Looking For Yourself

Part 1

"Adeline," Mr. Christon said.

She was too absorbed to the green grass field outside the window to hear the call from her teacher.

"Adeline!" Mr. Christon called again, starting to lose his patience.

She was more interested in watching a flock of sparrows wing its way through the blue sky than seeing the irritated face of her science teacher.

Then there was a light but firm tap on Adeline's shoulder that brought her back to the reality.

Adeline turned around, mouthed a "thanks" to her best friend Melissa, and began to stare at the teacher until she realized why her teacher had called her name. It was her presentation day.

Adeline pulled out her bright purple poster she had been working so hard on last night and unrolled it. It was then when she saw the center of her poster that made her scream and lose her balance on the small wooden chair.

"AHHHH!"

BAM!

There was muffled laughter.

The biggest, stickiest, shiniest dinosaur sticker covered almost half of her poster, which was everything she worked on last night.

"Anything wrong, Adeline?" The science teacher asked, glaring out through the silver frame of his glasses.

"Um..yeah...I don't think I'm ready today?" Adeline lied back as she climbed back up her chair with trembling hands.

"Alright, 10 points off your grade first, and that makes an A minus." Mr. Christon said, writing a ugly "-10" on his gradebook. A few people snickered again.

Never, never in Adeline's life had she been embarrassed by her grades! She felt her face as red as a tomato, and tears blurring her vision. Oh, how she wished that the gray floor beneath her can swallow her up where nobody will ever see her again!

Stop it, silly, it is not possible for the floor to open up and swallow you. Think! Who did this? She heard the voice inside her say.

Adeline peeked at her ruined poster again.

Dan loves dinosaurs. She heard the voice inside her say again. Then, it stuck Adeline that her young brother Daniel Cassidy is responsible for all this mess.