CHAPTER 10
It was a rather long day at school.
Thankfully in most of my classes Chloe and Hanna were in my philosophy class and Hanna was also in my gym class. The only class that I went into alone was government. But that was fine. I sat at the back of the class and I took my notes. Beforehand I was the first in the classroom and the teacher gave me a smile. He was a short little man, but with a booming power of voice that still knew how to make jokes to make you laugh. So it wasn't that bad. It was a small class, as most of the government classes that I go to are. They usually don't bring in too much interest.
I also was able to find Chloe and Hanna at lunch so I sat with them and the others again. I stood their awkwardly for a moment after I was out of the cafeteria line with a hamburger and side salad with a water bottle on my tray. Thankfully they saw me and I was able to walk back over to them.
After class though I was pretty tired. New girl in gym class did not stop Mrs. Hamel from going on with a regular class. It was basketball term and thankfully I was good at basketball, so the drills that we practiced were not hard. I'm not much of a short distance runner though so when we had to do four laps of the gym before stretches, my muscles cramped up slightly, needing more before I got the endorphin of running. And with a last call of two more laps before the end of class, by the time I got to the change room my legs were a bit sore. And I was sweaty, one thing that I always hated about gym.
I got out of the shower as the bell rang so I changed quick and put my hair in a ponytail before going going to the mirror in the locker rooms and quickly doing my make-up. Thankfully after all of the times I put it on, eyeliner can go on pretty easily and quickly for me. I put the mascara on before I heard Hanna laugh from behind me. I turned around and gave her a smile, "what?"
She shrugged, still in a towel before she went to fully change. I gave her a smile and told her, "I can be quick. What about you. At least I'm dressed."
Hanna shrugged and told me as she was putting on a bra, "I walk home so I can leave really whenever."
I nodded and moved to put more mascara on. I told her, "I think my..."
Jeeze, what do I call Tara? My mom? My guardian?
"My mom is outside probably by now. So I think that I have to hurry." I answered her.
Okay, so Tara wasn't my mom, but it was a word that wouldn't raise eyebrows and make people ask questions. And technically, she was my step mom at least.
Hanna nodded before she put on her shirt, "you better hurry then." She gave me a wink.
"Shut up." I groaned and laughed a bit as I looked at her through the mirror, "I'll tell her that for picking me up it's okay to be a bit late since I have gym class."
Although I was sure that this wouldn't be happening all of the time after gym class. I was sure that if I didn't have to meet with some lawyer that I wouldn't be putting on make-up. I wanted to appear nice. Going home no one would see me without my mascara and I wouldn't mind.
I finished my right eye before I put my mascara and eyeliner in my gym pack. I put the bag over my shoulder before I told Hanna, "I'll see you tomorrow!"
She nodded and gave me a wave, "bright and early!"
I gave her a smile and left the gym, frowning after. I don't know how early we would meet each other if I'm switching to biology.
I quickly went to my locker and opened it before putting my binders I needed for homework in my pack before stuffing my bag of gym clothes in to. I put the shoes at the top of my locker before shutting the door. I slung the backpack over my shoulder and I moved through the hallway, not going as fast as before. Maybe it was unconscious, but I noticed it as I was slowly going going down the stairs. I didn't want to go to the lawyer's office. I didn't want to tell Jax and Tara of certain things of my past. Even the smaller things I didn't want them to know. It was embarrassing and for some of it I felt embarrassed and I didn't want them to look at me any differently.
The halls were pretty empty and my footsteps echoed a bit down the hallways as I walked from the staircase to the front doors. I saw Tara sitting there in the car and I walked through the large front doors. I saw more teenagers outside sitting on the ground or on the stairs of the front doors. I walked past them and saw Tara look up from something and at me. I gave her a small smile and she gave me a smile back. I heard the doors unlock of her car and I got in the passenger side. I shut the door and set my backpack on my lap.
"Sorry I'm late," I told her as I relaxed a bit now in the seat since I was out of the school and away from that teacher, "I have gym last period and I like to get a quick shower in if I can. I might not every day, I might just do it at your house, but I thought that I should at least look better for the lawyer."
She nodded and told me, "I'll keep that in mind. I was wondering if everything was going alright."
I shrugged, "no, everything was fine." I looked out the window at the school. Well, almost everything was fine.
