Complicated

1. Pity.

It's September 1st, about a week before the first day of school for Kiloni and her brother, Courtlen. Kiloni is rather excited to enter junior year of high school; to learn, to socialize, to have the chance to see her boyfriend, Jake, on the daily. As for Courtlen, entering his senior year, had no intentions to do anything productive this school year. To him, being a senior meant having no care for anything and doing what he does best: hanging with his friends, having a good time and being in the drug business.

At their average 3-bedroom home, everyone was in their rooms; Kiloni in hers, Courtlen in his, and their mother, Michelle, in hers, as her husband was working late at the hospital yet again. She didn't really mind the fact that her husband worked late often, all she cared for is that he came home every day, which he did.

A soft knock came onto Kiloni's door and her mom peeked in. "I need to go back to the office real quick. They called and said I had to get some files so I'll be right back," she said. Kiloni nodded in understanding as she laid on her bed with her phone in front of her face.

Michelle works as a social worker in foster care and adoption. She arranges for kids to get adopted and helps find foster homes for the kids who need them. The office called her in due to the fact that this file seemed more urgent than ever.

She walked into the building, towards her boss's office. With the door already open, she let herself in. "Hey Sean, I got the call. What's wrong?" Michelle asked. Sean looked up to her as he looked through his stack of files. "This new kid we got some files on.. this is something serious," he replied. Michelle's face altered in a confused expression. "Well, what's the problem?"

"Nine foster homes, last foster home ended as a massacre. It says that the boy was living with a guy in his early 30s and his son in some beatdown place. Someone called the cops and when they showed up, the father and son were shot dead except the boy.. he was scared out of his mind when they found him," Sean explained. Michelle's heart slowly sank from hearing the story. "..did the boy kill them?" she murmured. "Well, he hasn't been taken to court or anything yet so I'm not sure. I called you in so you can deal with this file."

Michelle couldn't help but feel bad. Not even knowing the boy, she knows that something about his description tells that he couldn't have done the crime. To her, he seemed like a lost cause. He needed more help than just another foster home.

She walked toward the desk and looked through the files of the boy for herself. "Chresanto August.. hm..," she said to herself. Michelle picked up the stack and headed towards the door. "Let me look at these tonight and I'll get back to you on him," she instructed. Sean gave her a thumbs up and she was on her way.

When she got back to her car, Michelle began to contemplate. "I really need to see what this boy is all about.." she told herself. Going back into the file, there was an address of where Chresanto was sent to after the accident. Michelle got her car started and drove herself to the location.

When she got there, it was a lowdown police station on the other side of town. Michelle walked into the front desk with her handful of files. "Hi, I'm Michelle Lee with Human Services and I'm here to see Chresanto August." The police at the desk squinted his eyes at her. "Identification please," he demanded. She pulled out her work ID from her back pocket and gave it to the officer. After confirming she was clear, the policeman lead her to Chresanto.

He was in a cell, sitting in the corner as his head hung in gloom with his hood on. "Oh my," Michelle whispered. "Hey boy! Someone's here to see you!" hollered the officer. Chresanto slowly picked his head and gave a deathly glare. The cop unlocked the cell and let Michelle in. He then walked to the wall across from the cell, to keep an eye on Michelle and Chresanto.

Michelle sat herself down about two feet away from Chresanto. "Hello.. I'm Michelle," she said in a low tone. He didn't respond to her. "I'm here to help you. I don't think you did anything wrong but I'm here to get you out of this place," she added. Chresanto slowly turned his head to Michelle. Still no response."By your files, no one was really helpful to you. I'm here to REALLY help you," she replied. She could see the pain in Chresanto's face. Michelle never went wrong in reading people, and from seeing Chresanto, she was ready to make a risky decision.

"I know you don't know me very well and I was just assigned your records but.. I'm taking you in myself," she explained. Chresanto's mean face turned into a shocked expression. "I'm going to be hands-on with you, okay? Sending you to just another foster home isn't going to help you so you can stay with my family and I. You're gonna go to school, do chores, all of that stuff. All I expect of you is to cooperate with me and not get into trouble. Can you do that?"

Chresanto was still in shocked at Michelle's plan and took a long pause before responding. "You serious?" he asked. Partially surprised that he finally spoke, Michelle nodded her head. Knowing that she was a social worker, Chresanto knew she was serious. He thought about it and came to his conclusion. "I can do it.." he told Michelle. She smiled at his decision and stood up. "Officer, I'm taking this boy with me," Michelle barked across the room.

After filling out the paperwork and such to legally take Chresanto with her, Michelle headed back home; Little did she expect to be taking a foster child with her back home. All she hopes is that her family is okay with having a new addition to the household.