Finding Home with Duke Thomas

An Overwhelming Habitat

Gotham isn't a happy place. It's a gloomy city, constantly covered in fog. The sky is rarely ever it's natural bright blue, almost permanently stained grey from a combination of pollution and rain clouds.

The people aren't much better. Unless you're part of the Gothams elite, you have to deal with constant prison breaks, the high risk of being attacked or robbed, and the concerningly high poverty rates. The people are mean and put themselves first when it comes to survival. And it's understandable.

You'd think that living in Gotham city your whole life added with your parents losing their sanity, resulting in you being put in Gotham's terrible and overflooding foster system would make one gloomier than normal. But that's not the case for Duke Thomas.

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"I'm really disappointed in you, Duke."

Duke hung his head in shame, not wanting to meet his social workers, eyes.

"You can't run away from every foster home." Amanda sighed, leaning back in the chair.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" She asked.

Duke had lots of things to say for himself. He could tell the truth and tell her that the family was locking him in a closet when he did something wrong (though they never told him what he did). He could start crying about how much he missed his parents and wanted to be with them again.

"I-uh..didn't mean to run away.." That was a low blow, even for Duke.

"Duke." Amanda started. "Because you ran away, no one can take you in for the night. We're going to have to either ask someone with an emergency foster license, if no one can take you in, you have no choice but to stay here for the night"

Duke nodded, and opened his backpack to get out a book to read while Amanda made the calls. His backpack was old and worn, it was the same bag he brought to school with him on his first day in kindergarten. His name is stitched on the inside, done with his mom's sewing kit that she kept under the coffee table in the living room.

Duke opened the book he pulled out. The Wizard of Oz was written in gold letters on the cover. He found the page he left off of and started reading.

He isn't sure how long he sat there reading. But when Amanda brought him back to the present she seemed really nervous. Her hands kept coming up to mess with her hair as she looked in the mirror. She wore her lips in a thin line, before putting on a bit more of the deep red lipstick she enjoyed so much.

"Get your stuff together, I found a house for you." She said before turning towards the mirror she kept on a filling cabinet.

Duke shoved the bookmark into the crevice of the pages and gently shoved it into his bag. Together they walked outside to Amanda's car. Once they were inside and buckled she turned to face him.

"I'm going to be honest Duke, the man that has agreed to take you in is very powerful. Don't go fucking this up." She faced back towards the road and started driving.

Duke really wanted to pay attention to where they were going. He really did. But something about her threat made him uneasy. What powerful man would want to take him in? Was it for publicity? He really hoped not, being thrown into the spotlight just to talk about how thankful he is to be 'saved' from the system doesn't 't sound all that appealing.

The clock on the dashboard read 4:23. If he's going to be staying with a rich guy on the outskirts of the city, he might as well try to get a nap in. Who knows what will happen at the house.

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The sound of a car door being slammed woke Duke up with a start. He rubbed the sleep out his eyes and stared at the clock until it became focused.