My name is Katerina Masters. I was born on June 20 in 1999. I was born into a family from the bad side of town in Australia and a mother who ended up having cancer 2 years later. We didn't have much, but we had each other, so it wasn't to bad. When my mother passed I was 4 and we had a little funeral for her, just my dad and I. When I was 7, my dad lost his job and we moved to Arizona in America , then a year later my dad died in a car accident. I was put in an orphanage and I stayed there for a few months, and the day I got adopted is when life screwed me over. From the age of 8 to 11 I stayed with a couple that abused me. They got caught somehow so I was put back in the orphanage.
Age 12 I lived with a couple that had 2 boys a year older than me that sexually abused me and when I told the foster parents, they told me to stop making stuff up and go to my room. That went on for a year until I sent one of the boys to the hospital with a fractured nose and bruised rib from me attacking him. I got in trouble cause the boys said that I attacked him for no reason. I got sent back to the orphanage.
I got another foster family after one month, but got sent back a couple months later cause the woman got pregnant. Then got adopted again, but I ran away after 3 months cause they were acting weird and I knew they were going to send me back to the orphanage. In the end I did get sent back and didn't get adopted again til I was 15, but that family didn't work out either because the husband was cheating.
After that I gave up and started getting kicked out of schools because of fighting cause I got tired of being verbally abused at every school I went to. Now I'm 16 and still in the orphanage. Yippie!
"Kat! Get down here." Melinda, the orphan mother calls from downstairs. I really like her, she's cool, but you don't want to be around her when she's mad, she likes to give very long lectures.
"Comin' Mel." I yell back putting my sketch pad away and going downstairs. I don't see her in the living room so I go to her office and she's sitting behind her desk with her hands folded on top of it. Oh no. She looks mad. What did I do this time? I walk in and sit in the chair across from her with an expressionless face from years of hiding my emotions.
"Yes, Melinda?" I ask emotionless.
"Well, I just got a call from Helen and she said that she saw you get in a fight again. What was it about this time?" She asks quietly. Helen is one of the old ladies that live around here that I help. Shit. She's about to go on a rampage. Think, quick.
"Hmmmm. See, there was this girl and ----" I'm cut off by her yelling.
"What do I have to do to get you to stop this? You know what, never mind." I raise my eyebrows in surprise. She has never let anything go.
"What do you mean, never mind?" I ask looking at her confused.
"You'll find out in a few minutes." She says with a little frown. I open my mouth to push her further but there's a knock on the door. Melinda and I both turn to look at the door and Sarah, another orphan, pokes her head in.
"They're here." She tells Mel. I turn and look at Mel confused, but when I see the look on her face that I've seen so many times, I slump in my chair, cross my arms and make my face emotionless again. I'm getting adopted again. Damn it. I wonder what this family's like. Melinda waves her hand and Sarah opens the door for them to come in. I don't look at them, I just stare straight ahead, my face blank.
"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Stark. I'm Melinda." She shakes their hand and points to two chairs next to mine. They sit down and its quiet, to quiet. I look at Mel, face still blank. She jerks her head like she's telling me to introduce myself. I sigh and with a tight smile and monotone voice, I turn and shake their hand.
"I'm West and this is Joan." he says in a silky tone. "I'm Katerina Masters, nice to meet you." then turn back around and drop the smile. While they keep talking I look out the window and think. They look young, mid-20s. The guy is very good looking. He's 6'1 and kinda long black hair on top and short on the sides with grey eyes and tan skin that says he goes outside a lot. The woman looks like a kind woman but you can never really know until something bad happens. I'd say she's about 5'4 with dirty blonde hair and pretty blue eyes and a very light tan. I'm 5'8 and still growing so it won't be easy for her to intimidate me. I smirk at the thought. I have green eyes, my hair is brown and goes to about my waist when I straighten it, and my skin is naturally tan.
"Kat!" Mel pulls me back to now. I turn to her and raise my eyebrows still keeping my face blank.
"Go pack. Your leaving." I nod, stand and walk out without looking at my new 'parents'. I go upstairs and pack the little bit of clothes I have, my hygiene stuff, and as I'm pulling my sketch pads out from under my bed to pack them I hear a light knock on the door. I turn as I stand back up and see that it's West. I sigh and roll my eyes turning back around to finish packing.
"Hey. You need help with anything?" I hear him walk further in the room and I see him sit on my desk chair out of the corner of my vision. I shake my head and keep silent. I don't like talking to people because once you start talking they expect you to spill your whole life story and that will never happen. That's the reason I don't have friends because I don't want friends, they can get nosey. I hear him clear his throat so I turn with a loud exasperated sigh and slump on the bed.
"What?" I ask annoyed with a raised brow and emotionless facing him, my hands on my lap.
"Look, Kat I---- " I cut him off. "My name is Katerina." He looks at me and leans forward with his arms on his legs and his hands hooked together. "Sorry. Katarina, I want this to work and so does my wife. We have tried to have kids but she can't have them and when I suggested that we could adopt a baby, we started looking, but she just didn't feel it. When we came here yesterday Melinda showed us pictures of all the kids that are here and when she saw your picture she got attached, so if you could, please try to be nice to her. Please." he pleaded hopefully. He looked genuine, and I guess I can give them a chance, but I didn't remove my blank face.
