Joey

The Awakening of a Little Boy

The boy's eyes peeked from it's lids. His first glimpse of light in a safe environment. He was laid in a light gray crib, hidden amongst at least twenty others. The soft mattress soothed his aching body, a feeling he had never felt before. He sat up straight to get a better glimpse of his surroundings. The walls had a blue and yellow dotted wallpaper, it was lined with empty photo frames. To his left he spotted a young baby in it's crib, wrapped in a light pink blanket, laying still as a stone.

The little boy's stomach grew hungrier, needing to feast on food, before it must improvise. The child could recall the last time he's eaten. Perhaps a few days ago. The whereabouts of a meal where unknown to his tiny eyes, he would have to move out and look himself. However, he was too scared and confused too come out of the cozy crib. The cotton of the mattress called him back to rest, but his digestive system wash trying to push him out. And as the seconds past, his bladder was growing quite aggravated as well.  

With some temptations to bail out, he knew he would have to eventually move out. He wondered if their were any adults out in the room beyond the door he saw. His past experiences with them made him shake. But with a continuous battle in his mind, he lunged upwards from the frame of the crib, plopped down and headed for the exit. Just barely reaching the handle, he opened the door with fragile care, and headed for his journey.

He entered a smaller room with some wooden chairs, a table with magazines and newspapers and a great big desk taking up half of the room. Their was a bulletin board with many pictures of babies and toddlers, some with adults in them. The boy wondered if their were that many kids in this house. Was that why there where so many cribs? He thought to himself. Being a mature, as he thought, 4-and-a-half-year-old, he believed he was too outgrown for such a bed. He then remembered the soft mattress, and immediately wished  he was back in such a place. Back where he was not in the open. But with a dried stomach and an abundance of life, he marched forwards. His bare feet touched the fuzzy carpet. This was the first non-hardened carpet he had ever felt before.

As the little boy began to walk towards the desk, a middle-aged woman came through the door. She looked panicked as she rushed to the desk. She looked down at the boy with a wild expression on her face.

"Now how'd you get out 'lil feller? Here, come sit". She pointed to one of the chairs close by. The boy sat down and didn't move a muscle. The woman sat down at her desk and began typing something. It was paperwork. The child couldn't hold on for much longer before bursting altogether and dying on the fuzzy carpet. He raised his hand. The woman didn't notice, she was busy on her computer. He debated what was worse, bursting like a balloon or being whipped in a specific place he didn't want to be whipped. But at last, she called on him.

"What's wrong, hun? You didn't need-a raise your hand ya know. Just tell me". The boy was surprised he was not yelled at. Was this a test? Would he get beaten if he answered? His stomach and bladder overpowered his mind as he blurted out, "Ma'am, I am really sorry for the interruption, but may I please go to the bathroom and have a snack afterwards?" He was ready for the slap.

"My, young man. Who taught ya such good manners? 'Course you can go, right over here. I'll get' cha a snack while your at it."

The "young man" was skeptical still if this was perhaps a test. But away with the worries and on to the bathroom. He headed towards where the woman was pointing and entered the room. An even smaller room, with one toilet, a stone sink and a cracked mirror, not to mention a comfy rug in the middle. The little boy did his business wondering if a piranha would pounce out from the pipes and bit the life out of him. But, as the minutes passed by, nothing of the sort occurred. He used a stool to reach the sink and washed of the germs on his palms. Maybe the water was poisoned and the next time he ate something he'd pass out and never awake again. 

He dried himself and headed on back to the large desk room. The woman gave him a bag of Goldfish, an apple and a juice box. He said down and immediately engulfed almost the entire bag of Goldfish into his throat. The woman came over and lowered the hovering bag whilst patting his back.

"Woah, woah, woah there. Not too fast. Don't wanna have you choke now do we?" She remained patting his back.

"I am certainly sorry ma'am. I am quite positive will never happen again." Tears began to fill his eyes. He was worried she would take the snacks.

"Oh, hunny,  I ain't no royalty now. As polite as you are I really only need a simple please and thank you." She walked back to the desk. "Your a lucky one though aren't ya." The boy wondered what she was speaking of. "You got picked the very second day in the program. We didn't even get to name ya. You look like a, Hudson." He was deeply confused. Picked? Picked for what? He began to worry.

Just as he was finishing his apple, a young woman, maybe in her mid-twenties, walked through the door. Their eyes met for the first time.

"Aw, Ms. Jamie, nice to see you again. We were just talkin' about you". Was this his picker? He wondered who this "Ms. Jamie" was.

The young woman walked up to him. He bounced back in his seat a little.

"Well hi there, son. Nice to meet you."