Adopted by Heathers Cast

Tell Yourself How Lucky You Are

At the hospital, time seemed to blur. My ankle was in pain, but it didn't look like it was broken, at least according to Barrett. But it hurt, and I was scared.

What if I couldn't dance for a while? Or worse, I couldn't do Seussical?

"What is happening?" I mouthed to Barrett as the doctors put me on a hospital and wheeled me to God knows where.

"I don't know. I think they're doing an CT scan or something." Barrett shrugged. "Don't worry, it'll be okay. It's probably just sprained or something."

I sighed, and shut my eyes tight, wishing to be back home. And not at school, or the hospital.

"What's gonna happen to the girl that pushed me?" I asked to myself as the CT machine started. I didn't know if Barrett could hear me, and I don't think she even knew the answer to that question.

I hope she got expelled. I hope that all the bullying and the teasing would be over pretty soon.

I hope high school would be better than the torture that is eighth grade. I hope I can switch schools, even though I'd be leaving Axel, Red, and Cesca behind. I hope I can have a fresh start for freshman year.

But no promises, Catlynn. There are always gonna be Violet Gardners in the world.

I was so caught up in my daydreaming that I didn't notice Barrett shaking me back to reality. "Hey, it's over. They're looking at the pictures now." she said, scooping me up. It still hurt a little to walk, but it felt slightly better.

"It's not that bad." the doctor said, and I let out a sigh of relief. "It's just a little sprained. Catlynn, take it easy for a few days." I nodded and then we went home.

______

I limped into my apartment and flopped on the couch, only to find Elle on the phone and Jessica on her computer, typing furiously.

"Hello? Earth to Jessica..." I said, waving a hand in front of Jessica's face.

"Oh, um, hang on. Wait...Cat?" Jess said, slamming her computer closed. "Hey! I heard what happened. How's your ankle?"

"Sprained. But it's fine." I said. "Whatcha typing?" Jess sighed and said, "An email. To the principal of your school. I think half of the emails she gets are from me or Elle." Jessica laughed and said, "But seriously, that girl that pushed you needs to be expelled."

"We're gonna be known as the family who gets kids expelled." I said, laughing. "And also, it's not her fault I sprained my ankle. I sprained it trying to force a door open. I tried to open it, and I tripped and fell."

"WELL, WHY CAN'T YOU DO ONE GOOD THING FOR MY DAUGHTER?" I heard Elle scream into the phone. I tried to stifle my giggles, for some reason watching Elle scream was funny to me.

"Who's she talking to?" I asked Jessica. Jessica laughed and said, "Who do you think she's talking to? The school principal!"

Jess and I watched in awe as Elle kept screaming into the phone.

"I'm gonna get in so much trouble." I said. Jessica laughed and said, "No, you're not. Elle's probably gonna get banned from the school if she keeps this up, though. That won't be good."

"No, it won't." I said.

"Okay, okay, okay, hang on. So, you're saying that my daughter getting locked in a basement is her fault? And that other girl did nothing wrong?" Elle screamed.

"This does not look like it's gonna end well." I whispered. Jessica giggled and said, "Yep."

Elle hung up the phone and sighed. "So, the principal's gonna talk to you on Monday." She threw her phone on the couch and said, "Let's hope it's good news."

"With my luck, I'm getting suspended and I have to have a court-ordered companion for 180 days." I said, slightly laughing. "But seriously, why does all the bad stuff happen to me?"

"I don't know Catlynn. Maybe it's a test. Maybe the world is testing how strong you are. And in my book, you're passing with flying colors, Sunshine." Jessica said. I cracked a slight smile, and Elle sat down with her head in her hands.

"That was the most chaotic phone call of my life." Elle said, sighing. Jessica and I laughed and Jess said, "Yeah. We know. We heard the entire thing."

"You didn't hear the principal's end of the call. God, she's a monster." Elle said. I laughed and said, "You should see how she acts in person. She's a jerk sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Jessica said. "Sunshine, if she wasn't a jerk, Violet would be expelled a long time ago. Now Elle, what happened?"

"Okay, um, so I explained the situation and she didn't believe me, which was ridiculous. I said because of it, Cat sprained her ankle, and she had the audacity to say that it was a 'lie.' Like, why would I lie about that? And then she said that I wasn't her real mother, and I almost started crying, but then she clarified that she believed the adoption wasn't legit. Like, she's claiming I kidnapped her for publicity." Elle said.

"Hold up. Did the principal accuse you of kidnapping Cat? Cause that's just ridiculous." Jessica said, and Elle nodded.

"Yeah. And that's when I got mad and started to scream at her. And now I'm worried she's gonna call the cops on me." Elle said. "Just in case, I informed the police and the superintendent. So I'm pretty sure we're good. Don't worry, Sunshine. It'll be okay." I nodded, even though I didn't totally believe her.

"I hope this bullying crap will all be over soon." I said.

"Maybe it will, maybe it won't. But, you're gonna be a high school freshman in September, which I can't believe. My little Sunshine is growing up fast. Soon you'll be off to college and getting a real job and getting married." Elle said.

"Woah, Elle, slow down. I'm 13 years old. I'm not getting married until I'm at least 30." I said.

"You better not." Jessica said under her breath. I laughed.

"Thanks for standing up for me." I said softly. Elle and Jess hugged me.

"I love you, Sunshine." Elle said.

"I love you guys, too."

AN: You guys are lucky. I was originally gonna have a much eviler plan for this chapter. I was already evil in my other two books, so I'm giving Cat a little break. Hope you enjoyed! Catch ya later!