Solitary Confinement

The Adoption

I was floating. Nothing but a serene feeling engulfed my body and left my mind at peace. I'd never been this at rest before, but where was I? Looking around, I observed the land around me. In the distance, I could hear seagulls chirping in unison, almost as if they were singing to each other. The trees around me looked foreign. Palm trees? Wrinkling my toes, I felt softness beneath my feet. Glancing down, I saw the golden yellow sand filled with shells and creatures. A cast of bold red crabs crawled around the blanket of grains, moving in rhythm with one another. I closed my eyes as a gentle breeze grazed the surface of my skin, sending tingles all the way down to the tips of my fingers and toes. Wow, I could stay here forever, I internally wished to myself.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!

I sprung up from my bed, holding my hands close to my chest in an attempt to calm my racing heart. Searching for the wretched creature that woke me from my deep sleep, my eyes landed on my alarm clock. In a mood of vengeance my hand reached out, grasped the alarm clock, and sent it flying across the room. The clock slammed against the wall and pieces of it went flying in all directions. Great, now I need a new one.

A knock on my door snapped me back to reality.

"Who is it?!" I shouted to the shadow hovering over my bedroom door.

"It's Charlotte. Open up!" Charlotte replied in response.

Sluggishly, I peeled myself out of bed and away from my warm covers. This better be good Charlotte. Before making it to the door, I stumbled across the pile of clothes still laying in the middle of my floor. Huh, I should really get rid of those. Shrugging, I flung open my room door, and looked up at my social worker's face. A smile plastered onto her face. A smile I'd never seen her have before.

"What's made you so joyful this morning?" I asked her with curiosity.

"Oh, you won't believe it Liv. The Monroe's have agreed to foster you for a little while, and then if everything is going well, they're considering adoption!" Charlotte excitedly let out. Adoption. Is this a joke? Not trying to show any disdain in my facial expression, I questioned, "Why would they want to do that?"

Charlotte's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, almost as if I'd just spoken to her in a foreign language. After hesitantly thinking, she began to speak, "What do you mean why? Why would they not want to? You're a great kid, and surely they saw that during the interview. Sure, you could have been a little less hostile, but that's all personality."

"So, you're saying they enjoyed my less than enthused personality? Yeah, I'm sure that's it."

"No, I'm saying you shouldn't question the fact that someone wants you to be a part of their family," Charlotte somberly answered my rhetorical question, "You could be, or at least act, a little more grateful. I'd start packing if I were you. I'll be back in a few hours to pick you up." She abruptly spun around and made her way down the dark, dimly lit hallway to the group home. I furrowed my eyebrows, a little hurt by what Charlotte had just said to me. I'm not ungrateful.

Slowly backing away from the door, I turned and walked towards my dresser where a mirror leaned on top. Glancing at myself in the mirror, I began to speak to myself, "I am not ungrateful, I am not ungrateful." Over and over I spoke these words to myself. The palms of my hands plastered themselves to the top of the dresser, nails digging into the varnish. My once bold, blonde hair now looked dull and stripped of any life. Dark circles dressed my lower eyelids. I looked tired, very tired. I sudden pain jolted through my fingertips, and my fingers felt wet. When I looked down, red liquid dripped down my fingers and graced my palms. Ow.