Romeo, Your So Overrated!

"Friends?" I begged.

"It's illegal," the officer spoke up. "I'm very sorry, Miss. Chevalier. You'll be staying at St. Thomas Aquinas Foster Care and Adoption Center from now on."

__________

I felt like an animal here. Young couples, old couples, barren couples, gay couples, etc. all came to look for suitable children to adopt or to care of. Except I was like the rabid animal that everyone passed over. Nobody in their right mind would want to adopt a full-grown, pubescent, sixteen year old sophomore who had piss colored hair that was probably a rat's nest right now. Nope, everyone prefers to raise those abandoned babies.

I never really had any close friends back at school. They completely ignored me now that I was at stupid St. Thomas Aquinas. I didn't really care. I didn't go to my old school anymore. Instead, I attend this even smaller local school near St. Thomas Aquinas. Other than attending the stupid school, I do nothing except sit on my bunk and write what's considered emo-poems. The first two months I was here, I refused to eat, refusing to accept the fact that my parents were now gone.

I remembered Mom would always make me and Dad her special fried chicken and mashed potatoes every single Sunday dinner, ending a tiring week and beginning a new one.

I remembered how I would always watch Sunday football with my Dad, even though I never understood football no matter how much my dad tried to teach me.

I had probably lost about fifteen pounds in the two months. Not that I was excessively fat or anything, but I always had that unwanted baby fat on my cheeks and stomach. I guess I was skinner now, but to be honest, the last time I checked the mirror was about...three weeks ago.

I drew my knees up to my chest and grabbed my blanket closer.

"Well, she's in here," I heard Dorian, our caretaker or manager person or whatever say. The door to my shared room opened. "Aurelie? You have visitors," Dorian said, stepping back outside.

I looked up, wary. A couple walked in. The man was probably in his mid-thirties, and he was very well dressed in a crisp three-piece suit. His dark hair was combed neatly, and his shoes were too shiny. The woman at his side looked a lot younger. Early to mid twenties. Either that or it was botox. She had on expensive looking heels, a nice summer dress, perfect make-up, and some expensive bling. I swear, 24-carat ring on her hand cost ten grand, hands down. It was sparkling more than the man's shoes. I didn't recognize them. And boy, did they look uncomfortable.

The man cleared his throat. "Aurelie? Hi, I'm David. David McAllister." He extended a hand stiffly. He pulled it back awkwardly after I glared at it pointedly. "This is my wife, Rachel."

She nodded stiffly, her expertly coiffed hair catching the light.

"Hi," I finally said after a minute's silence. "What are you here for?"

David exchanged a look with Rachel. "Well, we looked at your papers earlier," he admitted. "And to be quite frank, we would like to adopt you."

My jaw dropped, but the shock only stayed for a couple minutes. "Are you crazy?" I blurted. "Don't you want like, some poor orphaned baby to raise as your own? Not me, surely."

David shook his head. "No, Aurelie, we want to adopt you."

At this point, Dorian had entered again. "Mr. and Mrs. McAllister? Can you come with me to fill out some papers?"

___________

Forty-eight hours later, I was sitting in a Bentley, my luggage in the trunk. I gazed out the window at the luscious scenery of Lake Forest, Illinois. Yup, Illinois. I had just flown from Maine to here, my new home apparently.

"You'll be happier there," Dorian had assured me. "What's the harm? Just start everything over."

Aw hell, I had thought. I have nothing else to lose anymore.

"David McAllister is the headmaster of a very prestigious school," Dorian had told me. "He and his wife Rachel are very affluent people. You be safe okay? Don't do anything rash," she had advised me. And with one last hug, I was off.

The Bentley rolled to a stop. "We're here," David, my new "father" announced. Next to him, Rachel was sitting stiffly. She didn't seem like a warm "mother."

I looked out the window and my jaw dropped again. Holy crap. Talk about a prestigious school. It was like a freaking small college campus. Intimidating and fancy red bricked buildings stood tall, the grass was all even mown and emerald green, and there was a huge marble fountain in the middle, water streaming over a naked woman with a huge bust into the pool. I could see a new football field way off in the distance, and to the right there were twenty beautiful tennis courts. I remember vaguely about the indoor swimming pool and diving pool that David had told me about earlier.