Breaking Down Barriers

Weekend Blues

Amelia woke to the sound of footsteps walking up the stairs. She groaned and rolled onto her side, burrowing into the pillow. It was too early for a Saturday to get up. Silently she cursed whoever it was and allowed herself to slowly wake up. Her injured leg pulsed against the sheets, maybe she was just being over aware of the wound.

Light filtered in through the curtains, enough to see her room in a soft light. The only furnishing were a built in wardrobe, a desk, a bed and a bedside table. The walls were mostly blank except for a pinboard with her schedule on it and a few lone posters of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games. Most of the furniture was worn down from decades of use, some even had names scratched into the surface, "Janie was here, 1996". Amelia liked it, she felt as if she had inherited something special, other teenagers with siblings would get hand-me-downs, this was likely the closest she'd ever get.

Her favourite thing in the room was a dream catcher. It was hanging abover her bed, and had been since she claimed the room as her own. It was handmade, with a tag stiched onto it, handwriting almost faded, saying "Miles, 1987." Amelia asumed that it was own by someone who had stayed here before, and for some reason left it. She was glad that they did, she was convinced that it stopped bad dreams.

Amelia was getting gradually getting hungier and could feel her stomach contracting. She knew she would have to get up soon, but she laid for longer, thinking of the events of yesterday.

What would happen if she did see Kartia? They didn't part on best terms. Something... big, for lack of a better word, had happened to them. Kartia wasn't ready, so she left and ended everything. Amelia tried not to be angry, but she had gradually built up resentment. What had happened wasn't her fault... it just... happened. She couldn't control it. Well, maybe she could have, but she didn't. It was partly Kartia's fault too, she just refused to admit it.

Was it worth all the effort to go out of state to see Kartia? Would she want to see Amelia? Vic said Kartia missed her, but maybe Kartia was just missing the idea of her. They never got to talk about what happened, so maybe it would be a good thing to see her. On the other hand, what if Kartia refused to talk to her. It would be a waste of a trip.

However, Vic would still be going to see her. She wouldn't really be inconviencing anyone, except having to organise everything. They had to extensive background checks on everyone who had contact with foster children. She had only just meet Vic, so it was unlikely that it would be easy. Maybe she should talk to Thomas.

Realising she couldn't stay in bed for any longer, Amelia stretched and threw the covers off. She had gone to bed wearing grey PJ shorts and a massive black shirt tucked into her pants. She glanced in a mirror sitting on her desk assessed herself. Should she brush her hair before she went down?

Forgoing the oppotunity to fix herself up, Amelia wandered downstairs. She had gotten over vanity in the house. She used to care a lot about what the other kids thought of her, but they came and went so fast she hardly remembered them. Currently there was five other kids in the house. A 4-year-old boy, a 6-year-old girl, a 7-year-old girl, a 10-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, all waiting to be placed.

"Mornin'." She greeted the two people at the table, Thomas and the 4-year-old, rubbing her eyes. On the stove was a pot of porridge which she happily helped herself to, then sprinkled generously with brown sugar. She was just banging the cutlery draw shut when Thomas began speaking.

"Do you have anything planned for today Amelia?"

"No," She said bitterly, "I'm not allowed to do hockey or track."

"Good, because Vic wants to come over this afternoon so we can plan this trip you want to take." He explained.

"Really? Um, are you sure this trip is a good idea? I mean, I just meet him... what if he's a serial killer or something?" Amelia replied between spoonfuls.

Thomas laughed, "We'll do a background check, I'll be having some chats with him, and we'll call Kartia's caregiver to confirm all of this. We can check in on you every hour or so until you get there." He paused, "You do want to see Kartia, right?"

"I dunno... you know what happened. What if she doesn't want to see me?"

"Don't be silly Amelia. Kartia will miss you. You had years of friendship together, one incident won't have ruined it all." Thomas smiled gently.

"Yeah I guess you're right."

Amelia finished her breakfast as Thomas helped the 4-year-old feed himself. When she was done she put her bowl in the dishwasher and headed upstairs. "You better be doing some homework up there Amelia!" Thomas shouted at her, jokingly.

"Jeez, can I atleast have a shower first?" She retorted.

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A few hours later after an unsuccesful attempt at understanding anything to do with biology, Amelia wandered downstairs. Outside the younger kids were playing under a sprinkler, and the 14-year-old girl, Maisie, was tanning and reading in an old bikini she had found in a cupboard and washed. Amelia was wearing a simple black a line tank dress, and a pair of chelsea boots. She walked across the wet grass to where Frankie was sitting on a blanket with lunch.

There was a bowl of cut up fruit, sandwiches and water. Amelia sat down and helped herself, while Frankie fussed over the other children. The sun was bearing down on them, and Amelia founder herself picking up the sunscreen to protect herself.

"Maisie, I don't care if you want a 'bikini body' if you don't eat, you'll end up in a body bag, and trust me, that does not flatter anybody's figure!" Frankie went through this almost everyday with Maisie, who was obssesed with her body. She alway wanted to buy weird diet pills from Walmart, and was once caught trying to steal some on a shopping trip. Amelia had offered to teach her how to steal properly, but she had refused, thinking she knew what she was doing.

Amelia knew stealing was bad, but when you're an orphan trying to save some money here and there, it can often be one of your only choices. They got monthly allowances of $60, which wasn't much even when the home paid for clothing and essientials, there were other things you always wanted. Amelia was always careful, she never brought anything too big or expensive home without careful planning beforehand. She was trying to get a job at the moment, but it wasn't really working.

A few cars drove past the house, mostly people from the neighbourhood. Amelia spotted Vic's car just before it pulled into the driveway, for the second time in two days. She quickly finished her lunch and stood up. This was sure to be awkward.

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This chapters more of a filler. Oh well.