Features Dadvid and a social worker. Oh, and most of the rules that the social worker follows are fictional, because I want to be a teacher, not a social worker.
Katrina McCormick hadn't been a social worker very long. She was twenty-four years old, two years out of college, but in those two years, she'd gained a reputation. She was known for being kind to kids but an absolute hardass when it came to adults neglecting or abusing their kids. If a case was difficult or more than most people could handle, Katrina was called in to settle it. She loved her job—at least, she loved the satisfaction of taking kids away from people who should have never become parents in the first place. She had no sympathy for the abusers who insisted that their little Sally or Tommy was perfectly fine and all their injuries were from the child's own clumsiness. She had too much personal experience with the subject to ignore it or give them the benefit of the doubt.
Today, however, she was on the trail of a pair of neglectful drug addicts.
The young woman pulled up in front of the apartment building located in the heart of the bad side of town. She could hear sirens in the distance as she stepped onto the sidewalk and locked her car carefully. The smell of marijuana, cat piss, garbage, shit, and cigarette smoke filled her nose and made her cough, but she stepped into the building anyway. There wasn't a buzzer system, luckily, so she could just head right on up to 403. Katrina stopped outside and rapped on the door. No answer. She rapped a couple more times.
"I'm coming!" a woman said in a thick, Indian accent. The door was opened by a woman wearing a set of pajamas. "Can I help you?"
"Yes. My name is Katrina McCormick. Are you Anaya Acharya?
"Yes. Why?"
"May I come in, Mrs. Acharya?"
"Of course." Katrina entered the apartment and looked around.
It was a massive mess. The smell of weed and cigarettes was even more prevalent than outside, along with the added stench of alcohol. It was disgusting, but not the worst that Katrina had ever seen. Anaya cleared some junk off the couch.
"Please, sit, Miss McCormick."
"Thank you, but I'm here to do an assessment."
"An assessment?"
"I'm a social worker."
"Why would you come here? We don't have a child here at the moment!"
"Our office is very busy. A report came in a couple months ago that the child here was being neglected—Maximillian Acharya. We weren't able to get to it until now. Now, which room is Maximillian's?"
"This one." Anaya seemed to recognize that there was no point in fighting Katrina, unlike most parents she came to visit, so she pointed to a room just off the main room. Katrina opened the door and her eyes widened. The room was roughly the size of a medium-sized walk-in closet, with a bed in the corner and a clothing rack in the other corner that had a few shirts and pants on it. A thick layer of dust covered the entire room.
"Oh my God."
"We don't have much. The other rooms are for myself and my husband and guests." Katrina checked both of the other rooms, both of which were of sufficient size for a human to exist in.
"Why couldn't you put Maximillian in this room?"
"Our guests are more important. I'm sure you understand."
"Anaya!" a man yelled as the door opened. "Where the fuck are you?!"
"Vihaan!" Anaya gasped as a man appeared in the doorway. "You're home early!"
"Yes. Who the hell is this?" he asked, pointing at Katrina.
"My name is Katrina McCormick. I'm a social worker assessing your home."
"Why?"
"Because we had reports of abuse and neglect in your home towards your son."
"That's a load of bullshit!"
"I've seen a lot of situations, Mr. Acharya, and this isn't a good environment for a child to be in. You seem to have a volatile temper, and there appears to be drug use in this home, based on the smell."
"How can you tell that?!"
"Marijuana and meth have distinctive smells, both of which I've detected in this apartment. I'm afraid that due to the circumstances and numerous reports from his school, we have to remove Maximillian from this environment."
"He's not here. Didn't this dumbass tell you that?!" He smacked the back of his wife's head.
"Where is your son, Mr. Acharya?"
"He's at summer camp." The anger in his face was replaced by hope. "Are you seriously going to take him away?"
"I'm taking him from this home and placing him with a foster family."
"Oh, thank God!" He held his hand to his chest. "No more of that stupid bastard!"
"Excuse me?!"
