Chapter 38

Now looking upon what can best be described as the seemingly ‘always vulnerable' Adele…a girl who today had been stuffed into a locker and left there; yet shows no ill will or malice towards those sadistic individuals who perpetrated the act…Corrine realizes it's just like Nadine had told her that day when she arrived back in town; that Adele's the sweetest person you could ever meet. Then it hits her. Corrine finally sees why it's so important to Nadine to have people see Adele for who she really is; and to have them accept and treat her with the kindness and respect that she so much deserves. She also understands why Nadine had made it her priority, and is so determined to achieve this before she's gone. And she knows now why Nadine has been so worried about Adele slipping back into her old ways, and afraid that her goal is turning into an unwinnable battle that will never come to be. As much as it has devastated her emotionally to do, Corrine has accepted the fact that Nadine's going to die; and there's nothing she can do to keep that from happening. But she can see to it that Nadine accomplishes her task of helping Adele before she dies; and Corrine now silently vows to assist her sister in her endeavor. And though Nadine is doing this for Adele; Corrine will mostly be doing it for Nadine. This will be the greatest gift she'll ever be able to give Nadine; and she's intent on her receiving it. The first thing that needs to be done is get Adele past her grieving over Miss Krinsky so she'll stop being withdrawn from everything; including Nadine. Corrine decides that to accomplish this, she must make a drastic move; she must reveal a huge secret. She hesitantly starts. "Adele…we need to have a talk." "Okay." "Now…what I'm going to tell you…well…it's a really big secret; okay…so you have to swear to me that you won't go telling anyone about it. You can't even tell Nadine that I told you about this. Swear?" Adele takes a moment, looking as if she were mulling over it, then slowly answers, "Okay…I swear." "Good." Corrine, realizing that once she starts to reveal this secret there's no turning back, hesitates for a moment as she briefly debates in her mind whether or not she should tell Adele. She concludes that, in order to help Nadine, it must be told; so she begins. "Adele; the only other person that knows what I'm about to tell you is Nadine…" Corrine doesn't know it yet, but her decision to tell Adele is already beginning to work. Hearing that Nadine's the only other person that knows the secret Corrine's about to tell her has ignited a spark deep down within Adele's recent predominately depressed psyche. Knowing that she's about to be privileged to a secret which has only been shared between her best friend and her best friend's sister starts to make her feel a little special again; that she just may be someone of consequence. "During my senior year…I was going with this guy…a guy who I thought I was in love with." Corrine hesitates before continuing, "I don't know, maybe I was just going with him because me and my mom really weren't getting along back then; and I knew my going with him really bothered her…" There's another brief hesitation. "But I really thought that I loved him. And he told me that he loved me." Corrine takes another moment before continuing… "Anyway…one thing led to another; and…" she looks down to the floor, lowering her voice as she reveals to Adele, "I…I got pregnant." Thinking this was a joyous secret, Adele excitedly blurts out, "Corrine…I didn't know you had a baby. Is it a boy or girl? Why didn't you bring it here with you? Can I…" Corrine grasps onto Adele's hands. "Adele! Stop…please; just…" She releases Adele's hands and starts to walk away. Adele now senses that this isn't going to be a happy secret. She decides to wait and refrain from saying anything else until Corrine finishes.