Chapter 4

I was seven years old when I had fallen asleep in front of my Dad’s closed bedroom door. Rays of sunshine had woken me up. I was a little confused at first as to where I was and what had happened, but then I looked down at myself, and I was still sitting on that pink pillow with that book in my lap on page 32. I got up, closed the book, looked at my pretty watch that mom had given me. 9:20. Oh, no, no, no. I grabbed my book and the test but it in my bag, shoes on, jacket on and sprinted to school. School’s not far away, but it still takes me about 15 minutes to get there. Today I was there in seven. I ran through the empty school to my classroom and when I got there, I busted through the door and everyone looked at me. “I am so sorry Mrs. Addams, I overslept, my alarm clock must have stopped working or something because I never oversleep, I am so sorry Mrs. Addams”, I started blabbering. “Libby it’s okay, take a seat Hon, and we will talk after class”. I rushed to my seat next to May and I didn’t talk to her all period to pay extra good attention so Mrs. Addams wouldn’t be mad. After class, when everyone left to go play, Mrs. Addams sat down next to me. I was nervous. I had never been late before, I didn’t know what happens if you are late, and I was very late. “I am sorry Mrs. Addams”, I said again. “Elizabeth, I am not mad that you’re late. I just want to know if you and your Dad are doing okay. I know it must be hard ever since your mom left. You are such a bright kid Libby, I just want to make sure that you don’t have to do it all alone. Does your Dad help you with your homework, and wake you up in the morning?”, Mrs. Addams said in the same voice my Mom would use to comfort me if some kid had been mean to me or if the supermarket didn’t have my favorite icecream. “Yes he does wake me up, that was my fault today, and he does help with my homework. “, I said with a straight face. “Okay, then it is good. He must have been proud of you for getting that A plus”. “Yeah he was, he studied with me all week. He even hung the test on the fridge”, I lied through my teeth. That was the first lie I had ever told, at least the first one about something important. Before that it was always about wether I had eaten the last cookie or if stayed up until nine instead of 8:30 to finish reading my book. Mrs. Addams was satisfied with my answer and let me go outside to the other kids to play. I didn’t pack anything to eat or drink, but May let me have half of hers.