"Our son is nothing but trouble! He's loud, rude, selfish, and obnoxious!"
"What's the address of your son's camp?" Katrina officially had no patience for this man. Once she had the address, she left and got into her car. She pulled out her phone and found the number for the camp before calling.
"Campe diem!" a cheerful man greeted her on the other end. "This is Camp Campbell, where we offer endless possibilities—and no, that's not hyperbole! David Greene speaking! How may I help you?"
"My name is Katrina McCormick."
"Well, hello, Katrina! So, what camp are you signing your child up for?"
"I don't have a child. I'm calling because I thought it would be better to warn you that I was coming."
There was silence for a moment.
"Why… why would you need to warn us?" David's voice had gone from cheerful to slightly panicked.
"I'm from the Department of Social Services."
"Department of Social Services?!"
"That means I'm a social worker. I'll be arriving at your camp on Saturday at ten AM. Thank you and goodbye."
David stood there for a moment, the dial tone from the phone ringing in his ear. His heart was pounding and his hair was standing on end. A social worker coming to a camp was never a good thing. It meant that something about the camp was wrong and that there was a high possibility of it being shut down. He'd seen it almost happen when he was a camper at Camp Campbell, and the only reason it had escaped shutdown was due to the fact that Mr. Campbell bribed the social worker into turning a blind eye. It had worked, which was why David was able to have his job today. He doubted it would work again.
"GWEN!" he yelled. She poked her head into the counselors' cabin. The campers were at lunch, so the Quartermaster had an eye on them while Gwen was cleaning up.
"What's wrong now?" Gwen asked, annoyed.
"There's a social worker coming here on Saturday."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that somebody reported our camp to the Department of Social Services and they're sending somebody to shut the camp down!"
"Seriously?!" Gwen's expression turned panicked. "B-but that means we'll lose our shitty jobs!"
"Exactly, and worse, the camp won't be here!"
"Eh. I care more about the job than the camp. But still!" Gwen bit her lip. "How the hell are we going to fix this?!"
"We'll have to prove to her that our camp is just as good as any other by showing her the best of us and our campers!"
"In that case… we're fucking doomed."
"Come on, Gwen! Show some camp spirit!"
David walked out of the cabin and into the mess hall, where the campers were finishing up their lunch. Max was doing something with a butter-knife that actually made David a little nervous.
"Okay, campers!" he announced brightly. "This Saturday, we're going to have a special visitor to Camp Campbell! She's never been here before, so let's give her our best first impression." Max raised his hand. "Yes, Max?"
"Uh, Saturday's in two days. It's Thursday, genius."
David felt his heart stop. Two days. Well, a day and a half. That's all he had to prepare.
"Well, then we'll have to work extra hard to make sure she loves Camp Campbell!"
Max rolled his eyes.
The next day and a half passed in a flurry of activity. Tents were cleaned, sheets were replaced, the camp buildings were cleaned, and anything that needed to be repaired was repaired. Even the platypus was kept in the Quartermaster's store for the time being, so that the social worker wouldn't get onto them for keeping a dangerous animal around the children. Max impeded progress (as was his M.O, it seemed) but the camp was completely ready by nine-thirty Saturday morning.
"So, who is this important visitor?" Nikki asked excitedly.
"She's a very nice lady, and you should all be on your best behavior. That means no bullying, no yelling, no biting, no hitting, and that you all need to watch your language." He looked directly at Max and Gwen at that last point. "If she likes us, then good things will happen for all of us!"
"Is that why we're standing out in front of the flagpole?" Max deadpanned.
"Yes! She'll be here in a few minutes, and we want to give her a big 'Camp Campbell' welcome!"
As if on cue, a nice-looking red SUV pulled up. A woman got out—a woman with her dark red hair tied into a bun and wearing a T-shirt with khaki cargo pants. She also wore a pair of hiking boots on her feet and had a small backpack on.
