It went exactly like the other countless times before. Angry grown-ups, scared Mary-Sue, much screaming and sooner or later the sentence she feared most. "You're not to handle! I'll call the social worker. You're going back to the orphanage!"

This time, it was in the middle of the night, Mary-Sue had had a nightmare and had woken her foster parents with a loud scream. She couldn't help it. These nightmares felt so intense, and sometimes she was sure that they were real. Mrs. and Mr. Stanley, with whom she had lived with the last month had come to her room and after she had hit Mrs. Stanley's hand away by instinct the woman had started screaming, slapped her and told her husband to call the responsible social worker. Without any other word they had left the room and a crying, shaking Mary on the bed.

Now she sat there, her knees pressed against her chest, and waited for something to happen. Outside her room she could hear Mrs. Stanley complaining about her. That she was a bad girl and always misbehaved, that she wasn't worth all the work and love and that it was a mistake to take her in. Mary-Sue buried her head in her hands. Everything the woman said was true. She wasn't worth anything. And it was her own fault. If she hadn't forgotten to take her medicine her nightmare probably wouldn't have been so bad and then Mrs. Stanley wouldn't be mad at her right now. She would never find a family, just as everybody at St. Agnes always said. It would have been best if she'd never been born.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door banging open. Mrs. Stanley marched in and ranted to the woman that followed her: "There is the useless brat! She slapped and yelled at me! I don't know what we did to her and how we earned that. We should've listened to the social worker who told us not to take her. But we tried to be kind and this is the reward?" She stared at the defenseless little girl on the bad, spark flying out of her eyes. " The social worker snored. "Yes, this one is a little witch. I'm sorry you had to experience her." "Mary-Sue?", Mrs. Stanley suddenly bickered. "Why aren't your things packed yet? Do it now! AT ONCE!"

Mary couldn't stop crying, but somehow managed to get up and throw her things into plastic bags, while the grown ups just watched her struggle with crossed arms. But since she didn't have much stuff she was done quite quick. "Finally!", the social worker sighed. "Not only that I have to sacrifice hours of sleep just because you can't behave yourself, now I also have to wait an eternity for you." Without even offering to help her, the Social Worker left the room, leaving the little girl all alone with her three bags. Under the disapproving looks of Mr and Mrs Stanley she dragged her stuff outside to the car. They didn't even bother to say goodbye, they just slammed the door as soon as she was outside. Even if it meant going back to the orphanage she was glad to leave. They hadn't been her worst foster parents, but she didn't like being threatened with violence and having a room in which barely her bed fitted.

But to her surprise the social worker started to speak after a few minute drive. "Thanks to the youth welfare department and their crappy regulations you can't go back to the orphanage. You're going to live with a family taking emergency cases like you until we know where to put you! And don't you dare to make a scene there! If you keep going like this they'll put you in a boot camp or something!"

Mary-Sue couldn't react. She was so glad that she didn't have to go back to the orphanage and in her opinion, she had already had the worst foster parents, so she knew what the worst was they could do to her.

The rest of the journey went by quietly. Mary-Sue hadn't even dared to asked how long the drive was.

But finally, as the sun already peaked over the horizon, they arrived. The social worker parked in a wide driveway, leading to a normal single-family home, which looked the same like the other houses of the suburban place. Blue hydrangeas lined the drive way and the wooden stairs that led to a small porch. In front of the door several pairs of shoes made an untidy pile. Behind the windows Mary Sue could see colorful curtains and some had window color artwork on them. The house looked friendly inviting, and Mary's face lightened up as a dog started to bark inside after the social lady had rang the doorbell.

It didn't take long until someone opened.

A tiny Asian woman appeared behind the fly screen and smiled at them.

"Hello! You must be Mary-Sue!", she turned directly to Mary.

Her voice was cheerful and friendly.

"I'm Melinda Coulson! I'm glad you're here!"

Hey everybody! Thanks for reading my prologue. I know there are several other stories about the same subject,

but I wanted to write down my own imagination of the perfect AOS AU!

Please notice that English is not my first language, so I'm glad for every mistake you point out to me.

If someone wants to beta read this story, I'm happy for every help I can get to improve my English!

Lots of Love from Germany ;)

Maliee