INAGURATE [CAMERON BOYCE]

one: pipe dream

THE LIGHTS were dim. The house was as quiet as can be, the only sounds were small sniffles every once and again, and the sound of glass hitting plastic.

Maddox Carter-Watts swept the beer bottle shards up into the small handheld dustpan before dumping it into the nearby trash bag. Her ratty t-shirt and shorts reeked of beer, and her face was currently sporting several cuts and bruises.

The fight she had gotten into with her foster father was brutal, and it ended in the girls current situation. Maddox had 'forgotten' her place, making the mistaking of thinking she was human, and not actually just a free paycheck, and that she had a say in anything involving herself or her body. How foolish, right?

Behind her on the wooden staircase of the home, Tia Brown, her foster sister, stood watching with sad eyes. She descended the staircase quietly, looking behind her up the stairs to make sure her foster parents didn't catch her. Tia tip-toed over to the slightly younger girl, setting her hand on her shoulder, causing Maddox to jump, startled.

Tia's eyes wide as she pressed her hand to the girls mouth who had let out a scream. "Shh. I'm sorry," Tia said. Seeing it was only her foster sister, Maddox sighed in relief, standing up straight and walking towards the closet.

"What are you doing down here? Jeff and Erica will flip out if they catch you down here after hours." Tia pulled a pamphlet from seemingly nowhere, sitting it on the table in front of the girl. "What's that?"

"It's a brochure for the Foundations of Hope center. They're a program that can help kids with situations like ours get better foster placements, jobs, access to our birth documents, and way more. They also offer counseling for foster kids with traumatic back stories. I figure that part would be the most appealing for you," the slightly older girl explained, a small smile making its way to her face.

"I appreciate the gesture, but I'm—"

"Going. You're going. I'm not watching you take another beating, and I'm sure as hell not putting up with hearing what he does to you when thinks we're all sleeping at night, anymore. Look Maddox, this is your chance. Our chance, at getting placed with a real family. You have to go, okay?" Tia pleaded. Imani shook her head, not believing that this place would just magically help her, because if that were the case, L.A wouldn't hold as many foster kids as it does.

"Kids like you and me, don't exactly just get magically saved by some program that by the way probably just profits off of black and brown kids from the hood. I really am happy you found something to look forward to, and I hope it works out for you, but I just don't see the point in shopping for the perfect family. They never want teens. Besides, I'll be 18 in a couple months anyway, and I can finally be free from all of this. I mean look at you, you're gonna be 18 in a month." Maddox finished sweeping up the beer bottle residue and cleaning up its spilled contents before starting on the dishes from dinner.