I sat slumped in my chair in my social workers office. I've been through this a million times, someone wants to foster me, they will take me home for a week before dumping me back in the system. No one wants me. No matter how pretty I looked or how good I am, it no longer matters. I'm 16 years old, no one wants a teenager. I have a very slim figure and I'm average height. My hair is a light blonde, which looks even brighter against my dark clothes. I was wearing black ripped jeans and a cropped backless top that tied at the bottom, with white doc martins and I have a small white back pack. I used to put lots of effort in when meeting potential foster parents, but it never made a difference, I would still end up in the system. Just two more years and I would be out!
"Ok, Hope. This woman is called Regina. She has a 10 year old son already who she adopted when he was a baby. She would like to adopt you but she knows your only up for foster at the moment" Said Sarah my social worker
"She wants to adopt me?" I asked. No one wants to foster teens let alone adopt them!
"Yeah she does, but it's up to you and we thought it would be sensible for you to stay with her for a month or so first before you make your final decision" Said Sarah.
"Fine whatever" I shrugged. She gave me the look
"Will you try this time? This woman wants to adopt you, this could be a permanent home for you" She said trying to sound optimistic.
"Ok! I'll try" I said knowing she didn't 100% believe me.
"I'll go bring her in then" She said going back out the room. What kind of a person would want to adopt a teenager they haven't met yet? I mean there is the online website where you basically go shopping for a kid and it tells you stuff about us, but mine isn't that detailed. There wasn't much they could write about me that was good! Sarah came back in with a tall woman with shoulder length, black hair wearing a pants suit. She had a stupid smile all over her face
"Hi. I'm Regina, it's nice to meet you" She said holding her hand out for me to shake. At least she wasn't all over me trying to hug and kiss me like lots of other foster parents have done. To be fair, they only did it because they were faking being nice in front of Sarah so that they could get the check for me. With foster kids, the parents get given a check every month so they can afford to look after the kid, lost of parents just do it for the money though. I hadn't figured out if that's what this woman wanted or not.
"Well, Hope your bag is all packed?" Sarah asked. I nodded "Great, then I'll let you two go. It's a long drive back to..."
"Storybrook. It's a quaint little town, but I'm sure you'll love it Hope" Said Regina. I grabbed my bag and walked out the office, sure to see it again soon. Regina had a nice car, she clearly didn't need the extra money I would provide.
The car ride was pretty quiet. It wasn't awkward quiet which is what you would usually expect. Music played quietly in the back ground and that was it, there was the occasional comment or question, but nothing too big at first.
"We're about 20 minutes away, then we can stop by Granny's diner and grab dinner before going back to the house" She said
"Sure... Um, Sarah said you have a son" I said trying to talk a little
"Yes, Henry. He's 10, very energetic. I hope you two will get on alright. It's been just the two of us for a while now" She said
"So no husband or boyfriends?" I asked. She laughed a little uncomfortable
"No" She said
"Oh sorry, any girlfriends?" I asked trying to make her laugh. She did
"No, I meant, I don't have either" She replied. We passed a sign welcoming you to Storybrook and drove through the quiet town. She eventually stopped outside a small diner "Do you want to come in and choose? Or I could grab you a burger if you want to stay in the car" She said unsure what to do
"No, I'll come choose" I said climbing out the car. We went in and she handed me a menu
"The usual for me and Henry, please, and Hope needs to choose too" Regina said to an old woman.
"I'll have a cheese burger and fries with a diet coke" I said to her
"Coming right up" She said walking away. A young girl in skimpy clothes came over to us with a note pad
"Have you been served?" She asked
"Yeah we have" I replied. She looked at me closely
"Are you new in town?" She asked
"Yeah why?" I replied curious
"Oh, we just don't get many visitors" She replied
"Regina is fostering me" I replied
"Cool, well if you want a tour of the very limited fun places around here, come find me. I'm always working here!" She said smiling "I'm Ruby" She said holding her hand out
"Hope" I said shaking it. We were given our food and then went back to Regina's house. It was the biggest house in the entire town!
"What do you do for a job?" I asked
"I'm the Mayor" She replied unlocking the door and letting me inside. I'll show you to your room so you can dump your bag. Henry will want to give you the tour" She said chuckling
She led me upstairs to my room. It was covered in silver and very sophisticated
"If you don't like it or you want to change anything, just let me know and I get some people over to do it, or you could, or we could" She said
"No, I like it" I said putting my bag down. I heard the front door shut and foot steps coming up the stairs.
"Henry is that you?" Regina asked
"Yeah" Said a voice.
"Come meet Hope" She said. A little boy with brown hair came into the room
"Hey" He said
"Hey" I replied smiling at him. It still felt extremely awkward, but Regina broke the tension and we all went down for dinner. She put everything on plates and put the drinks in glasses. I was definitely not used to this! Why didn't we just eat out of the boxes we were given with the food?
YOU ARE READING
Once Upon A Time: Season 1
FantasyHope has grown up in foster homes, never having a family of her own. Until Regina Mills deicides to take her in. She now lives with Regina and her son Henry who is very creative. He thinks everyone in the town is a fairy tale character from his book...
