Something Unexpected

FOURTEEN: Strikes

March 3, 2017

It was Sunday and after going to church with the Queen's we returned to their home to change into more comfortable clothing. We still had several hours before our visit would come to an end, so Miranda thought it would be great for us to go bowling.

We arrive at Strikers, the local bowling alley, and Maya starts getting beside herself with excitement. She had never gone bowling before so of course she was bouncing up and down asking a million and one questions.

"When do we start? Can I get a pink ball? Can I go first? Eww! What are those?" She points to the red and yellow bowling shoes that the guy in front of us just rented with disgust.

Serena smiles and shakes her head, but I only narrowed my eyes at her.

"Seriously Maya can you pipe down for a second? Sheesh!"

"Stop being such a grumpy troll!" she yells. "You're always trying to kill my vibe."

Ugh! Sometimes I really had a hard time believing that she was only six-especially with all the attitude jam packed into her tiny body.

"Shut up, I'm not being a grumpy troll. You're being obnoxious." I cross my arms and take a few steps forward as Oliver reached the counter.

"You are too being a grumpy troll!" Maya yells.

Oliver whips around looking slightly embarrassed by all the attention Maya was warranting. "Girls, please stop fighting and go try on these bowling shoes."

I grab the size 7 shoe and take it over to an empty table to try them on. Meanwhile, Serena picks up both hers and Maya's and takes them over to another table.

This was probably a bad time to be having a sibling quarrel, but at least the Queens could know that we weren't perfect little angels that always got along.

The shoes fit me fine, so I walk down the ramp and towards our lane. Sarah sat next to Miranda looking as miserable as usual, while Oliver was inputting our names into the electronic score keeper. Finally, Maya and Serena join us, ready to select their bowling balls.

"What's your deal?" Sarah asks.

"What are you talking about?" I cross my arms and watch as Miranda helps Maya choose a bowling ball and Oliver shows Serena how to release the bowling ball properly.

"You're not acting like the oh so sweet angel you always pretend to be." Sarah sends a quick text to someone before slipping her phone back in her pocket.

I turn on her quickly, narrowing my eyes. "You know what Sarah? What the hell is your deal huh? This whole time you've been acting like a total bitch."

"I'm sorry. I totally forgot that I was supposed to be warm and bouncing with excitement because my parents are busting their asses to bring three fucking strangers into our home."

"Oh I see, it's jealousy. You think mommy and daddy wont love you anymore because there is going to be more than one child in the house?" I poke out my lip mockingly making Sarah clench her teeth.

"Please, I have no reason to be jealous of you. I know that my parents only want to adopt you because they feel sorry for you three. You know? Adopting you three is not much different from taking in strays that have been picked up from the streets and put in some pet rescue center."

Oh. Hell. No. Was she comparing my sisters and I to stray dogs?

"Well you don't have to worry. My sisters don't need you or your fucking parents' charity. After today you won't be seeing us again."

"Good." She smiles and pulls out her phone again so that she can reply to her incoming texts.

I take off my bowling shoes and put my sneakers back on before walking outside. Ugh! I want to scream and punch something so badly! But I was in public, and I'm pretty sure that making a scene would earn me a ticket to the crazy house.

"Alana? What's wrong?" I turn around to see Oliver standing right behind me.

"Nothing. I just needed some air." I try my best to give him a convincing smile but I don't think I pulled it off very well.

"Alana, I know that you are dealing with a lot right now. So I'm going to make sure that you get the space you need r, but I want you to know that you can talk to me. I'm no Dr. Phil, but I'll listen." He gives me a gentle smile, but I find that I can't return it like I should have.

"Why?"

"Excuse me?" His eyebrows furrow as he tilts his head slightly.

"Why do you and Miranda want to adopt us?" I cross my arms and lean against the exterior wall of the building.

Oliver blinks rubbing his neck. "Miranda and I are getting older, and she doesn't want to go through another pregnancy. So we decided to adopt. We had heard about your case, and when we found you three and looked at your file we knew that you three were the ones we wanted to add to our family."

I frown and look down at my shoes. I don't know what has come over me. I don't even know why I felt the need to ask that question, but the answer I received wasn't enough for me. What was it about us specifically that appealed to them?

"Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, it does..." I lie.

Once again Oliver offers a listening ear to me, which I decline. I was too angry and frustrated to talk to anyone right now.

Gosh what was wrong with me?

I should have been inside having fun bowling with my sisters, and bonding with two very nice people who wanted to take us into their home. Instead I was outside sulking, cursing myself for not being able to deal with all my emotions properly.

Normally, I could handle Maya's hyper activeness. Any other day, trolls like Sarah wouldn't phase me a bit. Most of the time, I could push aside my negative feelings and put up a good front for the sake of my sisters. Now I could no longer keep up the façade, and Oliver and Miranda could be seriously reconsidering adopting us.

After getting a grip, I walk back inside and watch the Queens and my sisters . Maya was up, and Oliver was helping her with her form. When she knocked down all but three pins, she squealed excitedly.

"I almost got all of them!"

"You sure did! High five!" Oliver bends down, and Maya high fives him. Miranda smiles at the both of them, with a dreamy look in her eyes, while Serena and Sarah were talking by the machine that returned the bowling balls.

Looking at all of them I realized that, I surely didn't belong. But Maya and Serena? Maybe this would be best for them. Miranda obviously adored the both of them, and Oliver seemed like he was a pretty decent guy. I think they would be great second-chance parents for my sisters.

They were having fun without me, which wasn't uncommon these days. I couldn't blame them of course, I was the one isolating myself with good reason. I didn't want to bring them down, and now I was holding them back from moving forward and getting the happiness they deserved.

They all start to pack up and I see that it's almost time for us to go. Oliver picks up Maya, carrying her piggy-back style while Serena and Sarah continued talking animatedly. I still wanted to slap Sarah, who was probably in a better mood since I gave her the impression that I would pull the plug on this adoption.

Little did she know that I had made up my mind already. I was going to make sure that there would be some new additions to the Queen family.

♡ V o t e ♡

☆ C o m m e n t ☆

♡ S h a r e ♡