All Jeanie Francis wanted was a peaceful summer break with no distractions and no stressful situations...and it would've been possible is she hadn't met Arden with no last name...who seem to be adamant on ruining her summer...or in his words 'More f...
The curtain from the peeping tom next door shut close the minute I looked up from where the cute sneeze sounded from, and the girl that was eavesdropping just seconds before disappeared behind the curtain. I smirked to myself knowing how out of control Jeanie's noisy nose can be
Even at eleven thirty at night
I've known about the shy girl from nextdoor since I moved here a year ago, have'nt had the right moment or time to properly introduce myself though. The very first time I met Jeanie Francis was about eight months ago at the Crazy Bean Cafe while she was taking my order. She barely could look at me and I thought she was just being rude, but only learnt from Sebastain that she's shy and doesn't interact with people much, hates crowds too. Which made me wonder why she took a job in the one place that is always crowded with people, especially people her own age
And since that day, I'd come to the cafe and watch her take orders and busting tables and not once has she ever noticed me, or ask my name. The only way I knew hers was the name tag she wears plugged to her uniform...and her weird friend always shouting it from nextdoor, which was a suprise to me to find that the shy girl from the cafe was also my neighbour, and her bedroom window right across from my own and adjacent to the front yard
“Arden! Are you even listening to me?” I looked at my foster mother who did not look at all that angry at my arrival late night cuffed at the back of a police van. Instead she just looked tired and worn out. “C'mon inside before you catch a cold out here” She ushered me inside and I took one last look at the close curtain and shook my head heading inside following Nadia Winter. My foster mother who couldn't have children of her own due to some accident that damaged her uterus. She adopted me last year, well officially anyway. She took me in two months before that after finding me under the same bridge I vandalised today, on the brink of death after overdosing on drugs. She took me to the hospital where they pumped the pills out and right after that she never left me alone. And here we are today, officialy foster child and foster parent
I went straight to the kitchen to get myself something to drink before I die of thirst. After Rodgers and his partner drove us around for the heck of it, they eventually dropped us off at our homes with a strict warning thag next time if we were caught on the streets again. We wont be so lucky
“Officer Gregory said he doesn't want to see on the streets causing trouble again or its a jail cell for you and your friends. Is that what you want Arden, to end up in jail?”
I opened the fridge taking out the orange juice and kicking it close with my foot. Nadia was leaning against the entrance with her arms folded and looking at me expectactly. “I asked you a question Arden, do you want to end up throwing your whole life away just because 'you're having fun'. Is that it?”
She wasnt shouting or talking loudly to show she was angry at me. Which only confirmed that she was not angry, just disappointed...again. “I might as well, its not like I'm destined for greatness” She sighed at my responce and only tugged her robe tighter around her fragile body
I rinsed a glass from the sink and poured the juice in it, gulping it in one go and setting the now dirty glass back to the sink. “Arden...” she started, but before she could say what I knew she was going to say. I cut her off
“Can't you ground me and get it over with”
“What has grounding you done for me before huh? Its not like you're gonna follow through anyway. By tomorrow morning you'll be back to the streets causing a mess that I'd have to clean”
“Well I'm sorry that i'm such an inconveince to you, maybe you should just send me back to the orphanage like the rest of them did”
She looked at me and sighed in tiredness, coming to stand close to me. I leaned against the sink and folded my arms, just to prevent her from hugging me cause I knew she was going to. Nadia is one caring woman, she's the only foster parent who has never treated me like I was broken and needed fixing. She was the only one I knew who never looked at me in pity as if I neede anyone's pity. I'm an orphan, so what. Its not like I'm the first and I'm definitely not the last
“If I wanted to take you back, I would've done that eight months ago. But because I love and care for you, I won't be giving up on you so easily”
“Maybe you should”
She smiled, that loving smile of a mother that I never got with my other foster parents
“As much as you want me to, I'm not going to” She stated matter of fact, and knowing her that was true. “All you need is a job to keep you busy enough not to go out vandalising private properties”
Yeah right. Like anyone would hire a trouble teen like myself
“Didn't you say you liked to spend time at the Crazy Bean Cafe just a few blocks from here? Maybe I should recommend you a job there”
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