"Welcome to Camp Campbell!" David greeted the woman, who had a no-nonsense look on her face. "You must be Katrina McCormick! I'm David Greene. We spoke on the phone last Thursday!"
"I guessed you were him by the sound of your voice." Even her voice was icy, clearly telling everyone not to mess with her.
"Well, Miss McCormick, we're very glad to have you here today! Let us show you around the camp!"
Max took the opportunity to slip off into the woods to chill, followed by Nikki and Neil.
"What's up with that lady?" Nikki asked. "She's… scary."
"Yeah," Neil agreed. "And why would she come to Camp Campbell like this?"
"Because she's a bitch!" Max snapped. "She just has that look to her that screams 'I'm a huge bitch!' "
"You think David and Gwen will notice we're gone?" Nikki inquired.
"Nope. They're too busy trying to impress Miss McCormick."
And Miss McCormick was not impressed. She was losing patience with David evading her questions and showing her around camp. It was a decent camp, which she knew from her childhood. She remembered David, too, and how much of a troublemaker he used to be.
"Mr. Greene, could we please talk in private?" she inquired once the tour was over.
"Sure. Gwen, could you take everyone to their afternoon activities?" Gwen nodded and led the kids away as David brought Katrina to the counselors' cabin and made her some coffee.
"Thank you, David," she told him, sitting in one of the chairs.
"Miss McCormick, as you can see, Camp Campbell—"
"—is a perfectly stable and adequate camp. I can tell, Davey, and I already knew that coming here."
"You did? How?"
"I went to Camp Campbell at the same time you did." He gave her a look. "I went by my nickname back then—Kat."
"You're Kat? B-but if you knew Camp Campbell was adequate, then why are you here?" Katrina reached into her backpack and pulled out a file.
"Last Thursday, I took a visit to an apartment in the town I'm stationed in. It was disgusting and no place to raise a child. So… I gave the parents two options: either sign away their legal rights or go to court on the grounds of child abuse and neglect. They chose the first option."
"Their child goes to Camp Campbell?"
"That's what they told me."
"Which camper is it?"
"His name is Maximillian Acharya. Better known as Max."
David's eyes widened. He opened and closed his mouth, but no sound came out.
"What's wrong?"
"Max… he told me his parents didn't care. I didn't realize that meant they'd sign away their rights to him."
"I'm afraid they did, and now Max is in the care of the state. After camp ends, he'll head to a foster home and find a new family." She set the mug down. "I really need to talk to him and let him know all this is happening. Thank you for the coffee, David."
She was about to walk outside when David stood up.
"Kat… if he's in the care of the state… does that mean anybody can be his foster parent?"
"Yes. Provided they go through the system. But I need to remind you that foster care is temporary."
"Then… I have an idea." He stuck his head outside. "Gwen!"
Gwen entered the cabin.
"What's going on?" she asked. "Are we being shut down?"
"Nope," Katrina replied. "I'm here about Max."
"What about Max?"
"He's legally in the custody of the state. His parents have signed away their rights." Gwen's eyebrows shot up.
"What a shitty thing to do!" she growled, then remembered what David had said. "Sorry."
"No, it is shitty, but the apartment they were living in and the conditions he was raised in—even worse. He's actually lucky to get out of there. Could you do us a favor and get Max?"
"Okay."
Gwen exited the building and heard an explosion from the woods. She promptly headed in that direction and found Max with his two partners in crime.
"Alright, you little shits," she snapped. "Go to your afternoon activities." The three headed towards camp but she grabbed Max by the hood. "Not you, Satan. You're going to the counselors' cabin."
She dragged Max to the cabin and entered with him tucked under her arm, fighting her every step of the way. He stopped when she dropped him to the floor and he found himself looking up at David and Katrina.
"What's this about?" he asked.
"Well, Max—" David began brightly, but Katrina silenced him with her hand.
"You're Max. I'm Katrina McCormick. I'm a social worker."
"And you're here because my parents are shitty?"
