Of Shields & Trees [BxB]

03 | Rips & Tears | Soft-Core

A/N: And here's the soft-core version! I've omitted some stuff, like Maxim's family situation or Georgi's experience with foster families.

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"I did a plank! All 15 seconds of it!" I bragged to Miss Simona during one of my usual therapy sessions. "Georgi can do a full minute but still... I'm catching up! I finished the whole workout plan with him!"

"That's great!" The psychologist said with fake enthusiasm. "I'm glad you're fitting in. Have you written your letter to Santa already?"

I scanned her face with hard, stony eyes. "What am I? Eleven? My parents didn't celebrate Christmas," I added more as an afterthought but when Miss Simona didn't comment on it, I felt obliged to continue. "They usually spent Christmas in front of the TV, watching some stupid Christmas movies."

"Well, you can celebrate it now. We've found you a foster family for the holidays."

"You what?"

"You've heard me," she said with a smile. "We always try to accommodate as many children as possible during the holidays. It's a single mother with two older boys. They usually do not tend to keep children after the holiday season is over though so do not get attached."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Stoyan will also come with you so it won't be a totally unfamiliar environment."

"Ok..." I hated to admit it but it did make me feel better that I won't be the only 'orphan boy' this family would be hosting. "So when are we leaving?"

"They'll come to pick you up tomorrow morning. After breakfast."

"Ok. What about Luke and Georgi? Did you find them foster families?"

"For Luke — yes. For Georgi..." She paused in thought. "I'm sorry! Which Georgi are we talking about?"

I got kinda annoyed, considering I've been talking about him for the first 20 minutes of our session. But... I didn't know his last name. As for me, he was the only Georgi that I knew. The only one that stood out.

"I don't know his last name. Green eyes, keeps his hair slightly longer than the rest, likes to workout in the school yard." We did sleep in the same building we studied in as well so calling it a school yard was understandable. The 'bedrooms' were on the top two floors of the social home, while the classrooms took the other two.

The first day it occurred to me that maybe they kept the bedrooms high so we don't sneak out during the night. It wasn't like we could fit through the bars though.

"Oh, yes!" Miss Simona exclaimed, happy that she put a face to the name. She browsed through her files for a tad bit too long... "He's staying here. We couldn't find families for many of the boys this year," she added with a devastated sigh. I almost felt obliged to comfort her but opted to glance at the square clock hanging on her wall instead. Two more minutes to go. Should I wait for the familiar chime or tell her that we were running out of time?

"I guess I should go prepare my luggage then," I said, even though I had nothing to take with me. Just a few old clothes I was ashamed of wearing but it wasn't like I could walk around naked or ask the social workers to buy me some, considering mine were still in a wearable condition.

This session was one of the good ones. We didn't discuss my family or how much I missed my friends. Overall, it went ok.

I headed for the 'playroom', which was basically just another classroom but decorated with old sofas instead of desks. They were all facing an ancient TV that only caught a few channels. You know, the ones that were broadcasted for free. We had a total of two computers as well, that let out a weird humming sound when they worked, and believe me, they worked all of the fucking time. We had to sign an hour in advance in order to use one. And we had only 20 minutes each. Miss Nora was following so we don't overstay our welcome.