Behind Closed Doors: My Life As Ke'Ladriah Wallace

23

"Well what do we have here!" Slowly releasing each other I knew that voice anywhere though I hadn't heard it in a while. "Ms. Crenshaw?" I asked well aware that it was her. She'd changed a bit in the past few months. Her usually braided hair was now in a high pinned bun, and instead of her usual suits she looked more relaxed in casual attire. I looked at her for a moment as she looked at everyone in the room. Suddenly she broke the awkward silence. "Ms. Perkins, you have a visitor." She kissed her teeth and brushed past Ms. Crenshaw on the way out. I looked up to see this woman still standing there, hearing a slight whisper which came from behind her. Looking to see where it came from I finally noticed my brother who was there the whole time. He came in and hugged me and I suddenly felt guilty for an odd reason. Ms. Crenshaw stepped in closing the door. "Look, Ms. Crenshaw I'm so-" she stopped me mid sentence. "Ke'Ladriah you don't have to apologize to me. I-" I stopped her. "Let me finish, let me finish!" I exclaimed silencing the room. "The floor is yours." I took a deep breath. "Okay, look Ms. Crenshaw i want to apologize for my actions that day, and every other day before that. I wasn't used to anyone caring about us the way that you did because well, you know. I really appreciated your kindness and efforts towards helping me and my little brother and sister and you truly are a good women and I'm sorry for what I said to you. Anyways I was hoping that maybe you'd come here and work with us sometimes like you used to. Please?" I looked at her while my brother looked with me and my sister still brushed her doll's hair nonchalantly. "I forgive you Ke'Ladriah, but I didn't come here to make up, I actually came here to tell you something." I looked at her with a look that caused her to carry on. "What is it?" I asked worried because of the look on her face. "Ke'Ladriah I have new clients that I work with now. I also needed you to know that you won't be able to live here after today-" I got furious. "And why not?" She hushed me and continued talking. "Ke'Ladriah you've had several visits during these 3 months meaning several chances to get adopted but due to your attitude you've failed miserably and there's nothing left to do. So therefore tomorrow you'll have to relocate to somewhere else." I got angrier at every word that she said to me. "So you mean to tell me that just because I ain't found nobody good enough to adopt me that I can't stay here. Half of the people that wanted to adopt me didn't want to take my brother and sister too! I wasn't just going to leave without them and I wasn't going to just go to anybody!" She huffed, but her anger turned into giggles, along with giggles from my brother  making me even angrier. "Yo, what's so funny?" My brother laughed and pointed at me. "Tell her Ms. Crenshaw!" They finally stopped and she became somewhat serious. "Ke'Ladriah there is no rule here that states a