ANNIE

1 ☼ Hard Knock Life

A N N E T T E

I awoke from a loud knocking at the door. I turned in bed to look at the round table clock; it was barely seven in the morning, and on a Sunday. Still the knocking continued.

Slowly, I pushed myself out of bed and downstairs to the front door. Upon reaching the wooden door, I propped it open; letting in the evening breeze. I hugged myself a little tighter as I trailed up the petite figure who stood on the white porch.

The fair skinned woman looked to be in her thirties. She had black eyes and black hair that was pulled into a low ponytail, and was wearing a navy blue pant-suit, carrying a brown leather briefcase in one hand.

"Yes?" I said to the stranger, oddly eyeing her presence.

The woman spoke, "May I speak to Rhea Castellanos?"

My eyes narrowed as I asked, "Why do you want to speak to my Granny?"

"I'm from the NYC child welfare agency. Now I need to talk with an adult, please." The woman curtly replied.

As the approaching footsteps clip-clopped down the stairway, I moved aside and the woman stepped through the doorway.

"Oh my, who is at the door, Ánni?" The old woman said in her Greek accent.

"My name is Leyla Stewart, from the New York City child welfare office. You must be Rhea." Ms. Stewart stretched out her hand to shake the hand of the small, dark-complexioned woman, with an exceedingly haughty, and very repulsive expression, but Granny didn't take it. The woman let her hand drop to her side.

Granny's lips pursed into a thin line.
"Why yes, come in, I assume you're here to talk about Annéta?" Then motioned for us to follow her into the dinning room.

We sat down at the table and Ms. Stewart began to take out some paperwork from her briefcase. Granny and I exchanged nervous looks.

"It has been brought to the states attention that you are no longer well equipped to raise the girl under your care, Ms. Castellanos." The woman quipped as she shuffled one of the papers up to the front. It was my case file.

"Ms. Castellanos, I am aware of your record of authority. I have brought some NYPD officers with me on this occasion, just to make sure nothing unwarranted may happen."

My heart plummeted to my feet. I remember Granny's fallout a week back. The doctor said it was a heart attack. The older woman was growing tired by every passing day.

I looked into her deep brown wizened face as Granny looked nervously at me, and stroked back the wild grey hair that used to be so neat. There was no more fight in her anymore. In that second, I knew I was going to be taken away from her.

Ms. Stewart cleared her throat. "Ms. Castellanos, do you see why the state is taking custody of her?"

Granny cast her eyes down, and twiddled her thumbs, "Just been going through a rough patch recently."

"Ms. Castellanos my point is Annette, as of now is no longer eligible to be your foster child and is going to be taken to the Child Welfare center." The woman scribbled a few things on what looked to be a release document.