Sometimes It's the smallest decisions that can change your life, forever - Keri Russell.
That's the quote that ran through Ophelia's mind anytime she was faced to make a decision. No one would guess everything she's done and what she's had to do. Ophelia feels there are many ways choices can affect people. There are choices that will only affect themselves, there are choices we make that can affect others and not know it, and there are times they can make a choice knowing it can affect someone else but know its the right path to choose for themselves. Some people don't need to imagine the effects of those choices.
Ophelia doesn't have to imagine the consequences of the choices that were made by someone else.
Her parents made a choice, long before she was even born. A life choice. One that put their lives at risk. Even after she was born nothing changed. They did their best to hide the truth from her and keep her away from the repercussions by sticking her with tutors or watchers. Sometimes for a couple of hours. Sometimes for days. The truth is she never really knew her parents or much of anyone around her. Ophelia's childhood was more mysterious to her, even as she grew and became more curious, finding ways to lurk around the shadows and hide behind corners.
Homeschooled and with a lot of time to herself, when her parents didn't make her do something, she learned everything she could. Learning was easy for her. She learned faster than anyone had ever seen. Everyone watched as she advanced far faster then her own father had at her age. Everyone, including her parents, felt she was going to do great things. They will know what Ophelia will become because they died when she was ten. They didn't just die, they were murdered.
Then at ten years old, she walked into a police station refused to say anything but her name was placed into the system and they quickly learned how smart she really was. No one knew where she came from and there were plenty of theories. Ophelia was tested, only to be put in eleventh grade at ten years old. Certain people knew of her name but she refused to be written about or put into papers. She never said why, but she refused her picture to be taken. She continued to graduate high school by the time she was twelve and attended college after that.
Her life before the foster system is a mystery. She refused to talk about it to anyone. She doesn't even have a real birth certificate. Just the date she was found as her birthday and the city she was found in as her birthplace. Her life is a mystery to everyone and Ophelia was good at keeping her lips sealed about it. No matter how much she was pushed, to tell the truth, her secrets stayed just that. Secrets.
Even with the pressure of her past, she managed to graduate from college at fourteen. At the same time, she also managed to reach her ninth foster home. Ophelia's a smart kid and still caused trouble. She knew when to cause trouble and did it for her own reasons. She didn't care that she was marked as a troubled kid. A trouble maker until she met the right people.
Mr. Andrew Jacobs and Mrs. Liana Jacobs. The best couple she has ever been paired with and she doesn't plan on leaving anytime soon. They have two other foster kids, one adopted kid, and one of their own. Gregory or as he likes to be called GD, is seventeen. Oldest of the house and going to college after twelfth grade. Then Zoe, who at sixteen was adopted by the Jacobs at twelve. Then Ophelia also at sixteen. Next is Tommy he's eleven a bit of a trouble maker and just got into the foster system a few years before. Last but not least Charlie. She's the youngest at three years old, the miracle child that overcame their fertility problems.
Ophelia has found her family and one she doesn't want to leave anytime soon. Surprising herself since she promised to herself no attachment. There was no stopping the love that filled their home and could break any troubled kid. With all of these people around her, she talks to Zoe the most. Zoe is really her first real friend. First sister. Ophelia still had her limits.
With summer coming to an end there was no more playing around the house. No more going to the beach and swimming in the sea. Everyone else in the house will be at school, work, or daycare. Leaving Ophelia doing nothing until the minute her foster siblings get home. If she could die of bordem she knew that would be how she'd go. Andrew Jacobs had a better idea.
Ophelia considered teaching self-defense. Ophelia may look like a small dark-haired girl who only looked about one hundred and thirty pounds soaking wet but she can take care of her self. She's stronger than she looks. Coming into the foster system it wasn't long before they found out she could fight. Not just punching either. Full black belt in almost every style of fighting. That's what got her suspended from her first day at school for three days. This was before she was tested and put into a high school where no boy dared to touch her. Her first week in high school a boy was making fun of a girl with big frizzy curly hair and she decided to take care of it herself. So small she was still able to hurt the boy almost twice her size. Needless to say, people thought twice when she entered the room no matter what age she was.
Ophelia's a mystery. She won't talk about her past before the foster system. They even got her to see a therapist who only said it could be trauma or someone had drilled her into not talking. Because as soon as you ask her anything before her parents died, she shuts down.
But secrets always have a way of coming out. Running from past won't always stay behind.
***
Andrew and Liana cooked dinner going from outside on the deck to check the burgers on the grill and putting together the side dishes inside the house.
