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The Crutchie Interlude

SURPRISE!! TWO CHAPTERS AT ONCE!!
ENJOY!!

Crutchie's POV

This chapter is happening on Friday, during the day. Auditions are this afternoon.

Getting called to the principal's office is always terrifying. Getting called to the principal's office and finding your social worker sitting there is even more terrifying. And yet, I got pulled out of Bio and here I am, sitting in Principal Pulitzer's office across from Ms. Jordan, my social worker. Yes, I said social worker. The kind whose job is to put kids with a foster family, then put on a fake smile and put them in a different one when that family inevitably doesn't want them anymore. And I know from personal experience. Being a foster kid sucks. I've been with seven different families since my parents died when I was eleven. Five years, seven families. And I'm one of the lucky ones. At least I got to stay in the same school district. Jack, Phillip, Frances, and later the rest of the group kept me going through everything. I mean, I've been expecting to get moved any time now. No family wants a kid with a bad leg for very long. My current guardian, a widow named Mrs. Caldwell only pays a minimum amount of attention to me, but she's not abusive, so I consider her one of the good ones. But too bad, guess even she doesn't want me around.

"Charles. Charles!"

"Oh yeah, sorry. You were saying?"

Guess I should pay more attention. Whoops.

"After four tries, your Aunt and Uncle's request for custody has been approved, since they now have a stable source of income. They are moving to the city this week, so by—"

"Wait, Aunt Mae and Uncle Angus got approved? They get custody?"

"Yes, as I was saying. By this time next week you should be able to move in with them, and following a check-in after three weeks of being in their custody to make sure you are being provided for, you will be permanently removed from the system."

She began gathering her things to leave, but I barely noticed. I just couldn't believe it. Uncle Angus was my mom's stepbrother, and there was some legal issue that meant they couldn't take me in after the accident. They'd been trying ever since then. And now they're coming here, which means I won't have to move. My cousin Miles is away at college, but my cousin Jesse and I are the same age, so he'll probably come to this school. People used to say we could be twins if it weren't for my leg. Sometimes if we were somewhere we had to stay sitting down, we would switch places. I would give him my crutch, and we would keep up the prank until one of our parents noticed and told us off. And now they're coming to get me, and I'll be out of the system. No more group homes or being told "we don't want you anymore". I guess I was sitting there for a while, thinking, because Mr. Washington came over to talk to me.

"I heard the whole thing. Congratulations. But you might want to get to class before Mr. Pulitzer gets back and gives you detention."

"Oh yeah, thanks Mr. Washington."

But I didn't go immediately to class. Once I got out in the hall, I pulled out my phone and texted Jack. He was in English and was probably drawing on the desk again anyway.

Crutchie: meet me in the boys bathroom, first floor right hallway. I've got news

Jack❤️: gladly. If I have to hear another lecture on hyperbole I will murder someone

Crutchie: that's a hyperbole

Jack❤️: shut up

Jack❤️ has left the chat

I'm waiting by the sinks when Jack shows up, swinging a hall pass lanyard. He immediately walks over and presses a kiss on my forehead. Darn it I'm blushing again.

"What's up?"

"I'm getting out of the system."

Jack goes completely still, a huge smile spreading across his face.

"Wait, really? That's great Crutch! How?"

"My Aunt and Uncle finally got cleared for custody. They're moving here this week. My cousin will probably go to this school. The best part is, I get to stay here!"

"Wow, that's great Crutchie! Finally. Hey, we can finally have study dates at your house instead of mine."

"Yeah, that's fair. My Aunt and Uncle will want to meet you for sure."

"Great. It's a date. I can come over and help you unpack—"

"Not that I have much."

"And I can meet your folks."

"Sounds great, Jack. Now, we should probably go to class before we get detention for skipping in the bathroom."

"Nooooooooo. No more figurative language."

That makes me laugh, which makes him laugh, and soon we're both laughing too hard to stop. Looks like it's going to be a bit before we go back to class.

TADAAAAAA!! TWO CHAPTERS!! YOU'RE WELCOME!! That's a lot of exclamation points. Anyways, this is the start of the Crutchie subplot. There will only be a few off them, but it will overlap with the main plot eventually.
Don't forget to keep on smiling and keep on surviving everyone.
Peace Out ✌️
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