Vanilla

01

It's been months and still, not even one family thought about adopting me. I'm currently laying in my bed and thinking about how it would be to have a new family. Although It's not necessarily bad here, it still would be nice to find some people who love me and accept me as I am.

'Well enough of this sad shit'
I told myself as I stood up and walked over to my desk that had my drawing utensils on it. Drawing was one of my favorite activities, it helped calm me down and lighten my mood. So, I began to draw something. More specifically a random character that I liked.
When I finished the drawing, I looked at my phone to check the time, it was time for dinner. I sprinted out of my room and down the stairs to the dining hall. Today was chicken nuggets day and I loveee chicken nuggets! It's like my all-time favorite food. I stood in line waiting for my turn.
'Hopefully, there will be still enough chicken nuggets'
'Or else I'm gonna be grumpy till next chicken nuggets day'
Finally, it was my turn.
'Nuggetssss'
I got a full plate of nuggets as well as ketchup then I searched for a free table. I decided to sit at a table in the back where almost no people were, so it would be quiet. I'm not exactly a social person probably more of an antisocial. Normally I don't talk to people only if they talk to me first or if there is no other way. It's not that I don't like other people, it's just that I'm shy and scared about what people think of me. Anyway, I sat down at the table and started to eat.
'Ooooof so good'
'God damn I could marry the lady who makes them'
'Or maybe not, maybe I'll just marry the chicken nuggets!'
I let out a small laugh
'I'm really stupid'
As soon as I'm done eating I put my plate to the other dirty/used ones.
'Hm, what should I do now?'
'Maybe draw again'
'Or wait I know I'll play some basketball'
We have like this little basketball court on the outside and I like to play there. Much to my delight, it's free like always. Nobody uses it because there is a much bigger one in the nearby park,
probably like 15 minutes walk away. But I like this one, so I always play on it. I got back up in my room to change into a tank top and sweatpants. Of course, before going to the basketball court, I took a basketball out of the sports stuff room. I really love Basketball even when I'm tired as hell I'm always up for it, it's just so much fun. In elementary school I was on a Basketball team, sadly it only lasted till I got in middle school. The middle school didn't have a girl's basketball team, just one for guys. I hoped that would change in high school but nope. I even tried to apply for the boy's team, but the coach just laughed at me when I asked him about it. Still, I didn't let that stop me, I played in my free time, either on my own or with my friends. Speaking about my friends...I miss them I wish I could visit them, but it's too far. My parents send me to an orphanage that's like 190 km away from my hometown. Guess they really didn't want any risk of seeing me again, not that I care though, I don't want to see them either.

I'm working on my dribbling when suddenly I'm called into Ms. Clyde's office. Ms. Clyde is the woman in charge of us, she takes care of the adoptions and such. I bring the basketball back and run immediately to her office. She might be a nice lady, but you still wouldn't want to make her wait. I knock on her door and wait, feeling slightly anxious.

I hear her say "Come in". So, I open the door and step through.
"You wanted to speak to me, Ms. Clyde?"
"Yes Kate, please sit down" She gestures to a chair in front of her Desk and I hesitantly sit down.
"I have some good news for you Kate, there is a family that is interested in adopting you!" Did I hear her correctly? A family wants to adopt me?
"Wait, are you serious Ms.Clyde?" I couldn't help but feel skeptical.
"Of course dear, I wouldn't lie about such a thing!" She looks a bit hurt.
"Right, it's just, I really didn't believe anyone would adopt me. But before I get my hopes up, do they know why I was kicked out by my parents? They aren't homophobic?"
"Yes, they know everything and they aren't homophobic either, in fact, they told me they have some LGBT family members as well, and they all accept them, just like they accept you. They are coming tomorrow to get you. I know this is fast, but it's a good thing, believe me", she smiled warmly at me. I wanted to say something or even just return her smile, but I froze in shock I still couldn't believe this was happening.

Later at night

Right now, I'm trying to sleep but I can't. I'm too nervous and anxious about tomorrow. I keep changing my position, shifting left and right. Thinking about everything that could happen, most of it is bad stuff. Like what if the family is mean or they don't like me. Knowing I won't be able to fall asleep unless I distract my mind, I start making fake scenarios up, in my head. I do that a lot, almost every night, it helps me fall asleep. Soon I feel sleepy and start to drift off.

