When To Put Trust On The Line

Part 18

I entered my house, finding it empty. My stress level went down a little. I had mostly been worried about Adele snooping through the window and wondering why I was getting a ride from Derrick Murphy. She would for sure figure out it was his car.

Thirty minutes later, Mom and Dad were home. It took me ten minutes to figure out how I could make sure they weren't going to be using one of the cars on the weekend. As I went downstairs to put my plan into action, I was interrupted by the front door suddenly opening. Adele marched into the front hall, slamming the door behind her. "Well!" she announced. She went into the living room where Mom and Dad were sitting. I followed her. "No more need to question where I've been, what I'm doing, or what time I'm coming home." She looked so excited it kinda scared me. "I got a job!"

Mom and Dad were just as shocked as me. "What?" Dad said.

Mom. "A job?"

Adele nodded proudly. "I'll be working with Jas now. I told you she'd hook me up." I stared at the grin on her face.

Dad asked, "What kind of job is this?"

"A job at the convenience store." Adele shrugged. "Mostly late shifts."

Mom. "How late are we talking?"

"Most likely the latest shift. I don't know about the exact times yet, but I'm sure anything will be fine. Me and Jas are already night owls anyway."

I stepped forward. "What are you guys gonna be doing in the convenience store?"

"Just some basic cash register shit."

Mom. "Um... so what about-" She paused, as though carefully searching for the right words. "What about school? I mean, I thought you were on a temporary break. When does the break end?"

Adele looked away and shrugged. "I don't know. Some time soon probably."

"Some time soon..." Dad repeated.

Mom glanced at him, her eyes full of worry. "Um, do you plan on going back to continue school?"

Adele sighed, frustration creeping onto her face now. "Who said I wasn't planning on continuing?"

"Well," Mom spoke in the calmest voice. "If you get a job here, that must mean that you're planning on staying here. I mean, logically right?"

Adele shrugged again. "I don't know... I guess..."

Dad. "So what does this mean for school? Are you not interested anymore?"

Adele sighed, more forcefully this time. "Dad, I was never interested to begin with."

Dad rubbed his chin. "So then, this leads you to looking at, the option of dropping out?"

Adele looked annoyed. "Honestly, don't worry about it. I got this under control.

Dad leaned forward. "Control?"

"Yeah. I may just need time to figure things out. That's all."

Mom and Dad looked at each other. They seemed to be having a hard time processing Adele's words. But I understood my sister perfectly. She meant only one thing: she wanted to drop out of college. Correction: she was dropping out of college. I couldn't bring myself to be surprised about it since I knew school was never her favourite place to begin with. Same with me, but there was a difference - she was great with popularity but not so much with the school work, while for me, it was the opposite.

Before my parents could speak, Adele quickly added, "I'm only telling you guys so I won't get attacked every single time I come in late. You'll now know it's for work and you won't have to worry about it. Okay?" Mom and Dad were speechless. "Now, if you don't mind me, I'm gonna go upstairs." Adele spun around and bounded up the stairs.