Ellie watched the Texas countryside flash by through the window of Marlene's beat up Honda. Marlene was chatting away in the seat beside her, not noticing Ellie's lack of attention. Ellie couldn't blame her, though. Filling the silence with meaningless facts about the state of Texas was better than focusing on the reason they were going.
"Ellie? Are you even listening to me?"
Shit.
"Of course. Texas. The state of hay bales and belt buckles." Ellie crossed her arms and continued trying to burn a hole through the window with her glare.
"Ellie." Marlene glanced at the sulking teen. "You can at least try to act pleasant. I realize you've been through a lot lately, but-"
"Don't." Ellie transferred her glare from the trees to Marlene. "Just, don't." Marlene gave Ellie a look that was so disgustingly pitiful that she felt like she was going to throw up. "So, what's this guy's name again?"
"Joel." Marlene said, grateful for the change of subject. "He's a little rough around the edges, but a good man just the same. His daughter, Sarah, is only a couple years younger than you. That'll be fun, having another girl around."
Ellie gave her a tight lipped smile and resumed ignoring Marlene.
"And your new school is one of the biggest in the south, so you shouldn't have a problem making friends. Someone for everyone, you know?" Marlene prattled on.
"You're acting like this isn't the thousandth time I've done this."
"Well, if that's the case, then maybe this time you can learn to behave yourself." Marlene perfectly raised her eyebrow, something Ellie grudgingly respected. You could say a lot about the woman, but she was fantastic at raising her eyebrow. One flick and she could probably silence a room. "Honestly Ellie, you need to make an effort here. You're out of strikes, and I'm at the end of my rope. If you get busted for anything, and I do mean anything, you're heading straight to juvie. Don't make me watch that happen."
Ellie sat up straighter and flexed her jaw. "I know all this, okay? Last chance, no more fighting, yada yada yada. And for the record, that last one wasn't my fault, alright?"
"The guy was in the hospital for two weeks Ellie! You're lucky we could make the argument for self-defense because there was a witness. And you still ended up being expelled, kiddo."
"Phssh. The principle over-reacted." Ellie flexed her fingers, thankful the bruises on her knuckles had vanished. Her new foster dad would be guarded enough without seeing evidence of her "tendency towards violence".
"Well, you can be sure that Joel won't tolerate any of that in his home. Especially around his daughter. I've met Sarah a couple of times. Sweet kid. She's sure to be excited that you're coming to stay with them."
"As long as I don't have to share a room with her, I'm sure we'll be fine." Ellie said without looking at Marlene.
"Hey, look. Here's our street." Marlene turned into a subdivision that looked like it came right out of an ABC family sitcom. Two or three story houses with barbecues outside and white fucking picket fences. Oh well. At least she'd be miserable in comfort. Ellie counted at least six little kids playing basketball in one driveway. Either it was the Cheaper By The Dozen family or this was one of those weird communal neighborhoods. She seriously hoped it was the first.
Marlene pulled the car into the drive way of a white house near the end of the street. The grass looked like it could use a mowing, and the bushes had seen better days.
"Here we are kiddo. This is the Miller's house." Ellie waited for Marlene to get out of the car before she began unbuckling her seatbelt. Marlene gestured for her to hurry up and Ellie reluctantly opened the door and stepped onto the driveway.
'Here we are." Ellie thought glumly. 'Foster home number twelve.' She pulled her backpack, one of the only things she considered hers, and slung it over one shoulder. Marlene gently grasped her elbow and led her towards the door.
"Do you want to ring it?" Marlene gestured towards the fancy doorbell. Ellie gave her a look and crossed her arms. Marlene chuckled at the look on her face and rung the door bell. The first ring had barely sounded before the door had swung open, revealing the face of a blond haired kid who was wearing an ear-splitting grin.
"You're here!" Blondie flung her arms around Ellie. Ellie stiffened and the girl released her, grin never faltering. "I'm so excited to meet you! We're gonna be at the same school and I can show you around and maybe introduce you to some of my friends and the-"
"Whoa there Sarah. Don't want to scare her off, do we?" A man with a thick Southern accent appeared behind Blondie and gave Ellie a once over. Marlene was right. 'Rough around the edges' described this guy perfectly. Brown hair shot with gray was brushed back from a tan forehead. He had a course beard that was trimmed short, and was in remarkably good shape for someone who looked to be in his late forties, maybe even early fifties. He locked eyes with Ellie and held out his hand.
"I'm Joel. You must be Ellie."