"Exactly. Well, they're not your parents anymore."
"What?"
"On Thursday, I went to your home to do an assessment, and the living conditions I found were appalling. I gave your parents two choices: either sign away their legal rights to you or go to court. They chose the first option, so as of Thursday, they are no longer your legal guardians. You're in the care of the state."
"I'm in the system?!" Max sounded panicky.
"Yes. After camp, you'll be going to a foster home."
Max couldn't breathe. He'd known kids in the system, and he knew it was hard to get out. He'd be shuffled from place to place, and he'd never have a stable home again.
"At least, that was the original plan."
He looked up at her, his breathing steadying.
"You see, Max, if you're in the system, you can be fostered or adopted by anyone deemed adequate by the state. And… you're not going to a foster home. Somebody wants to adopt you."
"Really?" Max felt hope welling in his chest.
"Yep. I'll have to assess his home, too, but I think I've already done that."
"Wait, who is it?" He glanced at David and realized exactly what had happened; David had a stupidly happy look on his face. "No. Fuck no."
"He's already asked me, but he wanted to get your approval, first. A little unusual, but I figured there was a reason."
Max opened and closed his mouth, then thought it over.
If David adopts me, I escape my shitty parents forever. But… I'm stuck with David as my dad. Could do worse, I guess. He cares. Oh my God. He cares about me.
"Sure. Whatever. Let David adopt me."
"Good." She handed David a form. "Here you go. Sign this and Max is officially your responsibility."
David nodded and grabbed a pen, signing his name.
"There you go!" he chirped. "I'm sure Max and I will get along fine once camp is over."
Katrina put the form in Max's file and put the file back in her backpack.
"Goodbye, Camp Campbell," she chuckled. To Max's surprise, she did the Camp Campbell Salute to David and Gwen. David returned it.
"Do you know her?" Max asked as she got into her car.
"She was a Campbell camper when I was!" he told his son. "Back then, she was one of most shy people I'd ever met, and she was extremely skittish around everybody. It appears that she's become quite successful in her adult life!"
"The Ice Queen who effortlessly scared you into making the camp look good was a shy kid?"
"People change, Max."
Fall arrived, or at least, the end of summer. All the campers were preparing to go home, except Max. Nikki gave him an odd look.
"Why aren't you packing?" she asked.
"Because I'm not leaving." His statement shocked his fellow campers, who all stared at him.
"Y-you have to!" Space Kid insisted. "Your parents are coming to pick you up."
"No, they're not. Long story short, they disowned me two months ago and David adopted me, so I don't leave until David does."
"At least that means you'll be back next year for sure!" Nikki chirped happily. "There's no way David won't sign you up!"
"Aw, shit." Max couldn't help but smile though. "As long as all of you are back here. I think I'll manage."
"Aw! Max is gonna miss us!" Nerris cooed.
"Shut up, Nerris!"
"Hey, Nikki! Neil!" Gwen called. "Your parents are here!"
The campers headed out and saw that Candy and Carl were chatting together by Carl's car. It wasn't as sexual as it had been on Parents' Day, obviously, but there was a little bit of that from Candy's end.
"Hey, kids!" Candy greeted Nikki and Neil. "Carl and I were just talkin'."
"Yeah!" Carl added. "And we decided that we want to give this thing another shot."
"You're getting married?!" Nikki squealed excitedly.
"No, Nicolette. We're gonna try datin' first. If that goes well, we'll talk about gettin' married."
"Seriously?" grumbled Neil. Nikki turned back and saw Max standing there.
"Bye, Max," she said, holding up her hand for a high-five. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into a hug, much to her surprise. He extended a hand to Neil.
"I'm not gonna see you guys until next summer," he pointed out. "You'd better give me a damn hug."
Neil groaned but accepted.
One by one, the campers were picked up by parents/guardians and camp was officially over. Max was alone with David, Gwen, and Quartermaster.
"Well, that's it," Max grumbled. "So, David, what do we do now?"
