The Sunshiners

Chapter 2

Adele pulled out her headphones as she approached the bus stop, hurriedly putting them on so she would have an excuse not to talk to anyone. Her headphones were big and heavy; an old pair of her dads that were once top-of-the-line, but were now old and the bass had gone in them. She liked how people wouldn't talk to her when she had them on, though.

Among the people at the bus stop, there was a girl who Adele was familiar with. Anna McAnn. Adele went to primary school with her, but they'd lost touch over the years. They used to say hi to each other in passing, and then the hi's turned into nods. Sometimes there'd be a half-second of eye contact before Adele quickly looked away. At this point, they both mostly just pretended not to see each other. Adele hated being so awkward around her. She'd been good friends with Anna when they were little. She used to call her McAnna. She wondered if people still called her that.

Arianna Grande played in her headphones as the 44 bus came and they all got on. Despite the cold air outside, the bus was so hot it was hard to breathe, and it smelled of McDonald's. Adele would have loved to start her day with a McDonald's breakfast–if she could've afforded it–but lately she'd been promising herself to eat better, to make sure the bit of weight she'd lost would stay off. She'd always seen signs in the things that happened and took her illness over Christmas as a sign she was meant to lose weight. That, and not eat expired yogurt pots.

When some space freed up after a few stops, she brought out her old Android phone and looked through an app for new memes, spending the rest of the journey on her phone.

The courtyard leading up to the main steps of Brentworth Secondary School was filled with kids, either rushing or milling about. Most were in the charcoal-grey uniforms of the school. A part of Adele missed wearing those bland uniforms, as it meant she could blend in better and never had to think about what to wear. It wasn't until last year when she started AS Levels that she got to wear her own clothes, and realised that choosing how to look represented who you were. She noticed the nice dresses and tops that some of the other girls wore, or their in-season shoes and bags. It wasn't until last year that Adele knew what 'in-season' meant. And she was still stuck with a wardrobe mostly of old clothes or even older hand-me-downs from her cousins.

She kept her head down and placed her headphones over her neck - keeping them on had the opposite effect in school and gave some jokers a chance to knock them off or ask what she was listening to.

As she went in through the main double doors of A Block, the blast of heaters over the threshold ruffled her hair and caused her to self-consciously smooth out the damage.

"Heeey!" a voice called out among the roar of people.

Adele looked up and down the hallway for the distinguished voice. Then she saw, clearing a path through a group, her favourite person in the world.

Xena was wearing a bright red tank top and black tights that showed off her curvy figure and big boobs. Her hair was a wild tangle of black and looked amazing flowing around her as she ran up to Adele. She stopped and panted loudly, making a show of having run through the hall. Others looked at her and smiled. Adele knew she liked the attention.

Adele squeezed her in a big hug. "Happy Birthday!"

Xena struck a pose with her hands pointed at herself, like she was in a photoshoot. "What do you think of my badge?"

"Very subtle," Adele said, eyeing the huge badge on Xena's bag strap that said '17' in glitter font. "I love it."

"And I love you," Xena said loudly, throwing her arms up in another big pose.

She was in a great mood today, and she should be. Adele just wished she could have afforded to buy her a present. Xena was always buying her small gifts or drinks.