Stranger Kids

CHAPTER 8

I thought about what he said. I want to adopt you played and played in my head. He's the perfect person. Perfect dad material. Could this really change my life forever? Could I actually have another dad? I miss my dad. Nobody could ever replace my parents. My mom, Gabriela Diaz, brown hair, hazel eyes, and nice mocha skin, was the best mother ever. She'd bake cookies, take us out to dinner, go to the movies. Everything a kid would want to do with their mom.

My dad, Pablo Diaz, was an athletic, hard-working dad. "Hey, are you alright?" Officer Choi asks. I was lying on my bed facing upward, with my arms underneath my head. "Yeah, I'm just thinking." Popper looks at me. "Well, I brought you some food. Tell me if you need anything," he says as he walks off to his office right across from my cell.

Before, Officer Campbell was across from my cell. But Choi asked to move so he could keep an eye on me in case I did something 'bad'. "Why is he treating you like royalty?" Popper asks. "He asked if he could adopt me," I say. Popper's eyes grow wide. "Kid, Choi is the best person to be a father. He cares about the inmates. He makes sure that they are fed and have clean bathrooms. Sometimes, he'd stay late just to say goodnight to all the inmates. And there's 500 of us in this building. Or he takes 15 of them outside to workout and stuff and calls in someone to watch them while cleaning their cells." the old man says.

I was shocked. 500 is a lot of people. Maybe I should say yes. I like Officer Choi. He's a great person. And his sister is really pretty. I couldn't sleep last night because I was thinking about what he told me. "Rocky Diaz, you have a visitor," says Officer Choi. But, the way he says it sounds so, happy. Like he's happy someone is seeing me.

As I walk into the Visitation Office, I see someone familiar again. Not Tim, not grandma, but someone else. "Mom?" I ask.