"We have to take down everything for the next nine months. We'll set up at the beginning of next summer for the next session of camp, but the good news is that most of the campers have confirmed they're coming back next year!"
"Including me."
"Yep! You're gonna go to Camp Campbell as long as possible, Max!"
"Oh, dear Jesus Christ," muttered Gwen. "I'm gonna need more painkillers."
"Where do you even live?" Max asked David.
"I live at the camp," David replied simply. "I live here year-round to take care of the place, so that means you will, too."
"Seriously? What about school?"
"Well, there's a school not too far from Sleepy Peak. You'll be going there. In fact, I believe most of your fellow campers go there."
"Wait, what?"
"I've been told that they go to the school, at least. You won't have to wait for next summer to see them!"
"Great."
"Max, if you don't want to be here…"
"No, it's fine. It's better than home, anyway."
Suddenly, Katrina's red SUV pulled up in front of them. She got out and greeted Max and David with a smile.
"Kat, what are you doing here?" David asked.
"I figured I'd drop off what Max's birth parents gave me for him." She opened the back and pulled out a box labeled 'Clothes'. "It's not much, I'm afraid. Just some clothes and school papers. And… this letter from his birth mom." She reached into her pocket and handed Max an envelope with his name on it.
"Thanks, Kat," David sighed. "Come on. Let's get this stuff into the counselor's cabin."
Katrina, David, and Gwen headed off, leaving Max on his own. He headed into the mess hall and sat down at the table, using his sharpened butter-knife to open the envelope. The letter was from his birth mom, all right. It had her crappy, English-isn't-my-first-language handwriting on it.
Dear Max,
I don't know when this letter will reach you. I didn't want to send it in the mail because I wanted you to actually get it.
I know the past several years have been hard. Your father's drinking and his drug use—combined with mine—must have made a difficult home to grow up in. Miss McCormick made it clear that our home wasn't fit for you to live in, and without many other options, we decided to give you up. I know you think we both don't care, but you're my son. I'm biologically obligated to care. Your father signed the papers without a second glance, and I begrudgingly signed them myself.
After the initial assessment, Katrina came back a week later to tell us that somebody had actually asked to adopt you. I asked who, and she told me it was one of your counselors. I was shocked that it took so little time. Maybe he saw something in you that we were unable to.
I hope you're happy.
Love,
Mom.
Max felt angry at the letter. If she'd cared so much, then why the fuck hadn't she been a better mom? Why hadn't she cared until it was too late?
"Max?" Katrina was in the doorway.
"It's fucking bullshit," he told her, handing the social worker the letter. She read it, then looked at him.
"Max, did your dad ever hit you?"
"Sometimes. If I got in his way."
"And he hit your mom, too? For the same reason?"
"Yeah."
"And you know that's not normal, right?"
"Of course I do! I'm not an idiot!" He crossed his arms and refused to look at Katrina.
"I've been at this for a couple years, Max. A lot of kids in your situation—they don't have this view. They tend to retreat into themselves and think that everybody lives the way they do. They don't want to be touched or interact with anybody." That sounded familiar.
"Did… did your parents do that to you?"
"Yeah." She sat next to him. "My dad, mostly. He actually killed my mom while I was here, about fourteen years ago. That was when I went to live with my uncle, and I started to realize it wasn't normal. It leaves scars, physical and emotional, and the way to heal is to let people in. From what I've seen, you've started down that road."
"No, I haven't!"
"You let David adopt you. That's a good first step." She stood back up. "I've gotta go. I'll be checking in for the first six months to be safe. See you in a month!"
Nine months later…
Max stood with David at the entrance to Camp Campbell. After nine months of being David's kid, Max was still the same cynical, pessimistic asshole he'd been before, but now he was less willing to escape camp. He still messed with David and Gwen. He still pulled pranks.
But he was safe. He had a home.
He had a family.
Boom. Done.
I hope you all enjoyed this story.
So long and thanks for all the fish!