Charlotte Geller(Jannah Lee) “That’s probably Evan” I say getting up from the couch. My name is charlotte; I am a sixteen year old girl, with wavy brown hair almost to my elbows, and a kind heart, most of the time. I have a date tonight, with a boy named Evan who kept hitting on me while I was working on a science project at a friend’s house. My ex boyfriend is dating his younger sister. His name is Ryan; I stayed at his house a couple months back. I was upset because my older brother Joshua told me I was adopted by accident and that they wanted a boy instead of me. I ran away with a packed bag. we live in Texas, in the suburbs. I stayed at his house while his family was at a hotel for the weekend, so I spent the night.

We made love that night, it was dark and raining. The next morning I woke and had found myself next to him in his guest bedroom, torn pillow cases, the legs on the bed snapped. I went back to sleep and Ryan woke me up an hour later only for me to see the nanny, Kendal, a blonde thirty year old who watches Ryan and his little brother. She was standing in the doorway, her jaws wide open, staring at us. I hid behind the covers, to cover my naked body. She told us she was going to tell, and then ran out. Ryan and I quickly dressed and I went home. my parents told me that josh was lying and they grounded him for a month.

Ryan’s mother called my father and told him what happened. Ryan came by to apologize, but instead my father beat him with a baseball bat. They took me to the hospital only to find I was pregnant. Two months later when school started again my friend Mackenzie saw my stomach in the bathroom, but she swore not to tell. Later after Ryan kept pressuring me into talking to him I blurted out that I was pregnant.

I broke up with him a while back before I knew I was pregnant. I showed him the baby bump, and smacked his hand away when he tried to feel my stomach. He kept saying how it’s his baby also. I got so sick of the pressure, that day when I went home I told my parents I wanted an abortion. I got one and felt a lot better, only to hear Ryan yell at me the next day because I didn’t talk it over with him, even though it wasn’t his call it was mine. He soon got over it, and started to ignore me, to hang out with his girlfriend Paige, Evan’s younger sister.

My mother stops me and gets the door. Evan, a tall boy my age with dirty blonde hair, a black hat covering the back of his head, red plaid shirt un-buttoned showing his white T-shirt underneath, black jeans and red high-tops is standing at the door. “Well, who is this handsome boy?” my mother asks, a tall thin woman with medium length dark brown curls. “That’s Evan” I say. My father squints and signals him to the couch.

Evan sits next to him, “where do you plan on taking my daughter” he asks. My father has dark straight hair, army style and only wears camo style clothes. He was indeed in the army, fought in battle and lost his left leg; he has a metal one to replace it. “I was just going to take her to that cliff, and we could just, watch the stars” he lowers his voice, “there is supposed to be a meteor shower tonight, and after that” he says, “I was going to bring her back. I don’t have a lot of time, I need to be at the orphanage at eight tomorrow so I can read to the kids” Evan says. “Go ahead” my dad says after a few seconds of doubtfulness.

“Aww, they look so cute” says my older sister, josh’s twin Melanie, she wears clothes close to resembling a rock star, and she has short dark curls like my mom. I make a face at her and we leave out. We walk through grass and come to a cliff and lay back on our elbows staring at the stars. The moon is just right there like if I reach I can touch it. He hands me a bottle of water.

“Thanks” I say and take huge gulps. “So, I hear Ryan got you pregnant.” I spit the water out, best spit take ever. I cough choking on water, how does he know that? “How do you know?” I say backing up. “Ryan has been at my house A LOT since he and Paige started dating and he told me the same day I asked you out, and some other guys”.

I remember that day, I had been doing a science project with Paige when Evan walked up and bumped me from behind. He was quite the charmer, Ryan was there but I doubt he noticed, he was making out with Paige. He asked me if I would go out with him Sunday night and I agreed, then he asked Ryan if he wanted to help squirt, the neighbor’s cat, he tossed him a loaded water gun and they ran out. My dad came to pick me up and I asked him if I could go out with him, and he said he’d ask mom. “Pfft, last time he gets any secrets out of me” I say under my breath.

“Why would you agree to date me, if you knew that I was just some, slut?” I say sadly. “Well, I know you didn’t mean for it to happen, right?” “Yeah, I just hope he doesn’t do the same thing to Paige, that would be bad,” I say leaning on his muscular arm. I remember a little bit of what happened that night. I went to take a shower, and while inside, Ryan came into the bathroom and climbed into the shower. I had grabbed the shower curtain to cover myself and tell him to get out when he kissed me, rubbing his hands down my wet body. The power went out so the shower turned off. I heard the rain and thunder through the window. Ryan grabbed my hand and led me through the dark into his guest bedroom. He laid me down kissing me, then my neck, then down to my stomach down my leg. I remember seeing his figure in the dark moving around enjoying my body as I lay there completely still gripping the sheets and pillows.

