Fostered

The family

2⃣

I stood awkwardly in the airport, waiting to board flight OC337. All the surrounding seats had already been occupied when I arrived three hours earlier that morning. In that time I had been imagining what the family I was going to be staying with would be like. I had come to the conclusion of them either being the typical blonde haired, blue eyed, beach loving surfers who I associated with Orange County or some crazy family living in the down town regions of the state. I hope that they wouldn't be crazy and weird like the previous family I had stayed with.

"Flight OC337 is now boarding the aircraft" floated a long drawling voice over the speakerphone, sounding beyond the point of boredom. "Please line up at gate 21 imeadiently".

Sighing loudly I walked towards the gate. My now filthy white converse squeaking on the polished floor, as I handed my ticket over and walked down the long, narrow hall to find my seat. When I had finally managed to find the correct seat, I sat down and clicked my seatbelt in place. After staring out the window for a few moments, the pull of sleep dragging me into a better place, a place with a mother and a father and a house to live in.

I opened my eyes cautiously, not wanting to leave my dream. Our aeroplane had landed and I was the only one left on the aircraft. I unclipped my seatbelt and proceeded toward the exit, dragging my suitcase lazily behind me. At the exit I had a sudden urge to avoid the new family for as long as possible, who were these people anyway? But of course, making the family wait would practically be like throwing an rock at a wild lion in Africa, dangerous. Just outside the arrivals gate was an idiotically huge sign reading 'WELCOME TO ORANGE COUNTY' and under that sign stood a family, a nice looking family. A tall, muscular man held a sign saying 'Annabelle Reid'. The enormity of relief that washed through my me was undescribable. These people didn't look like they had thirty-seven cats or lived in a sewer. The tall man in the middle of the small group looked fit and athletic, with a slight tan and sandy drown hair. He had his arm around an absolutely beautiful looking woman with a large chest, a great tan and long wavy blond hair that cascaded gracefully down her straight back. The couple had three, fit looking children standing casually behind them.

"Annabelle?" The woman cooed softly.

"Hello" I said, admiring the acoustics of the woman's gentle voice.

The woman and the man walked confidently towards me, their children following unquestionly. As the family reached me, the man outstretched a rough skinned hand an shook my hand firmly, his eyes on mine.

"My name is Patrick" he said, releasing my hand. "And this is my wife, Cloudier" he continued, glancing at his wife.

"Hi, my names Annabelle" I said. Then suddenly I had a epiphany that if I was going to like this family as much as I thought I would, then they might as well know me as Anna. "But Anna's fine as well"

"Very nice to meet you" Patrick continued. "These are our three children" he said, gesturing towards them. "Alex is the oldest" Patrick announced as the boy, who only looked a year or two older than I was, shook my hand. "And this is Alyssa, she's thirteen" Patric said as he threw a smile in the direction of his daughter. Shaking her hand, I noticed that Alyssa was pretty and looked a lot like her mum. "And finally our youngest daughter, Yasmin" Patrick finished as I gripped the little girls hand.

"Do you need help with your suitcase?" Questioned Alex. I didn't want to hinder him in any way, but I really did need help. "Yes please" I replied gratefully. Without question, Alex easily picked up my devil like suitcase and started to follow his family towards the big, glass sliding doors, under the exit sign. Cloudier strolled beside me as we walked, telling me about the beach, what school I would be starting at and the families golden retriever, which they had creatively named GR.