Angel is 15. Her parents were druggies. Now shes in a foster home with her brothers... |
If I could use one one word to describe myself, sweet wouldn't be the word for it. Maybe yould have called me sweet a year ago but not anymore. The divorce my parents were going through is final. Now, decided by the courts, I am being sent to a foster home in the urban area of the city. Just because my parents were unfit, what will make me see that these new ones are gonna be any better? Moving day had finally come. My foster parents should be here sometime soon. I had already said goodbye to my old life, swearing never to come back to it. I said goodbye to my old friends, swearing I'd always come back. Kerry, my 12 year old younger brother, looked up at me scared and alone. It was my duty as an older sister to reassure him it would be ok. "Oh come on Kerry, everything'll be fine." I hugged his skinny back and felt his warm embrace in my arms. But I didn't really believe what I had just told him. Dan, my 17 year old older brother, stood at the big metal door, watching for any signs of our new foster parents. "Hey you two, some couple are talking to Eric. Eric was our caseworker. Even though we had no blood relations at all, I felt like Eric had always been apart of me. It was like he was family somehow. I trusted him way more than I didmy mom or dad. He cared about the 3 of us so much more than our parents did. The large metal doors of our jail cell opened up. Eric walked in with his briefcase. An older couple, who looked like they were in their mid-forties, followed after him. "Hey kids, these are your new foster parents." He was smiling so they had to be an alright couple. "This is Robert and Mary-Ann Schmidt," Robert and Mary didnt look too bad. Didnt look like alcholics or druggies so they were a step up from our own parents. "So Mary and Bob, do you have any kids at home?" Mary-Ann smiled at me. "Yes sweetheart, we do. We have 3 older boys, all 16, Robert jr, Kyle, and Cory, an older daughter, she's 17. Oh yeah and there's Xavier, he's adopted and he's 15. So you wont be the only girl." Mary-Ann smiled at me after she answered my question. I was used to be the only middle girl. That way, my mom and dad didnt pay too much attention to me. They always dealt with the trouble Dan started. I hoped deep down, past my no longer sweet exterior, that my new 17 year old sister wpuld be like the sister I always wanted. She would be pretty and could talk to me about boys, make, our 'time of the month', music, life and everything else my own mother couldnt help me out with. We could go shopping together, She'd help me plan my sweet sixteen. She would get me out of trouble and show me the ropes of life. "Ok, so who am I rooming with?" I questioned. "You'll room with Maria, our daughter. Since we finally have two girls, we can move your brothers into the extra room plus Xavier." Bob replied. "Alright, Angel, Carrie, and Daniel, the Schmidts are going to take you to your new home." Eric patted me on the back. "Y'all need to get a move on." Dan and Kerry went with Mr. and Mrs. Schmidts but I stayed to talk to Eric. "Hey, Angel bud, what's the prob? "What do you think?" I glared at Eric. "Girl, I know you dont like this thing but..." He trailed off. "But what? You're a caseworker, cant you like put me up for adoption?" He laughed but knew I was serious. "No, I cant do that. Your parents, even though not around, want you and your brothers to stay together. And seriously, you should give the Schmidts a chance. They're nice people and they always wanted another girl." "Well fine." I finally yet reluctantly decided. "I'll go but you need to be there when I need you to be. And you've got to drive me there today." I crossed my arms. "Let's go." We walked to Eric's car. "I swear you look just like my 4 year old when you do that." |