Life, Starting All Over Again

Chapter One

I climbed onto the big 747 Boeing United Airplanes airplane. Today was January 15, the day I'm flying from my home state, Montana, to my new foster parents' home state, Oregon. My parents died 2 months ago in a freaky car crash involving a cement truck and a stupid drunk taxi driver. I really don't want to get into too much detail, but let's just say these have been the worst 2 months of my life.

"Attention passengers, thank you for choosing United Airlines. Please fasten your seat belts, we will be taking off in just a few moments. Thank you!" The flight attendant said.

I took my seat in the 14th row on the right side next to the aisle. I set my IPhone to airplane mode. After that, I pulled out my new foster parents' profile. Their names are David and Jody Farris, they're 55 years old, and they both work as lawyers at the same law firm.

These people, the Farris's, seemed about as different as you can get from my parents. My mom, Serena, and dad, Jake, both owned their own bakery. I used to help them everyday after school making yummy desserts. They worked hard, and always loved what they did. I'm an only child, and mom always used to say that I was her special, the one and only Lily Drayley. Memories of my parents trigger tears, and before I know it I begin sobbing uncontrollably.

The plane lurches forward, going faster with each passing second. We've lifted off the ground and are leaving my beautiful home state, possibly forever.

An hour and 15 minutes later, I just finished watching a movie "Gravity" on my Mac. The flight attendant makes another announcement,"Ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated for the remainder of the flight. We are beginning our decent into Portland. The seat belt sign will be turned on in the next five minutes. Thank you." I quickly get up and make my way to the bathroom, my bladder about to burst.

Five minutes later, I'm finally back in my seat. It took forever to move through the aisles, since this is a very full flight. I shut off my computer and stash it in my backpack. Then, I plug in my ear buds into my phone and begin listening to my playlist. As I listen to music, I flip through this week's baking recipe catalog. I study a new kind of cookie with M&ms, chocolate chips, raisins, and blueberries. Mmmm, that sounds good. Maybe I'll challenge myself to bake that when I get to my new home. The mere thought of that scares me. I gaze out the window and see civilization. Oregon has very different geography than Montana. I sigh, thinking of our old house. But, that's in the past. Time to move forward.

At about 2:05 in the afternoon, the plane landed. I hustled to exit the plane since tons of people were pushing behind me, eager and impatient to get out. I immediately started searching and asking around to find Mr. Farris, my temporary foster dad, who's supposed to pick me up. No one knew of him, and it got to the point where I was shouting around "Mr. Farris! Mr. Farris! Is anyone here Mr. Farris?"

Finally, a man who's about 5'9" with brown hair and brown eyes approached. "I'm Mr. Farris. Are you Lily Drayley?" He asked. "Yes I am, and please call me Lily." I said, shaking his hand politely. He smiled and took my heavy backpack from my shoulders. I wheeled my old black suitcase to the airport's garage. "Welcome to Portland!" Mr. Farris said. We took the elevator to the 2nd level where he unlocked a brand new black Honda Accord. "Nice car," I complemented. I hopped into the front seat. "Thanks, just got it a week ago." Mr. Farris started the engine. We sped off down the ramp and merged onto the freeway.

20 minutes later, Mr. Farris pulled into the driveway of a nice little blue house with a white picket fence and a small vegetable garden. We unloaded the car and walked up to the porch, where a short woman with a brown bob haircut, light green eyes, and a big smile stood in the doorway. I approached her, setting down my suitcase to meet my new step mom, or at least, for awhile.

"Hi, Lily!" I was greeted by a warm hug from Mrs. Farris. "Hi." I said shyly, barely returning her embrace. "It feels so good to finally meet our new step daughter!" Mrs. Farris said brightly. Mr. Farris closed the front door. I observed the house that I would be living in for awhile.

First thing on the right was a little living room with a brown fireplace and a green couch. Across from the couch were 2 matching purple chairs. Wedding photos and vacation photos hung on the walls that led to the dining room, which was simple enough. The kitchen was the most modern part. I stared at it for awhile. "We just had it remodeled." Mrs. Farris gestured to the kitchen. I replied, "Your house is beautiful!" And wander upstairs, curious to explore the rest.

I catch Mrs. Farris beaming at her husband out of the corner of my eye. I find a long hallway carpeted red that leads off into 3 rooms. I step into the first one. It's obvious that it's Mr. and Mrs. Farris's room since there's pictures of them on the bedside tables and on the dresser. I go into the next room. A brown wooden dresser about 2 inches taller than me lies to the left and on the right is a queen sized bed with a golden colored bedspread. Right above the bed, a big sign reads, GUEST ROOM. Okay, so this is not my room either. I haul myself all the way down the hall, to find this door painted in pink. It reads, LILY'S ROOM. I smile at that and step inside.

This is like, my dream room. There's a queen bed straight ahead when you first walk in, and the bedspread is neon. Awesome! Then, there's a little blue bedside table next to it. Purple drapes layer the outside of the bed. I've always wanted those bed drapes! Next, I find a GIANT dresser on the left that's purple (my fav color!). To top it off, there's a little red teddy bear sitting on top if the dresser. I grab him and hug him. Tears spill down my cheeks, because this was the room my parents always wanted to give me, but never could.

I quickly brush them off when I hear foot steps. I put Teddy (that's his name now) on my bed and start unzipping my backpack and begin to unload it. "Knock knock!" Mrs. Farris says as she taps on my door. Before my mouth can do anything, my body reacts first. I run to Mrs. Farris and hug her tightly. She's surprised but soon hugs me back. "Thank you," I whisper into her ear. It finally ends, and I began telling her how much I ADORE the room. She decorated it! I still can't believe she knew exactly what I wanted! She starts helping me unpack as we get to know each other.

We eat a great spaghetti dinner at 5:45. David and Jody told me about their jobs, family, and their experience with kids. I'm now calling them that. Mr. and Mrs. Farris wore out fast. After dinner, I watched Shark Tank with David while Jody emailed the foster finder company. They're based in Billings, close to my home in Montana. They found the Farris's for me, my first foster family.

I'd been in a foster home for the 2 months after Mom and Dad died. It was terrible and incredibly depressing. It was filled with kids as young as 5 and as old as 18 waiting for nice families to come and adopt them. And believe me, there were hardly any of those kinds of families wanting kids. I'd say there could be close to 300 kids there, scattered across the age scale. I slept in a room with 2 other girls-Alice Murray and Layla Durlin. Alice was only 13, her parents died in a fire. Layla was 17, and her parents gave her up, due to their financial situation. She'd lay awake at night on her bed, crying for hours. Alice was tougher. And pretty cute too, I have to say. We survived together for those 2 months. I'd never forget them. I hope to see them again someday soon, but for now we weekly Face Time.

At 10, Shark Tank goes off. Jody says she emailed the foster house. Apparently, the Farris's want me to be their permanent child. Honestly at this point, I wouldn't mind them. Although, I'm still grieving for my parents. No one could take the place of them, yet Jody and David are sure proving that they're worthy of the job, so far at least. I go up to bed after saying good night to David and Jody. I hop into the shower, and at 11 I slip into the warm sheets, exhaustion overcoming me. It sure has been a long, big day.

Hi everyone! Thank you for reading my story. I will try to update within the next week. These chapters will be anywhere from 5 to 15 pages, or so I'm planning for. Please vote and comment! Thanks for reading!