drops me out the front of my school.

"Yeah, they're surely gonna understand that my bus driver of ten years took the wrong route and ended up in Ocean Grove and Geelong before Drysdale. I'll walk it next time" I say, departing the bus, swinging my bag over my shoulder and walking into the administration office.

"Adeline Pl-"

"I think it's quite obvious who I am, I need a late pass" I say, cutting her off before she can say my surname.

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed" the receptionist says, going over to the late arrivals book.

"That could very well possibly be true, if I had a bed" I say. She rolls her eyes at me.

"Always the drama queen, aren't you? What's the excuse today?" She asks.

"I had a problem with the bus, you can call the busline company if you don't believe me" I say. She glares at me.

"I'm shocked. Usually you'd blame your niece or family, but never your bus driver" she says, handing me the late slip.

Name - Adeline
Homeroom - Lonsdale 2
Reason for being late - slept in.

"Excuse me, but I did not sleep in!" I argue.

"Miss Pl-"

"It's Adeline" I snap.

"Adeline, lying will get you nowhere in life. Go to class" she orders. I make sure to discreetly give her the middle finger before leaving the administration block.

I'm halfway late through period one when I enter the classroom, and my maths teacher isn't the kindest soul going around, so when I rock up at the door, she isn't too impressed.

"Why are you late?" She asks me, disrupting the whole class from their work. I put my bag under the table as I sit down.

"Had a problem with the bus, although the demon in the office seems to think I slept in" I say, standing up and giving the teacher my late pass.

"This isn't good enough, Adeline. Your attendance has been absolutely appalling this year" she says, I sit down again.

"Didn't realise you were the attendance taker" I say, rolling my eyes as I open my textbook and grab a pen.

"Why is your bag not in its locker?" She asks.

"The lockers are, well, locked between the last morning bell and recess, so I can't access them" I say.

"Definitely not good enough. I will be asking the principal to contact your father about this" she says.

"You do that" I say back, sighing.

I try to breeze through maths but as usual, I'm just not good with numbers. In my mad rush to leave the house this morning, I didn't have time to eat or drink anything, so now I'm starving, but I'm used to it.

I also can't seem to get a certain curly haired boy off my mind.

I feel my cheeks heat up as I think about Charlie, and start mindlessly writing his name in the bottom corner of my textbook.