Family and Protection

Chapter 22: Elaina's Discovery

Elaina sat across from Evie and Doug. Elaina breathed slowly and nervously. She wasn't sure what was about to happen or what she was going to be told. She adjusted her blue hair so that it was positioned behind her ear. Elaina also readjusted her glasses so they wouldn't fall down her nose. "So um," Elaina said breaking the awkward silence, "why exactly are we here alone?"

"What was life like for you at the orphanage?" Evie asked. Doug looked at her in confusion. She shrugged in response.

"Well," Elaina began. Evie and Doug seemed to pay close attention, "I've lived there for all thirteen years of my life. The head of the orphanage, Ms. Jones, told me that I was dropped off by some social worker the day after I was born. Brelyn and Jacey were already there given that they're about a year older than me. Cayla arrived about two or three months after I did. We've just been best friends since forever. They were the closest thing I had to an actual family."

"Have you ever wondered about your biological family?" Doug asked.

"I have," Elaina said looking down at her hands. "More often than not I guess. Of the four of us, I was probably the one who thought about my parents the most."

"Did it ever bother you?"

Elaina was silent for a little bit. Evie and Doug didn't really know how to respond with the silence. "I'd be lying if I said that it bothered me a little," she finally said. "Actually, it bothered me quite a lot. I guess that's kind of why I'm so much smarter than kids my age."

"How does your intelligence tie into your parents?" asked Evie.

"Whenever I was upset, Mrs. Anderson, the tutor in the orphanage, would give me some extra math problems or reading assignments to get my mind off of it. She would always tell me not to stop until I felt a little better. At first, I hated it, but now, I actually quite enjoyed it. I guess my love for writing also spawned from this too. Once she ran out of extra assignments for me, she would just tell me to write. Writing has given me so much happiness. It took away any negative feelings I had."

"You're such a smart kid," Doug added. "I can tell just from your chemistry scores. I'm just surprised you were never adopted by any other families." Elaina's smile quickly transformed into a frown. Her eyes went to the floor once more. Evie hit Doug lightly at what he just caused. "Elaina, I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"No-no, you're fine. Interviews have just never been my thing."

"Interviews?" Evie asked in confusion.

"At the orphanage, starting at age three, each kid gets an interview with whoever is hoping to adopt a child. Based on the interview, the adopter or adopters will decide whether or not they will adopt the child. It's because of these interviews I have the mindset I have about other people."

"And what's your mindset?"

"That I'm unwanted. I'm not needed. No one wants me." Elaina began to tear up.

"How in the world did you even get that mindset?" asked Evie.

"After interviews, I guess I made it kind of obvious that I got rejected," Elaina said as her voice cracked as she began to cry. "The older kids used to, and pretty much still did until I left, tease me about it. They used to say that there was something wrong with me. That I wasn't good enough. That I wasn't even good enough for my parents." Both Evie and Doug were shocked at that last sentence. They didn't know what to make of it. "I started to believe them." Evie and Doug were now heart-broken. "I believed them when they said that my parents abandoned me because I wasn't good enough for them. That's why I would never be good enough to ever get adopted." Elaina was now full-blown crying.