"Okay." I said bored, standing back up and grabbing my duffle bag and book bag. "I'm ready." I said in a monotone voice and walked out of the room and down the stairs back to the office. I heard West walking behind me. "I'm ready." I said in the same voice. Mel and Joan stood and shook hands along with West.
"Can I have a moment with Kat, please?" Mel asked. "Absolutely." Joan said quietly, her and West left closing the door. "Have a seat real quick." Mel says and she sits back in her chair behind the desk. I sit in the chair I vacated before packing and lean on the backrest with my arms folded. I sit quietly waiting for her to speak. "Kat, this is your last chance. If it doesn't work out with this couple then you won't be coming back here. You'll have to find your own place." she says quietly, looking at me concerned. WHAT!! I'm surprised but I hide it, like I hide everything I'm feeling. I just nod with a blank face. "You turn 17 in a couple of weeks and you got yourself emancipated so you could get your licence early, so the state can't help you any more." she says still talking quietly, her eyes soft.
"Okay. Can I go now?" I ask blankly. She just nods, stands and comes around to hug me while I stand also. I hug her back tightly feeling like I'm about to cry but I hold it in. We let go and I pick my stuff up while she opens the door. We both walk out, West and Joan are by the front door waiting patiently with his arm wrapped around her. They really do look like a nice couple, but looks can be so deceiving. Joan smiles when she sees me coming toward them.
"Are you ready Katerina?" she asks sweetly with sparkling eyes. I nod with pursed lips. West opens the door for us and we all walk out. There's a dark blue Tahoe in the driveway. West opens the trunk while Joan gets in the driver seat. I put my two bags in and he shuts the door then goes to the passenger side door about to get in when Joan speaks up. "Nope. Your in the back."
"What." he whines with an astonished look on his face. "Don't give me that look, honey. Katerina should sit up front, don't you think. That's what a gentleman would do." she says looking back at me with a sweet face. The look on his face makes me chuckle softly but I stop as soon as it comes out and make my face blank again not looking at them.
"Fine." West sighs with a small smile on his face and he holds the door open wider for me. I get in mumbling my thanks and shutting the door and buckling up. West gets in the back and buckles up. Joan backs out of the driveway and heads down the street for a few minutes before she breaks the silence.
"So, Kat, I was thinking that since it's only 12:30, we could get something to eat and then go to Bed Bath and Beyond so you could pick what you would like to go in your room. Only if you want to, though." I think quick on how much money I have saved up from babysitting, yard work, doing household chores for the elderly people that live close by, and other odd jobs I started to do to make my own money and get out of the foster people's homes I stayed at, for the last 3 years. I think I can get a few things. I need to get more clothes too.
"Sure." I say lowly looking out the window watching the trees pass by. It gets quiet again and this time no one talks. We pull in to the little diner that I love going to because the owners, Jessica and Franko, have twins, a boy named Bently, which is older by 5 minutes, and a girl named Bailey, their 6 years old. I sit forward a little, getting excited to see them cause it's been 2 weeks since I babysat them. I notice Joan look at me confused from the corner of my eye, I ignore her. She parks and we get out and head inside. West opens the door for us and when I walk in, I see the twins immediately. They're sitting at a table in the corner coloring. Jessica looks up when the bell rings above the door. Her eyes light up when she sees me.
"Katerina! Where have you been?" she says excitedly with a huge smile showing all of her white teeth and coming around the counter and hugs me tightly. I laugh in the hug.
"Hi. I'm sorry. I've been busy." I say with a smile smile while we pull away from each other. "KAT!" I hear two little voices scream and then feel them slam into my legs. "Hey guys. Man, your growing to fast on me!" I joke, bending down and hugging them. They both wrap their arms around my neck and won't let go when I try to stand so I tighten my arms around them a little more and stand with them in my arms. They squeal when I do and I chuckle a little. I turn to West and Joan.
"Jessica, this is Joan and West. Guys, this is Jessica. And these two are Bently and Bailey. I babysit them sometimes." I explain. "I would recognize that voice anywhere. Kat, how are you?" I hear Franko say behind me as Jessica shakes West's and Joan's hands. I turn around with the twins still in my arms and see him coming out of the kitchen wiping his hands on the apron around his waist. Oh no. What was Jess thinking letting him in there? I turn to Jess with a disapproving look on my face.
"What!? The cook called out sick today and it was either him or me, he's the better cook between us." she says exasperated. I shake my head slowly with a small smile and put the twins down.
"Your going to poison someone and then no ones going to want to come back." I say standing back up with a chuckle and hug Franko when he gets close enough. I catch the look on West's and Joan's faces. Its priceless.
"Then you cook, Rina." Franko says with a smile pulling back from the hug. I sigh and look at West and Joan raising my eyebrows hopefully. Joan nods with a smile. I grin and head to the kitchen with the twins following. I set up two chairs a little off to the side from the stove so they can watch and look at the tickets that are still hanging from the order wheel.
"Jessica, can you get West's and Joan's order please?" I call out to her from the little window and see her seating them. "Yep."
"Thanks. Alright, kidos let's get started." I say to the twins who are now sitting on the chairs I set up for them. I get working on the orders and calling them out so Frank and Jess can serve them. When I get to Joan and West's order I make it first then make my own.