I heard Tara put the car in gear and she looked to make sure no other kids would go onto the lot in front of her
"How was your first day?" Tara asked as I put on my seatbelt.
I shrugged, "not so bad. I...I think I'm going to switch to biology though. I don't think chemistry is my thing."
Tara frowned as she moved down the parking lot to get out. She stopped at the sign before moving onto the street. She looks over and tells me at the stop, "you seemed pretty into it."
I shrugged and tried to brush it up like it wasn't really a big deal. I told her, "the teaching style isn't for me. And I think biology would be more interesting anyway."
She nodded and moved to change lanes. I could tel that she wanted more. As awkward as this was, maybe she wanted to report to Jax after, or just to keep for herself. Maybe it was something in her medical mind that she wanted to keep know of. God knows what doctors may find troubling in certain behaviours.
I continued, hoping to please her: "I met a couple of people, mostly Chloe and Hanna. At least one of them is in all of my classes except for government. So I wasn't alone all day."
"Hanna Baker?" Tara asked.
I nodded and looked over at her. Tara smiled and told her, "her mother Crystal works with me. She more specializes in heart surgery, but she's a really nice lady. Super short too. The last time I saw Hanna was when she was in for a check-up about a year ago and she was about as tall as her mother."
Wow, Hanna was just shorter than me.
I smiled a bit before I saw her turn a corner. I knew that we were getting closer to the lawyer's office. We were closer to talking about things that I was not exactly ready to spill. To a lawyer fine, if it made me stay with Jax and out of another foster home, I was fine with that. But I didn't want to spill that stuff with Jax and Tara in the room. I didn't even want them to know at all.
I felt myself get pale when I felt Tara stop. I looked around and saw that we were now at a parking spot on the street. I looked foreward and saw Jax's bike in front of us. I sighed and Tara looked over at me and noticed how my skin was almost transparent. She told me, "hey, you going to be okay?"
I didn't look at her, just at the bike in front of us, "I may throw up."
It was hesitant, maybe because she still didn't know me that well and if I would like it or if it was even appropriate for her to do, but she finally brought her hand to my shoulder and gently rubbed it. She told me, "we will be going at your pace. The lawyer apparently already has your medical history and what the school knows, so that you won't need to tell us, she probably will. Or Jax and I might just read it alone with her."
I nodded and sighed before I shook my head, "I'm fine, just nervous."
It would all come out in the end anyway. I'm almost as sure as that.
Tara nodded and unlocked the car doors. I got out after unbuckling my seat and I left my backpack in the car as I stepped out. I shut the door and saw Tara get out. I heard the clicking as the doors locked and she put her purse over her shoulder as we went down the sidewalk slightly. They walked up the small concrete path to the small office-like building. It was grey and was about the size of our house and I wondered how many people worked there. It couldn't have been a huge law firm but the little sign on the window said that it was a family law firm, so they knew what they were doing. Maybe they were the only law firm for just families in Charming. So they didn't need to be big.
Tara opened the door and she got inside first, knowing that I wouldn't want to be the first to go in. I was silently thankful as she held the door for me as she went in first and I followed her inside. At a quick glance around, the place smelled slightly musty and I guessed that they had some old books or not a fully functioning air conditioner. The walls were a beige colour and there was lower lighting. The front window only seemed to bring in a lot of light. The floor was an ugly worn out kilt-like texture and I could see that from this main room there were six glass with wooden doors with names on them.
Tara went up to the front receptionist table before I could even really get inside. Although I was still pretty busy looking around. I looked at the teenager, maybe only two years older than me look up at us. She had her hair in a ponytail and had thick dark brown rectangle glasses. She gave us a smile and asked, "can I help you?"
Her voice was almost squeaky, like it belonged to a child who's throat was sore, but it was somehow soothing.
"We're here to see Angelica Tomlinson." Tara answered, "we had an appointment for 3:20."
The student smiled, "oh yes! Your husband is already in the room with her. Just go off to the room." She turned slightly and she pointed to a glass door that was not see-through and too dense with the name on the door.
Tara nodded before telling her, "thank you."
The two of us went to the door and Tara opened it slowly. She poked her head inside before opening up the door more. I saw Jax sitting at one of the four chairs in front of the desk. He looked over at us and gave us a smile. Tara and I smiled back before going into the room. I shut the door behind me and moved to sit in a chair.
