NEW GIRL! mileven au.

prologue

• twelve years ago •

EIGHT was carrying me. my legs are too short, she said. and that i wouldn't be able to keep up with the others of she didn't carry me.

it's okay. i think i agree with her. and running makes me tired.

-

a day later, we show up at a big building. eight said she was tired. i wasn't. it was my fault she was tired. she was carrying me all the way to the building.

the building. it's tall, and brown. the other building was white. everything was white. the clothes we wore. the clothes papa wore.

two rang something on the door. it made a buzz sound. the door flew open. it was a lady. an old one.

"oh, poor children." she said, and let us come into her big building.

• eleven years ago •

i sat on my small bed, next to eight. we were the only ones left. all the others were gone. grown-ups took them. i still wonder if they are okay.

eight and i are playing a game with our hands. we have been playing it all year.

and she is not eight anymore. i have to remind myself of that. she is kali now. i kept my number. eleven. el, kali called me.

as we sat playing out game, miss becky came with a man. he was tall, and he wore the outfit of a police officer. i had seen them outside, through the window.

"these are our last two, chief."

he looked at kali, eyes briefly passing over her. then he looked at me. the small five year old.

"sarah," he whispered, with a sad smile.

"i'm adopting the small one."

in the next hour, i was out of the building, in a small apartment, with the man who was now my father.

• today •

i stare at my reflection. did i look good enough? would the other kids judge me?

of course they would judge me. it's my first day of school, and it's my junior year of high school.

i wore a blue and black flannel shirt open over a black cami, and jeans. my short curly hair was down, as always.

"el, it's time for school," dad called from downstairs.

at the beginning of the summer, dad got a promotion to be the chief of hawkins, indiana. so we packed our bags and moved from sunny california. i spent my summer alone. to say i was an introvert was an understatement.

"coming."

this was it.