The Jacobs had money. Andrew was once in the army and still does work for them on the side but he continues to work full time at the boy's Juvie just outside of town. Liana is a home and business decorator. She the best in the city and everyone wants her to be their decorator. They have a big three-story house including the basement. A large back yard that includes a trampoline, soccer goals, and a pool. A back deck that is used at least four times a week for breakfast, lunch, or dinners. The house itself-has the master bedroom on the first floor then three bedrooms upstairs. The boys get a room and the girls get a room. Charlie having a room for herself. The basement is an entertainment area that includes a pool table, air hockey, and ping pong along with another small kitchen. Ophelia loves the main kitchen on the first floor that had marble counters, a big island, two ovens. Every cook or bakers dream kitchen in a house. They spent the money to make it their dream kitchen. With Ophelia being done with school she baked and cooked a lot. She loved to cook but she didn't like it enough to return to school for it. It's something to pass the time.
"Kids, dinner!" Andrew yelled. Ophelia closed her book bookmarking it with an old gum wrapper she's had for maybe a week. She had a pile of books lined up on the wall next to her bed. Mostly teen fiction or just fiction. Once a week she goes to the library and picks up at least a dozen. She can finish a full book in a day. An not a small one either one of those that are as big as the last Harry Potter books. Her mind was never too full to introduce a new character or story.
She was drawn to teen fiction books for many reasons. Some she doesn't even realize. At sixteen she's got a degree and three minors. She's not the average teenager. Reading books about teenagers whose lives are sort of normal makes her feel normal. Picturing herself as the main character and putting herself in their shoes. Dealing with high school, cheerleaders, and sometimes magical beings or powers. First love is also a major. It's hard to date when the people around are always older.
She was the first down so she walked over to Charlie who sat on the carpet in the living room playing with her toys and a child's show playing in the background. After pausing the show and turning it to music she picked up Charlie. Charlie laughed as Ophelia kissed her cheek then set her on her hip. "Are you hungry?" Ophelia tapped her nose making Charlie scrunch it up.
"Yes!" Charlie said poking Ophelia back in the cheek.
"Then let's go eat." Ophelia took her into the kitchen and helped set up a plate.
"Honey, no soda for Charlie, she had a fruit roll-up after lunch," Liana said as she walked by with the giant salad bowl.
"Okay," Ophelia asked Charlie what she wanted with her burger pieces and she got her to help as well. She ended up having bell peppers, and cucumbers as a side with her burger that was cut up into bite-sized pieces. No bun since a three-year-old's mouth wasn't really big enough to bite the whole thing. Of course, after setting her down in her high chair she gave her a few Doritos. Ophelia along with her foster siblings and foster parents got their burger together. She filled her plate with a salad and a handful of chips. Liana sat at one end of the table and Andrew sat on the other end. Ophelia and GD sat to Liana's right near the wall with the giant windows while Zoe, Tommy, and Charlie to the left.
"We'll go school supply shopping tomorrow, so everyone needs to up and ready to go by eleven if you want supplies." Liana took a bite of her salad. "Do you know when you get your schedules?" She asked GD, Zoe, and Tommy. Tommy is going to sixth grade so he's got now seven periods a day similar to Zoe and GD but they only have five periods a day.
"I don't get mine till the first day. So it's basically just what we would normally need." Tommy took a big bite out of his burger leaving some of it falling out of his mouth.
"Smaller bites, Flash," Ophelia said using Tommy's nickname. "You're. Gonna choke."
"We can get ours in the morning before we go shopping," Zoe said. "I do know I have gym this year, as exciting and completely unnecessary as that is."
"Hey, health is very important. Besides look who's talking miss Soccer queen." Zoe has been playing soccer since she was in fifth grade. She started playing and didn't stop.
"Exactly, I work out enough."
"Then maybe you shouldn't have chosen gym. That to be one of your classes." GD said. Zoe shoved him a little making him do it back.
"If you don't want to take gym then you can switch to another class," Andrew said.
Ophelia sat in her seat playing with her salad. She doesn't have school. She'd be looking for a job she knows she's overqualified for. For the past two years, she's done simple classes online. Now she has no classes so a job as a cashier or a waitress is the only job she can get till she's eighteen and can work in the local high school. She still thinks it's ridiculous that the school wants her to eighteen. Though she'd be older than her students by a few months instead of being older or younger than them at that point.
"Ophelia, honey you okay?" Ophelia looked up from her plate to Liana.
"Yeah, just thinking. I think I'm going to take the waitress job at Mel's Diner or the cashier job at Walmart. I mean both jobs pay the same." Both jobs she'd be bored out of her mind. Though a job is a job and Ophelia felt she needed to save up.
"Actually I might have found you a job. One that you aren't overqualified to do. You're actually overqualified for everything" Ophelia looked at her foster father with her eyebrows pinched together. "I pulled some strings, used some favors but I think I might have found you a teaching position."
"Where? The elementary school? I mean high school would be easier for her." GD said. At least with the high schoolers, she can say she already has her degree and they'll shut up at her first sarcastic commit since she's not scared to be sarcastic with the students. But the elementary school, no kid would listen. They wouldn't believe her. She felt she'd been more like a glorified baby sitter than a teacher.
"No... actually the Juvi." Andrew grabbed his glass of water.
"The Juvie?" Andrew nodded his head and smiled at her.