The Girl Who Was Adopted

Chapter 12 - You Know That Giraffes Don't Have Tusks

My phone rang beside my head and I moaned as I picked it up. I was tired, exhausted really, and being woken up by loud ringing in my ears was not helping. I had spent the entire night before working to catch up on both my homework and the work that I'd missed on the Thursday; it had been three days since I'd seen Tyler for the party, since I had bunked Thursday and he hadn't been at school on Friday. There was a part of me that was glad, I wasn't sure if I was ready to face him after everything that had happened.

I slid my finger across the screen and moaned into the receiver, "What do you want?"

"Sorry, did I wake you?" How was Kit sounding so energetic this early in the morning? I swear that kid was on crack.

"No, I was hunting giraffes for their tusks. You scared one off," I answered sarcastically.

Kit hesitated, "You do know that giraffes don't have tusks." He sounded awkward about being the person who had to break the news to me.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm so tired, it's so early. What do you want?"

"Oh, great, someone who's up with the times." What was that even supposed to mean? "We'll fetch you in like fifteen minutes," Kit answered. "See you just now."

He hung up before I could tell him to dream on because I was ready to go back to sleep. I climbed out of bed and into the shower. I was exhausted, I'd been working on my homework until after midnight, and now I was being forced to hang out with people. I had missed one day of school, and somehow there was more work to be done than I could have imagined.

Once I'd climbed out of the shower and tried my best to look somewhat acceptable, I checked the time; I had a few minutes to spare, it was thirteen past three in the afternoon. That's when I realised that I'd been sleeping for almost ten hours.

The party that Tyler and I had sneaked out to on Wednesday was still sitting at the back of my mind, I kept replaying it, over and over, trying to piece together how everything had fallen apart so quickly.

I pulled on my boots and slipped my phone into my pocket before grabbing my long board and heading downstairs. Phil was in the kitchen when I entered, and he greeted me with a smile.

"Morning sleepyhead," he teased. "Are you glad to have caught up on your sleep?"

"Ha ha," I smiled. "Yeah, I'm somehow still tired; after ten hours of sleep, you'd think that I'd be rejuvenated, but who knows. Is it okay if I go see some friends?"

"Of course, sweetie," Clare was smiling as she walked into the kitchen, looking bright and active. To my brain, it was still early morning and I needed coffee before I could be considered fully-human. "You need to take a break from studying."

"Thank you," I yawned as I heard the Dodge pull up outside. "Have a good day – well, afternoon."

"You too!" they called after me in unison as I walked out of the kitchen. I headed through the front door and pulled it closed behind me before walking slowly across the lawn, taking my sweet time. I wanted to get back at the boys for waking me so rudely. Kit opened the door and laughed at me as he watched me walk in slow motion.

I slipped into the back seat before Kit closed the door. I was too tired to greet either of them, and I wasn't sure how good my company would be.

"You clean up good, Green," Ryder smirked into the review mirror as Kit handed me the aux chord. The engine purred before we pulled off.

I plugged my phone in and switched on some relaxing music. "So, why did you guys randomly pick me up so early in the morning?" I asked, half joking.