All eyes in the yard shifted to me, and I straightened. Reed followed suit, pushing his glasses onto his nose.
“Oh shit. Guess the fight caught up to me.”
“What’ll happen to you?” Reed’s voice quivered.
“Either I’m getting punished or booted out of here.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets. “Check you later.” I started toward the building.
“Ida, wait.” Reed jogged up to me. “What if I don’t see you again?”
“Tough luck.”
He frowned.
“Hey, remember what I said. Stand tall. Take your punches. Go for the nuts.”
He smirked. “Yeah. I’ll remember.”
“Practice every day. Go behind the tree or to the wall and practice your punches. Every day. You’ll get stronger and build muscles.”
“Okay.” He sighed.
“Promise?”
He nodded.
I turned and strode away.
“Hey Ida,” he called. “I’m going to find you one day when I’m grown.”
Saluting him, I walked away and cursed the hollow pang inside my chest. Why did I care?
That’s why I never got close to anyone.
Everyone was temporary.
Four
“Sarek.” Kilpatrick greeted me in the hallway, a cold smile on his smarmy face. He gave me the creeps. Most heads of the Improvement Centers did. Managing a bunch of criminal, trouble-making kids and throwaway orphans wasn’t a career most upstanding people aspired to.
“Let me guess, I’m leaving today? Happy birthday to me.”
He smirked. “Yes, but it’s not what you think. You’re a lucky girl, that’s all I’ll say. Follow me.”
I tried to process his strange comment as he accompanied me to my room. Why would yet another Improvement facility be lucky? Kilpatrick instructed me to collect my things. I kept my few belongings in an army green backpack for easy packing on just such an occasion.
Then we began our march to his office.
“Which Center are they sending me to this time?”
He said nothing, and a broad smile spread across his face. He was glad to be getting rid of me. Same story as every adult I’d ever met.
Kilpatrick opened the door and ushered me inside. A good-looking couple waited near the windows. The woman wore a cream-colored blouse, and her long brown hair fell elegantly around her shoulders. She approached with a large, warm smile. “Ida?” She extended her hand. “It’s wonderful to meet you.”
I tensed. Nobody had ever wanted to meet me. Who was she?
“I have excellent news for you, Ida,” Kilpatrick said. “Go on, shake Mrs. Jensen’s hand. Be polite.” He jabbed me in the back with a long, bony finger.
I grasped her smooth palm and found it surprisingly strong.
“I’m Martha. This is Seth, my husband.” He smiled and stepped forward to greet me. “We’re taking you to our house in Connecticut,” she continued, beaming. “We’re your new foster parents. Foster for now, but we plan to become your permanent, adoptive parents.”
I stared at Kilpatrick. “Is this a joke?”
He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Now, now, Ida. You’re an incredibly lucky girl. Be a nice girl—”
I recoiled from his touch, pulling away and reversing through the open door.
“Excuse us for a moment,” he said to the Jensens and hurried after me into the hallway, closing the door behind us.
“Now you listen to me.” He leaned in and grabbed my shoulder with surprising force, pinching my skin underneath. “Don’t you screw this up for me.” Spittle landed on my cheek. The veins on his temples looked ready to pop. “This nice couple wants to adopt you. Why? I’ve no freaking clue who’d want you, but they do.”
He shoved me away me to straighten his shirt and tie. It jolted my bruised ribs, and I felt another stab of pain. I raised my chin and clenched my fists. “Screw you, Kilpatrick.”
A cruel glint flashed in his eyes. “Put on your tough girl act all you want. After you leave here. If they come to their senses and return you, I’ll make your life a living hell here.” He leaned forward, inches from my face. “Do you understand?” he hissed.
Despite my defiance, I felt the savagery in his voice and it unsettled me. I lowered my eyes and nodded. Was it possible this couple actually wanted to adopt me? But why not go for a younger girl?
After Kilpatrick composed himself, we entered the room again.
Martha and Seth wore faded smiles and fidgeted. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is wonderful,” said Kilpatrick, a little too brightly. “What do you have to say, Ida?”
I shuffled my feet. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay, honey.” Martha ventured forward and rested a hand on my shoulder. Her hair smelled like lilacs and she looked like a model who had stepped out of a magazine. In my faded camouflage jacket, combat boots, and torn jeans, I resembled a hoodlum.
“The Jensens are psychologists,” said Kilpatrick. “Good thing they’ll know how to handle you,” he muttered under his breath.
Martha gazed into my eyes. “You remind me of myself when I was your age. Wait until you see your new house, your bedroom. You’re going to love it.”
This was all too much. Had I won the freaking lottery suddenly? Nothing good had ever happened to me before. There had to be a catch.
Seth must have read my expression because he leaned forward and pulled Martha away. “Honey, give her time. This is a lot of change all at once.”
She huddled against him. “I know, I’m just so excited to have her. Mr. Kilpatrick, thank you so much for making this happen.”
“It’s my pleasure,” he said, glaring at me with narrowed eyes. “Everything is in order. I’ll see you out.”
As I followed Kilpatrick, I wondered how long it would take before this couple rejected me. Would they try to change me? Make me wear preppy clothes like Martha and floral-scented perfume? They held hands as we marched down the winding hallway to the front exit. My only family had been the kids in my gang. I never knew my mother and had no idea whether I had siblings. My earliest memories were crowded foster homes and a lack of food. Was this a chance for a new life? A normal life? Might I be part of a