"So, how was your first day?" Jax asked me as Tara and I sat down.
I shrugged, "it was okay, made some friends I guess, so good things." Shrugging again, I told him, "sorry, I'm just so used to first days of schools so I don't really know what's the real big thing to do. They all really start to do the same."
He nodded and smiled, "but you made friends, so that's a good start!"
The smile on his face brought one to mine and I looked down a bit at my hands as I held them together on my lap. I held off on the blush, knowing that it would just make me more embarrassed than I already was.
I heard Tara ask Jax, "where is she?"
"She is just getting her file that she has and printing off the last of what was sent to her this morning. Some of it was collected or sent at different times because they have to get the records from the different homes and then her medical record, school records, prison records..." he explained.
I told him, "they don't' need to get a prison record."
Jax laughed and he said, "well at least that is good to know."
I heard someone open the door and all three of us looked up. I saw a woman with auburn red hair come into the room. It was in a ponytail and was still a little wavy. She had large black hipster styled glasses with some small plastic diamonds at the sides. She wore a beige with black stripe blouse top and black skirt with black boot-like heels. I was surprised by how young she looked. She looked as though she was twenty nine.
She gave me a smile and she said, her voice loud but still in a mature natural voice, "you must be Sidney! I'm Angelina." She held out her hand and I did as well before we shook hands. She moved her attention to Tara and she gave her a smile as well, "and you must be Tara."
Tara nodded and shook her hand before Angelina moved back. In her one arm she was carrying a slightly thick accordion file. She moved to sit in the chair behind her desk and she set the fire down. She told us, looking up at us and folding her hands together on the desk, "I'm really glad to finally meet all of you and that you could come today. It's always best to get these things started early on if they might take a while."
"How long do you think this could take?" Jax asked.
She told him, "well there is nothing really going against you, like another family thing to get custody from you of Sidney. It's mostly that we have to convince the judge that you are responsible parents and can provide and care for Sidney. With your history however," she looked up at Jax slightly, "it's going to be a complication between the club and your prison record, so what we have to do is convince the judge not just that you can care for Sidney, but that it is in Sidney's best personal interest to stay with you because you are her father and that the system has not been provided for her best interest, which there is a history of to prove."
All three of us nodded and I looked down, knowing that things were going to come out.. My leg started to jump up and down nervously and gulped a bit as I heard he file open.
I looked up slightly and saw the file opened to the first page on it. Angelina told me, "so, what we have to do is at first, get Jax and Tara updated on the background and then you can add in your say of certain things. I will take the notes and also if it adds detail about some things that happened, that will be good. Anything more about what can lead the judge to making the decision to keep you here."
I nodded and told her, "okay."
Jax and Tara were looking at me and so was Angelina before she sighed. She asked, "do you want to just go from one record at a time?"
I nodded, "I guess, that way it'll be easier for you to keep track of everything."
She nodded and said as she got a slight stack of paper and brought it to the centre of the table in front of her and got another pad of yellow paper. She looked at us three and said, "obviously, we can't get through everything today, so we will get through what we can. Do you want me to go over what I read?"
I nodded and she nodded as well before she sighed and said, "well, lets get the big thing out in the open, the most obvious and the one that stands out the most and that is..."
I didn't let her finish, "my hearing loss."
She nodded and asked, "anything you remember about that?"
I shook my head, "I was too young. I mean, I think somewhere in my file there were other foster kids in that home who gave statements about what happened. I know almost right after I was taken to the hospital that I was sent to a girl's home so that they could work with me, but they didn't deem my foster parent responsible anymore."
She nodded and wrote some few notes, "I remember reading that in the files." Angelina looked towards Jax and Tara and told them to catch them up to speed, "basically, we will go over the set later, but there were two older girls, one eleven at the time and one thirteen that in them morning she was feeling sick and had a fever. Sidney was crying sometimes and said that she couldn't move. Finally by noon the thirteen year old called 9-1-1 since the foster parents were at work. At the hospital she was diagnosed with meningitis and they had to do an operation, but it had the chance to leave her deaf. It was either that or Sidney would have possibly died. Because the foster parents could not be reached they had to call her social worker and in the end it was her decision to do it."
I nodded and Jax was looking angry, but he asked calmly, "they left her alone when she was that sick?"