I remember he would say things like, “your body is so beautiful” and “does this hurt?”, or “are you ready for this?”, or, “I’m gonna move okay, try to relax”. I remember shutting my eyes tight as I felt him in me; my heart was racing the entire time. I had fallen asleep sometime during that moment. He put me under the covers and wrapped his arms around me as we slept. I had woken up in the morning but he was still sound asleep so I allowed myself to drift off again.

Evan snaps his fingers, “Charlotte” he says. I blink a couple times, and look, oh yeah, I’m on a date, I forgot. I lay down in the grass and Evan does the same. “do you really read to the orphans?” I ask him, “yea, I am not going to lie to YOUR dad, he’ll probably hurt me” he says. He points at the sky, “look shooting stars, make a wish” he tells me. “I wish, I could find out who my real parents are” I say quietly, “what did you wish for?”, I ask him. He makes a serious face, “rash ointment,” he says seriously. I laugh so hard I have to catch my breath. “Ha, rash ointment,” I say giggling. “Wait, real parents, what do you mean?” he asks me. “I was adopted, from Los Angeles,” I say smiling. “I remember the first day I saw them, I was seven years old back then. I was into wearing hats and two French braids, t-shirts and camouflage pants. When I was told I was being adopted I ran to my room screaming, I quickly packed my bag and ran to the front desk. I stopped in front of them, Karen and Jeffery Geller and their twins Melanie and Joshua," I say looking at him.
"The two adults bent down, “hi, charlotte, I’m your new mommy”, “and I’m your dad, come give me a hug you little June bug,” They said to me. I smiled and hugged them both, happy to find that I have a family. As a twelve year old I stopped wearing camo pants, hats and braids. I wore my hair straightened with bangs; I would wear neon color tops, light blue jeans and sandals. Now I wear my hair wavy without bangs and I wear whatever I see first in my closet. It’s actually worked out for me."

“Wow” he says sitting up, I sit up next to him and lean on his chest and he wraps his arm around me. He looks at me and I stare at his hazel eyes. “You have pretty eyes” he says, “thanks” I say closing them. We kiss, it’s my first kiss in months. When our lips separate he smiles at me, I do the same.

“You hungry?” he asks. I nod my head, “I should probably get back home for dinner” I say. “Why don’t we go out for dinner, my treat” he says standing me up. “No, I can’t let you do that” I say brushing off my clothes. “Okay, you are my girl now, and I’ll give you whatever you want, all you have to do is ask” he says twirling me around.

“Okay” I say. He grabs my hand and we walk down to a Chinese restaurant. We order noodles with shrimp and broccoli. The waitress gives us both chopsticks. I don’t really know how to use them so I stab my shrimp and broccoli and eat it as if it were a fork. “Quit cheating” he says slurping up a long noodle. I chuckle a little a grab the fork that is neatly placed in a rolled napkin. After we finish eating he pays the bill and he walks me home. “Thanks, I’m full. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow” I say rubbing the back of my head.

Evan pushes my hair back and pulls me closer and kisses me again. The door opens, “aww, look at that, Josh, our little Charlie is growing up, she's got to the point where she kisses the boy on the front porch” she says folding her arms. Joshua snickers and goes upstairs. I put my head down a little, must they always embarrass me. “Night” he says and leaves. I look at Melanie, “you two are so embarrassing, like, you didn’t have to do that”.

“Yeah, I did” she says closing the door. We get into an argument. Back and forth we shout mean things at each other. Then Joshua would be the only one to come downstairs and join in. I grab a throw pillow and whack him in the face, making him fall. We all get into a dangerous pillow fight. Mom and dad come downstairs and stop the fight and we’re all sent to our rooms.

The next morning at the table we all eat breakfast quietly. “Okay I can’t hold it in any longer, how was your date with Evan?” mom blurts out. “MOM” I whine. “did you kiss him?” she asks. I hang my head. “you bet she did” says Joshua, he makes kissing noises at me. “Stop it, shut up” I say raising my voice. I hear a car horn, “that’s my ride” I say standing; I kiss my parents on the check and pluck josh in the back of the head.

I walk out the door and up to the brand new red pickup truck Ryan got for his birthday a few months ago, he is wearing his usual blue t-shirt paint stained jeans and white sneakers, he has the same hairstyle as Evan, except his is dark brown, and his muscles are bigger. Everyone is in there: Paige, a girl with hazel eyes and dirty blonde hair wearing a brown tank top, denim skirt and brown leather boots with beige color knee socks; Mackenzie, a girl with dark brown hair, caramel highlights, and blue eyes, she is wearing a green shirt with sleeves that slide down below her shoulders, a purple tank top underneath and normal dark blue jeans and flip flops; Diana, a redhead with sunglasses in her hair, blue eyes, a purple t-shirt and blue Capri’s and purple heels at school she is known as “Gossip Girl”; Abigail, a blonde girl with a red tube top a plaid black and white skirt and red sandals; Evan, wearing his black hat, red high-tops and black pants, the only thing different is his shirt, yellow plaid instead of red.

