Page 6 of No Ordinary Girl
My mother extended her hand to him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Cedric... uh… Mr. Black.” There was a hint of giggle in her voice. She was clearly ‘smitten’ as the old folks say. I suppose he is kind of attractive (for an older man).
“Call me Cedric, please.”
“Oh okay… Cedric,” she agreed, all girly-like.
Please mom, do not embarrass me right now.
I shot a look over in dad’s direction. He was still slack-jawed.
“I’m afraid I’m guilty, too,” my mom pointed to my dad. “This is my husband Nelson, and our little girl Kylie.”
They both smiled sweetly at Kylie. “It’s nice to meet you all,” Simone said kindly.
Mom turned to me. “And this is our exceptional Annabelle.”
Wow. Just wow. My mom never calls me Annabelle, and she’d never once in her life called me exceptional. Let’s face it, I get Bs and Cs, and can’t master the guitar no matter how hard I try. And I’m completely useless at sports. It’s a wonder I can even walk without tripping on some days.
Exceptional.I liked it.
“Come with me,” my mom urged. I followed her to the kitchen and helped her with the water. She asked me to pour a bowl of pretzels. You’d think we’d have something better to offer our guests. I followed her back to the living room and my hands were shaking as I set the bowl on the coffee table.
I didn’t know why I was so nervous. I guess it was because I wanted this. I really wanted this. I had a feeling this could change my life. This could give me the chance to really belong, and to make a difference in this world.
Kylie and Simone were in the middle of a conversation. “I like your red scarf.”
Simone adjusted her wire rimmed glasses over her delicate nose. “Why, thank you, Kylie.”
“You guys are fancy people,” Kylie added, and the room filled with laughter. “You’re here to take away Anna to that loony school?” she asked with the most adorable pout I’d ever seen.
Oh God…
She must have heard us say those words. In the early days, when RAMS first reached out to us, we were skeptical. We thought they were just a bunch of quacks.
“Uh… Kylie, honey,” my mom broke in. “Why don’t you go with Daddy, and work on that Barbie house you two were building.”
Hint. Hint.
“Yes,” Dad clued in. “Let’s go, sweetie.”
Dad left with Kylie, and Mom attempted to do damage control. “Kids… you know how they are.”
Simone smiled. “I know. I have three of my own.”
“Thank you so much for traveling all the way over here to meet with Annabelle. We really appreciate it.”
And we do not think your school is a loony bin.
“It’s our pleasure. We’ve been following Annabelle’s story in the news for some time, and I quite agree that she’s an exceptional young lady.”
Annabelle’s story. I knew it wasn’t really my story. It was Calista’s story.
I twirled my hair. I couldn’t stop myself – nervous habit. At least I’d found something to do with my right arm. I really hate being the center of attention.
Simone reached into her briefcase and pulled out a sleek black notebook. She clicked her pen. “You are sixteen years old, Annabelle?”
“Yes, in a few weeks.” My damn silly heart was still pounding. My knee was bouncing like crazy and my mom, who was sitting right next to me, pressed her hand on it to settle me down.
“I know we’ve already discussed this over the phone,” Simone went on, “but I want to go over it one more time.”
