Adorkable - Barry Allen

Chapter 3

1997

6 months later

Startled, Joe woke up to the sound of screaming. He quickly jumped out of bed and ran down the hallway. He didn't stop until he reached the door closest to the stairs. 

Inside, a young girl was tossing and turning on her bed, a nightmare-induced scream leaving her lips.

"Winnie. Winnie." Joe whispered, gently touching her shoulder. 

Winnifred sat up with a gasp, looking around frantically. Once her eyes landed on her adopted father, she calmed down and let her breathing slow. 

"You're okay, Winnie. You're okay." Joe sat down on the edge of her bed and wrapped his arms around her small frame.

"It was just a dream."

"Yeah... a dream..." She trailed off.

---

1998

13 months later

Winnifred heard the bell ring through the school halls. She braced herself, knowing full well that there would soon be a stampede of students ready to rush out of school. 

She wasn't like them. Winnifred waited by her cubby frightened by the thought of trying to join the continous wave of children. 

She jumped when she felt a hand grab hers. Looking up, she saw her big sister holding her hand and smiling at her.

"Come on, Winnie! School's over for today. Dad's probably already out there." Iris exclaimed.

Hesitantly, Winnie let her sister guide her through the crowd until they were outside. Once there, the two girls scanned the courtyard for their father.

"There he is!" Iris shouted, pulling her little sister along with her. 

The second Joe spotted his daughters running towards him, his mouth curved into a large smile. Bending down, he opened up his arms to hug the pair.

"There's my favourite girls!" He chuckled. "How was your first day of school?" He asked, messing up Winnifred's hair.

"It was amazing, dad!" Iris happily said, fixing the straps of her backpack. "At recess, everyone in the grade played hide and seek and I was the last one they found! Mrs. Jameson is my teacher this year and she's the best already!" 

As they drove home, Joe and Winnifred listened intently to Iris ramble on about how much fun she had. 

Eventually, Winnifred drifted off into her own thoughts. Watching the green trees pass by, she couldn't help but think about how scary school was. 

The thought of classes and learning excited her. But, what terrified her was the people. Strangers that she had to spend all day with. Other kids that didn't know who she was or what she liked. 

Nobody wanted to be friends with her. She was the weirdo with pink splashed across her face, left arm, and legs. The rest of the scarring was hidden under her pale yellow t-shirt and white shorts, but that didn't matter to the others.

All they did was gawk at her and whisper about their theories, no doubt making fun of her. Winnifred didn't like that. She didn't like it one bit.

She prefered spending the day in the backyard, tending to her garden. That was where she felt safest. Where she could tell her petunias and daisies about her day and watch the ladybugs crawl around on the grass.

When the car pulled up in front of the house, Winnifred jumped out of the backseat and ran up to the front door. 

Joe got out and unlocked the front door as Iris chatted away about all of her friends.