Next morning

I woke up early in the morning and not because the Clark's, that's their last name, will be here soon, no. it's my nervousness. If I'm nervous about an event that happens on that day, even if that event is at night, I will wake up early. The Clark's will not be here for another 2 hours and I'm already finished. I have packed all of my stuff, took a shower, ate and changed my clothes. I decide to play Basketball while I wait for them to arrive. I'm not playing too hard, I don't want to be sweaty when they come. A bit over 2 hours are already over and still no sign of them. I already thought they wouldn't come when suddenly Ms. Clyde comes out of the Building with a Man, woman and a girl that I assume is their daughter. She signals me to come over, so I sprint walk to them with the basketball in one arm.

"Kate these are the Clark's" Ms. Clyde says
"Hello Kate it is nice to finally meet you, I'm Hank, this is my wife Clara and that is our daughter Ruby" He points them out to me. So far so good, they seem nice.
"It is nice to meet you too Ms., Mr. Clark, and Ruby" I give them my best smile, have to make a good impression.
"Oh please call us by our first names no need to be so formal, you are part of the family now" Clara Smiles at me, her smile is bright and contagious. I can't help but smile some more, this time it's genuine. Though that soon turns into a frown.
"Seriously mum, you just meet her and already call her a part of the family? tch" Ruby looks annoyed and rolls her eyes. Yikes, guess there had to be something off, it's an evil stepsister! Well, whatever.
Hank walked over to Ruby's side
"Ruby! we talked about this, you promised to behave yourself" He touched her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.
"yea yea, fine I'll behave" he lets go of her shoulder "Good"
Clara turned towards me
"Kate have you packed your stuff, are you ready to leave?" I looked back at her
"Yup! I'm good to go"
"Great! now we only have to do the final paperwork, right Ms. Clyde?"
"Yes, if you and Mr. Clark would follow me into my office"
Hank starts to follow Clara and Ms. Clyde, I'm about to follow them too but he turns around and says
"You two girls can wait here while we finish the paperwork, we will be quick, alright?"
I stop in my tracks
"sure thing"
Ruby sits down on a bench and says
"I guess" and takes her phone out.
I still have the basketball in my hands. Suddenly an idea comes to my mind, it might be stupid but why not try. I approach Ruby "Hey Ruby, uhm do you wanna play basketball?" I sound more nervous than I intend to. She doesn't even look up at me from her phone, she just answers with a sharp "Hell no". Well, that could have gone worse, guess I play alone then, again. I sigh, turn around and go towards the basketball court. This time I work on my throws from a distance and unusual angles. I catch ruby looking at me a few times and wonder if she actually did want to play basketball with me. 20 minutes later or so Ms. Clyde, Clara, and Hank come out. They tell me to get my stuff into their car that's parked outside in front of the building. They would be waiting for me there. Hank asked me if I needed help carrying my luggage but I told him that I can manage, I'm quite strong.

The car ride was very awkward in the beginning but soon there was a nice enough atmosphere. We talked a lot, though Ruby still didn't really talk to me. Hank was the one driving
"Hey Kate, Ms. Clyde told us you like playing basketball"
"I don't just like it, I love it!" he laughs at that
"Then I have great news for you, the school you're going to attend has a girls basketball team!"
"For real??" I got so excited, I didn't even realize that I got up from my seat in the back and leaned forward to hank and Clara. "Yes, for real but you should sit back down in your seat" Clara said in a worried tone. "Ups, sorry, got a little bit too excited" I sit back down just to see that Ruby is looking at me like I'm some weirdo. I raise an eyebrow at her, she just rolls her eyes and focuses on her phone again. I honestly don't know how this will go with ruby and why is she always on her phone? It's kind of annoying but that's not what I should be focusing on right now. The most important thing is I'm gonna be able to play in a real team again! I'm so excited!

A/N: That's it for the first chapter. This story has been in my drafts for years, I actually never really thought that I would publish this but here I am. Just like in my other stories, if you find any mistakes please tell me in the comments.