"Apparently it progressed throughout the day, but they were aware that Sidney was sick in the morning and the eleven year old contacted the foster father and he said when he got home he would check her, but the social worker said that it was enough of a disregard to her health to move her. As well, with the new hearing process, the social worker thought that she should not put that on a family and help the transition with the girl's home who has more experience. And it was small, there were four girls and one was completely deaf."
I nodded. I told them, "they weren't bad parents. I don't remember the day but I don't hate them when looking back on them just based on the feelings of how I must have felt at the time. I think they just made a bad judgement call on that day."
Angelina nodded and she asked, "if this brings up, can I tell the judge that this, that even though they had a clean record and that they seemed like good parents who cared for you, that still it affected you because they should have known when the kids made the phone call that you couldn't even move that they should have come home."
I nodded, "I guess." I mean, it was true.
She nodded and Jax said, "hold on, are we able to get contact of the family, the files about this. I'm sure there would have been multiple reports made. This is a big incident."
Angelina went to the files and said, "the social worker made a detailed one, the foster parents made a small one, just outlining that they knew Sidney was sick but that they thought that when Muriah, the other girl called that she was over exaggerating, both her and Sidney." Angelina grabbed another file and handed it to Jax. The blonde opened the first page and Tara leaned over to look at it. Angelina explained, "the social worker just tells in there that she thought that it was a bad judgement call the foster parents were going through a slight investigation and Sidney was transferred to the girl's home where the woman has experience with deaf kids. There was one living there while Sidney was there and there were two other girls, one also had hearing loss, so the social worker thought it would be best anyway to put Sidney there."
I nodded. I knew most of the details about that girl's home. That's the one that I kept going back to. The lady was an oxymoron. She was passionately sweet, let things blow over, let the other girls pick on me, and she didn't know discipline. Most kids would love it, but when it wasn't there, you lost a lot of function and routine.
I looked over at Angelina and I said, "you can keep going."
Jax and Tara looked at me before they nodded. Max gave her back the paper and she moved to the medical papers again. She said, "umm...I guess we can go in chronological order now. Umm..." Angelina flipped some pages, "from the check-ups and from the records from the early age orphanage that Sidney, you were on average a later child. You were born a week early, but were born healthy. You learned to walk and talk a little later than normal expectations."
"How later?" Tara asked before she looked between all three of us, "sorry...I just...well I know that sometimes late development can..."
I shook my head, "Tara it's okay."
Angelina nodded, "I've worked with lots of child cases. Yes, usually you see this trend with neglect or abuse. But there is absolutely nothing to suggest that it was the case here. And yes, some things have been known to be a side effect of late development, but looking at Sidney's records for grades, she is doing exponentially well."
I gave Angelina a smile and she gave me one back. She looked back down at the paper before she told us, "it's also not uncommon to see that in foster children, even if they are at one place in their infant years."
"How late was she?" Jax asked her
Angelina answered, "by a couple of months. Two months late on talking and three on walking. And it says that she started puberty later as well by a couple of years."
Okay, perhaps they didn't need to know that.
Tara asked, "can I just...look over it myself?"
Doctor Tara in town now.
Angelina nodded and passed over the papers. Tara took the papers and opened them, scanning the pages as Jax looked over. She stopped after a moment and said after flipping the page to try and see something before going back to the first page. She asked, "Sidney, you had speech therapy."
I let out a breath before I nodded. Angelina looked at my facial expression before she said, "we have more to work with that. Allison Fernandez lives in Oakland so we are able to easily get her to give us information. She was the only one out of the homes that started to file for custody of Sidney like..."
I made her stop, "wait...she's in Oakland?"
When did she go to Oakland? I mean...that was so close. The last I heard she was in San Jose. At least that's where I was when I was with her.
And I was there with her for two and a half years. Was Eric with her? Or did he move?
Angelina nodded, "yes, they have been living in Oakland for almost four years now."
I was dumbfounded. I was so close to them now. Only about forty minutes away. I can go over and see Eric then.
"Would we be able to set up a meeting with her? I mean...is that allowed? She was with Sidney for so long and if she thought about adoption..." Jax asked.
Angelina nodded, "I can give her a call and we can ask for a private meeting or for her to come here."
That would be great.
Yeah...yeah it would.