I open the back door wearing a white tank top, cream colored cardigan that is long in the front and short in the back, light blue booty shorts, and brown boots made of cotton with no heels. “There is no room” I say to Ryan. “Sit on someone’s lap” he says through the mirror. I sit on Evans lap and close the door. “Hi” I whisper to him. “Hey” he says and he kisses me.

I saw that! Ryan just looked through the mirror at me and Evan kissing. He can’t be jealous. 1; he has a girl friend, and 2; he is the one who suggested we break up. I lean back on Evan’s bare chest, he wraps his arms around me and I entwine my hands in his, close my eyes and just listen to the sounds of the wind and the birds while sharing my warmth with him. “You look nice today” he whispers in my ear, “you too, yellow suits you, you should wear it more often” I whisper in his ear. We make it to school in about twenty minutes. We go to a performing arts high school. I’m good with music, Evan with art, Ryan with gymnastics, Paige dancing, McKenzie, robotics, Diana, computer technology, and finally Abigail, acting. Evan and I walk into the building and go different ways because we need to get to our lockers.

I open my locker and grab my books for homeroom, each locker is designed along with your talent, and mine is painted black and has stickers of hot pink music notes, and skulls with bows. I fix my hair in the mirror on my locker when I see him. I close my locker and turn around, “can I help you?” I say. “I know what you’re doing,” says Ryan, “what?” I ask. “You’re tricking Evan into liking you to get my attention. you're only using him to get to me” he says.

True shock registers on my face, “to, get back at, you” I struggle to get out. I laugh in his face, “I am not using him, he is my boyfriend. I understand if you're jealous, but you have a girlfriend, don’t leave her to try and get something you’re not getting back, you're better than that” I say and walk away. I turn and walk back, “and what’s up with you blabbing about my pregnancy?” I say pointing at him. “I thought Evan would be able to help me figure out what I needed to do, but since you got rid of our baby, there is no point.” “You are un believable” I say and walk away to class as the bell rings.

I’ve been arguing with Ryan all day, now it’s time for lunch. Our group sits outside in the center. I sit next to Evan eating my pizza as he slurps down a soda. “Just admit, what you did was wrong and we can drop the subject” I say still mad he went around asking people advice on how to handle a baby, using my name. “Just admit it I’m right” he says still thinking I’m using Evan to get to him.

“I can’t take it, I’m going to walk away for a second, and when I come back you’d better be ready to say that you were wrong for telling” I say getting up. I start walking away when Ryan yells, “you are so irritating, now you know why you were put in an orphanage, your parents couldn’t stand you, they didn’t want you so they gave you away”. My feet stop moving. how could he say that? Tears fill my eyes and pour down my cheek. I turn my head to him; his mouth is covered like he didn’t mean to say it. Everyone has their mouths open at the comment.

I see Evan get up to come for me but instead I run away from them, wiping tears from my face. I go up a wall and slide my back down it and cry in my knees. I cry so hard I feel my face getting hotter and my tears are rushing down my face at a ridiculously fast rate. I don’t even know my parents, there was probably a good reason they put me up for adoption.

“Charlotte” I hear Evan say as he runs over to me. He grabs me by the arms and stands me up and hugs me, tight. I cry hiding my face in his collar. “He didn’t mean it and he wants to apologize” he says walking me over to our table. I’m wrapping my arms around him and resting my head on his back. I sit down, looking at my hands. “I am so, so sorry,” he says, “I didn’t mean to say that, it just slipped out” he says.

“Is that what you think happened? I’m sure my parents had a good reason to put me in the orphanage,” I yell, getting everyone’s attention, but I don’t care, let them listen, half of them already know what happened between me and Ryan anyways. “It’s not like that” he says louder, “I didn’t mean what I said, I was just mad”. I roll my eyes and get up from my seat. Evan grips my hand, “where are you going” he asks. “Bathroom” I say snatching my hand away. I rush to the bathroom trying to hide my face from the other students. I go into the girls’ room and wash my face, and dry it with a paper towel. I leave out and walk back to our table. “You okay?” Evan says in a low voice and holding my arm. “Yea” I say and look at Ryan who is standing behind the bench. I walk over and give him a hug. He hesitates before hugging me back. “It's fine” I say and walk away.

The four of us, me, Evan, Ryan and Paige go to biology class.

