Stories I Will Never Write

I need to stop being inspired

Chapter 1

Mr. Knack rings the doorbell of the small brown house. The door is dark wood with some glass in it, though I can't see through it. I can hear people moving around inside, and the door swings open with a soft brushing sound. Mrs. Benney stands in the doorway. She smiles at Mr. Knack, and then at me. I manage to force a small, nervous smile back.

She welcomes us in. Mr. Knack carries my suitcase in. I follow him, carrying just my backpack. Mrs. Benney closes the door behind us.

Now we're in a living room. The far wall is made up of a large glass door that looks out to a porch. Or is it called a porch? Mr. Benney shakes Mr. Knack's hand and then holds his hand to shake mine too. I awkwardly put my hand in his. That's what I did when I first met him, but now he's adopting me. You don't shake hands with your daughter.

I guess he doesn't know what else to do. We barely know each other, so it would be very awkward if he hugged me.

Mr. Knack looks at me after setting my suitcase down. "Well, Carla, I'll be checking on you in a few days. If any of you need anything, don't hesitate to call me."

"We will. Thank you so much," Mrs. Benney says.

He walks back out, leaving me alone. I can deal with being alone, but it's different in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. I stare intently at the tag on my suitcase as I play with it in my fingers.

"Carla, we have something for you." I look up at Mr. Benney. He's holding a small box wrapped in wrapping paper. He hands it to me. I'm surprised, but I pull the paper off. I open the box, clutching the paper in my hand. I don't know if they're the kind of people who hate messes on their floor.

Inside the box is a necklace. The charm on it is a little silver heart.

"Thank you." I hold the necklace in my hand and close the box again, not knowing what to do. I know this is awkward for everyone, and I hate it.

Mrs. Benney takes the wrapping paper and box from my hand and sets them on a little table in front of the couch. "We hope you like it here."

"Me too." I'm aware I probably look like a scared little girl. Secondhand jeans and a too-big, secondhand hoodie put on a five-foot-three teenager probably add to the effect.

"Would you rather call us dad and mom or Tom and Kayla?" Mr. Benney asks.

"I... Um..." Aren't I supposed to call them dad and mom? Legally, they are.

Sorry, I don't know how adoption works. Do they get like a week of trial period or anything? Or do they just show up like I'm having it now?

"Why don't you call us Kayla and Tom for now. If you want to change later, you can," Mrs. Benney says. She's acting polite, like I'm a stranger. I know I am, but it's awkward. When will it stop being awkward?

"Okay."

"Tom, you can show her around the house while I finish dinner."

"Alright," he agrees. She disappears around a wall, and Mr. Benney reaches for my suitcase. "We can take your stuff to your room first." He starts walking down a hallway, and I follow him. There's one door on each side, and one at the end. "On the left is the bathroom, and the right is Kayla's and my room. Yours is here." He pushes open the door at the end of the hallway. There's a bed in here, along with a lamp on a nightstand, a bookshelf, a desk, and a chair at the desk. He sets my suitcase on the floor by the bed, so I put my backpack next to it. "We can get you some more furniture later if you like. The room is kind of bland. It was just our guest room."

"Okay." The walls are all blank, but there's a window facing the front of the house. I notice there's no lock on the door. Some of the foster homes I've been in had locks on the bedrooms. Others didn't.

There's a short, awkward silence before he says, "I'll show you the rest of the house." I follow him back out to the dining room, which is connected to the kitchen. There's a bathroom beyond the kitchen. There's also an office that connects to both the kitchen and the living room. Through the office is the garage.

He takes me outside. The ground is wood for about fifteen feet before it reaches a fence. There's an overhang giving off shade, and a lot of plants are growing in planters and pots. It's pretty small, but there are some chairs.

And basically she goes through struggles of teenager stuff. And I was going to have the family be Christian.

I'm not very good at making realistic fiction. Like in the modern world without anything supernatural happening.