Prison wasn’t enough punishment for the man who needed to rot in Hell. Again, my revenge list got longer.
It was explained to me that no one had called 911 that day because that would only invite lots of questions, paperwork, and people meddling in a child’s mind. One that needed safety. Not a medical facility. Right or wrong, I understood. I also felt Dad would’ve agreed, not wanting white coats messing with a brother.
The fire damage was minimal. Only things, as Harmony once told us, that could be repaired or replaced. So, Dale put us all to work. Ethan kept apologizing until we all told him to shut up. Remodeling was actually fun. While airing out the smell, we got to demo some cabinets and countertops. Use tools. Cut things. Glue things. Nail shit! Sarah loved being bossy, telling us where she wanted new shelves. Blue even chimed in when Sarah would ask, “Blue, what do you think?”
Giddily, Blue pointed to a page in a magazine.
“Oh yes.” Sarah smiled at a window. “Harmony will love those lace drapes hanging above her sink.”
Except for Finn’s unpredictable mood swings, we were working together, but it was truly so much more. We all shared jokes and fun stories. I was careful not to say too much, but they all laughed at my crazy grandma hiding cash in plants. However, there was no laughter when I fed us some of Noma’s meatballs, since the kitchen was out of order. There was nothing but moans of appreciation. This time I didn’t cry. It felt right that my foster peeps got to enjoy something so special to me.
Ethan’s meltdown ended up being a gift. It brought us even closer, including Dale. He was patient, yet stern. He was kind, yet strong. Yes, we were his foster kids, but his sympathy only went so far. Dale felt we got a shitty hand but refused to let that be the whole story. He insisted we weren’t helpless. He confided to us how he was us. Dale was a product of the flawed system, however, he made better decisions than some and chose to make a difference. One little foster kid at a time.
No wonder he takes on boys at our age. He’s been on the other end of our circumstances.
And what was this fellow foster’s huge weakness?
Her name would be Harmony.
She squealed and jumped up and down once seeing her custom-built island in her new kitchen. She leaped into Dale’s arms and showered him with kisses before she hugged us all endlessly. Her reaction had one big chest at peace, and little chests growing with pride.
That ended our summer on a high note.
Starting high school in a new district sounded like a nightmare; however, with my fellow fosters, it ended up being quite epic, trudging through new stomping grounds.
Finn, a sophomore, was already established through baseball and being a jock. Ethan and Gage transferred to Dale and Harmony at different times during their eighth grade. They were familiar with a couple of people, and had they not been so traumatized and extremely reserved due to years of abuse, they may have actually made some friends.
Sarah and Blue were in middle school—the eighth grade—together. Sarah had already been with Dale and Harmony for two years. Seb and Caleb arrived during the earlier parts of the summer. So why did Harmony smiled at me on the first day of school, claiming, “A puzzle isn’t complete until its last piece”? I wasn’t sure.
Nor was I sure what some girls meant when they sat at our lunch table, uninvited, wishing they could be adopted by the “Cullens”.
I cringed because I was Noma’s. “I haven’t been adopted.”
One girl had long black hair that shined in the cafeteria lights. If I wasn’t owned by a part of my imagination that had a fin, I would’ve even thought this girl was hot.
She said, “Relax, Nine. We’re referring to a vampire movie.”
Finn plopped next to me with a tray of food. “Already to the Twilight status?”
I blinked. “Twilight— Vampire— Wait… Nine?”
Opening the juice box on her tray, she shrugged. “That’s your nickname from your last school.”
Paying attention to where Kristen had driven me the day Noma passed, I knew I was only a county or two away, but didn’t expect my disability to already be known.
Nostrils flaring, I slid my damaged hand under the table and into my lap.
She rolled her eyes.
See? Girls roll their eyes all the time.
“None of what I’m saying is an insult, Nine.” She began to peel an orange. “Me and my girls think the Misfits are hot.” She eyed Finn. “Yes, sports star, that includes you.”
He choked on a bite of food while I thought, Misfits? I was about to tell ol’ Shiny Hair that she could shove that peeled orange right up her pretentious ass; however, I didn’t dare when I noticed the rest of the boys. They were readjusting their seats and shoulders, all grinning at each other as if they had suspected that all along they were ‘hot’. It’s just that no one had noticed until now. Even skinny Caleb appeared to be considering trying out for the football team.
Shiny Hair was an enlightened, wise sophomore who knew what she just did for my fellow fosters, and for that, I owed her.
She winked at me. “See ya after school?”