A few minutes before class was over the teacher announced that we need to work on a biology paper, ten pages. He groups us in pairs of two, “Ryan, and Gabe, Jessie and Blaine, Zach and Kristen, Charlotte and Flora, and Evan and Paige” he says. “Can’t I work with Charlotte?” Evan asks. “NO!” the teacher yells. “Well” Evan says sitting back in his chair and brushing his hair back.

A few weeks later Evan and I are making out in the school parking lot during lunch. I have both my eyes closed and my hands behind my back leaning against the wall. Evan has one hand on the wall above my head and the other behind his back. Every time our lips separate I smile. He caresses my face pulling me closer.

Mr. Key, the school’s computer lab teacher, walks up. “charlotte” he says clearly. Evan lets go of my face and looks to the left, hoping the teacher didn’t see us kissing. “There is something important you need to know” he says and signals us to follow. We walk to the computer lab and go inside after the teacher. “You, were adopted, correct?” he asks me. “yes” I say. “Do you remember your parents?” he says. “no, I don’t think I met them, I never even had a picture to see what they look like, but there must’ve been a good reason they put me up for adoption, right?” I say. “Yes, I’ve been searching around online and found this,” he says facing the laptop towards me. I read what it says out loud, “plane crash in 1992” I say. We listen to a video on the website. “fifteen survived the crash as well as one nine month pregnant woman” they show a picture of her. “she looks a lot like you” Evan says. “although she has many broken bones and internal body injuries, doctors tell us her baby is perfectly safe. Father of this child and loving husband is suffering from potentially fatal head injuries and is receiving help as well as mental therapy, if all goes well he will be better in a couple months.”

“So, you’re telling me those were my parents?” I say to the teacher. He nods his head. “so that means that they’re alive and well, maybe I could go visit them one day back in Los Angeles”. “You can’t” says the teacher. “why not?” I say. I hope nothing bad happened to them. He puts on the next video and it shows the woman again. “recent victim of the plane crash, Lindsay Addams, has given birth to a beautiful baby girl, who is alive and healthy, but sadly, with all of her internal injuries, childbirth must’ve been too much for her body to handle and she passed away”.

A tear slides down my cheek. My mother is dead, but what about my father? "Charles Addams has not yet recovered and is not able to take care of this child, so she is being sent to the all girls orphanage now. At least her mother was able to hold her once. she has named her Charlotte." I pause the video and take a few deep breaths. Tears fill my eyes and I am about to cry when Evan wraps his arms around me and holds me close, “It’s okay, let it out” he says. I shut my eyes and cover my mouth with my sweater sleeve. “Thanks” Evan says to Mr. Key. he nods at Evan and he walks us back outside. We sit at our table with our friends. Everyone is talking and laughing but me. I have my head down and my arms covering my face as I cry, sniffling, and nose running. “What’s wrong, what happened, are you okay?” everyone is asking me. I don’t answer. “She found out that her parents were in a terrible accident and her father was mentally unable to care for her because of a head injury, and her mother died from her injuries during childbirth," says Evan. “That’s terrible” they say.

I stand and run from the school. I keep going for about five minutes then stop to climb an oak tree. I get to a high thick branch. After a while I hear my friends calling my name, along with my music teacher Mrs. Kyle. “Charlotte,” I hear Evan say, I see them all walk by. “When I say Hillshire you say farm. Hillshire,” yells Ryan. “Farm” I say. Ryan and I used to do that all of the time back when we were an item. “Why are you up there sweetie?” says Mrs. Kyle. “I’m just upset right now” I say. “Are you going to come down from there?” Evan says. “not anytime soon” I say. “Well, if you’re not coming down, I’m coming up” he says, taking the gloves out of his pocket.

He cut the fingers off; he slips them on and starts climbing. When he makes it to my branch he sits next to me and just makes a “why are you acting like this, you know better face”. I hug him and he kisses me on the forehead. “it’s going to be okay, think about the positive side, your dad is still alive, you have a loving family and home, a caring boyfriend, and believe me, I know what it’s like. My mom died too, three years ago when I was thirteen." “Oh, Evan, I’m so sorry, do you miss her?” He nods his head; "every night."

I lean against the trunk, upset, but sniffling, and what were tears are now dry white crust. Evan licks his thumb and takes the white crust off. I lean my forehead in and rest it on his. he kisses me, “feel better”. I nod my head and we climb back down. We all group hug and go back to school.

That night while at home in my pajamas, I listen to music through my head phones and eat a blow pop until dinners ready. There is a knock at the door and I get up. I open the door to a man. “Can I help you?” I say kindly. The man smiles. “charlotte” he says and hugs me. “Uh” I say. “It’s me, Charles Addams, I’m your father”.

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