Fostered

Chapter Two

"Rise and shine, shine and rise! Rise and shine, shine and rise!" Hallie sings as she draws back the curtains and dances around the room.

I shield my eyes as I sit up. Sarah groans loudly and Maisie hides under the blankets. Esmeralda cheerily gets out of bed and sashays to the bathroom. You'd think after 3 years of being woken up like this, I'd be used to it. Even Sarah, who has been here for 8 years, can hardly get up.

Hallie flings the windows open and yanks the covers off of Maisie.

"Let's go! Get up! Big day today!" She claps and exits the room.

I get out of bed and sleepily hobble to the dresser. I pull out a pair of jeans and an old tank top. I get dressed in no hurry and make my way downstairs. I pour myself a bowl of Lucky Charms and fish out all of the marshmallows, only eating a few of the bland bits. I rinse out my bowl and Hallie comes downstairs, yelling and clapping some more.

"Alright, Sloan! The McKinnons are going to be here in like, five minutes. I just got off of the phone with Tina! Do you have all of your stuff?" She asks, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Yeah." I nod and gesture to my backpack and my suitcase on the floor by the couch.

"Great! Exciting!" Hallie claps yet again and there's a knock at the door, "They're here! Alright! Big smiles!"

I make zero effort to look friendly. Hallie opens the door and I get my first look at the family. The mom - er, Tina - has longer, dark brown hair. She has a kind smile and big green eyes. She's short and wears mom jeans with a black tanktop. She clings to her husband's arm. He's rather tall, but definitely built up. The sleeves of his blue polo shirt are squeezing his big arms. He has slicked back blonde hair and green eyes.

"Hi, I'm Tina." Her voice is a little bit squeaky.

She sticks out her hand and Hallie graciously shakes it.

"Tina, I'm Hallie. So nice to finally meet you!"

"I'm Henry." Tina's husband says, shaking Hallie's hand.

"This is Sloan." She announces, pulling me over to the door.

"Oh my goodness! It's so exciting to meet you!" Tina smiles.

"Hi." I say.

Hallie grimaces and I turn around to grab my bags. I hoist them up and Henry reaches for them. I figure there's no harm in letting him take them if he's offering. I hand them to him and he offers me a warm smile before walking back to the car. My mouth practically falls open when I see the black Mercedes G-Wagon parked at the curb. Tina passes me with a grin before her and Hallie disappear into the kitchen to sign papers and finalize everything.

I saunter down the driveway to the car. Henry puts my bags in the trunk and then turns to me.

"Do you have your license?" He asks.

I instantly notice he doesn't have the thick New York accent that me and everybody else I know have. Even his wife has it. For some reason, he sounds like he came from the West Coast.

"Nah. I never got around to it. I have a permit, though. It's going to expire soon..." I shrug.

"We'll get that license before your permit expires." Henry nudges my arm and I smile a little bit.

Tina comes walking out and Hallie follows. They thank each other and Hallie pulls me into a hug.

"Please be good. Please." She whispers.

"No promises." I say as she releases me and Tina opens the door of the car for me.

I slide into the backseat and Tina closes the door. Hallie stands on the front lawn and waves. Henry starts the car and we begin the hour-long trip to Amherst. Halfway through, we pull off the freeway and Henry offers to buy us lunch. We end up eating at a nice little cafe. Then, we get back on the road. I nearly fall asleep but I jolt awake when we pull into the driveway of the house.