So, here I am with another chapter! AYYYYY!
I am trying to stick to a schedule of posting every Tuesday. It might not work, but we shall see. A little reminder that my exams (very important exams that will probably dictate whether or not I get to university) start on the 3rd May and finish on the 17th May. Hopefully, I will still be able to update during this period as I am trying to write a few chapters in advance so that I am not writing during this period, but if I forget to post, I am sorry! The most likely day for me to forget to update will be the 16th May, as I have a Physics and Spanish Exam that day DX. I will try and stick to the schedule anyway.
Enjoy the chapter!
Alex sat on her bed, clutching the file, carefully sifting through the only information she had about George and Martha Washington. There was barely anything there; Martha was forty-one years old, turning forty-two in June. George had only just turned forty-one. Both were politicians (Democrats, fortunately). Together, they had fostered six children over the past fifteen years and had adopted one child, who was still living with them. They had passed all their inspections and were deemed to be very good foster parents.
She committed all the information to memory, wishing she knew a bit more about them. Obviously, it would all be down to her and whether she wanted to join the family in the end. There were only some circumstances where children would be forced into foster care, usually if the care home struggled to take care of them because they misbehaved. She had seen children return from foster care with bruises all around their eyes. Manuela would look at them with pity, but couldn't protest when they were taken away again by some other person in it for the money. She was just a social worker, not the head of the home and didn't dare say anything to her superiors.
Alex understood. If Manuela got fired, she would be replaced with some other person who didn't give a shit about anyone in her care and Alex would be shipped off to some home immediately. The only reason she hadn't been fostered before was because her social worker, someone she didn't really deserve, ran thorough checks on each family. Any sign of abuse and she would turn the couple down.
Alex had no idea how she got away with it, but then again, none of the children she was assigned to were ever badly behaved to the point of them being a threat to the other children in the care home. Somehow, it had all worked out.
Now here she was, with a couple that Manuela trusted enough to approach Alex with the idea of being fostered.
She wasn't really sure how to feel about it. On the one hand, she was desperate to leave the care home; progressing from childhood, where she had been given a fair amount of autonomy by her mother, to adulthood, where her every step was monitored, it was driving her insane. All she wanted was to be able to run her blogs without having to deal with the internet curfew, go to the protests she read about.
She wanted to feel normal.
Then again, the rings of bruises were scarred in her mind. What if Manuela made a mistake? What if the Washingtons were just after government money? What if they hated her or she hated them when she met them? Or worse, the adopted child didn't get on with her and they decided to take her back because they didn't get on?
She could feel her mind spiralling into panic. She quickly closed the folder and tidied it under the bed and lay back, resting her hands on her chest and belly, practising abdominal breathing as her therapist taught her to try and calm down.
It would be okay. All that was going to happen was a small meeting with the Washingtons. She still had time to decide.
The pair sat opposite her in the office and Alex was freaking out. All she could think about was the last time a couple had shown an interest in adopting her.
It had been a few years ago, only a few months after she had been placed in the care home at the age of fourteen. They had smiled and chatted, but ultimately ended up adopting another child a few years younger and cuter and less sullen than Alex. After that, she came to terms with the fact that she was going to be stuck in the system until adulthood; nobody wanted to adopt a teenager, particularly if they knew how messed up she was.
Yet, here she was, sat in front of the Washingtons, her social worker perched a short distance away from the desk so as not to intrude, but somehow being more of a distraction. Alex kept turning to glance back at her, which earned her a stern look to remind her to focus on the meeting.
"So, you are Alexandra Hamilton," Mrs Washington said with a beaming smile, cheery and warm, reminiscent of summertime as a child when life was simple and easy.
"Just Alex." She fought against the urge to start babbling at them, her leg bouncing up and down in agitation.
"Alex." The older woman tested the name. "My name is Martha Washington and this is my husband, George."
"Hello, ma'am. Sir."
"Oh, please, just call us George and Martha."
"We are very pleased to meet you, Alex," George added. His voice was warm and melodious, the sort of tone that would bring an air of tranquility to a room, but it somehow failed to work its charm on Alex; she deflected George's serenity with her disquiet.
"Uh, nice to meet you too."
There was an awkward pause. Manuela stepped in.
"Alex, how about you tell George and Martha what you like to do for fun."
"I…" She trailed off, unsure what to say. She inhaled, trying to calm her mind and focus. "I like to write I suppose," she finally mumbled.
"About anything specific?" Martha prompted.
She shrugged. "I like writing about politics. Either that or on activism."
They nodded encouragingly, George leaning forwards with enthusiasm. "That's great!" he said. "You might already know that Martha and I are politicians. Although we've started working part-time now."
She nodded.
Manuela shuffled over with her chair. "Alright, Alex. Now, I'm sure you are aware that the Washingtons have fostered six children in their time and currently have one adopted child. They have a pretty amazing record actually."
The couple smiled proudly, George clasping Martha's hand tighter.
"Five of the six children stayed with them up until adulthood. You've been reported to have 'a safe and welcoming home'." Manuela looked up from her notes to smile at the Washingtons and turned to Alex. "Like I said before, I think if you are going to be assigned to anyone, this is a great home to go to, Alex."
Alex nodded. "I've been thinking about it since you told me about them."
"Have you made your decision?"
She took another deep breath. "I think so."
Her social worker gestured for her to continue. She steeled herself.
"Manuela said that she had a good feeling about you," she started, her eyes remaining downcast. "And, I just want you to know that I do too and I would like to come live with you, if that is okay."
They beamed. "We would like that a lot," George said, the happiness evident in his voice.
It certainly didn't feel wrong. In fact, thought Alex, it actually felt pretty good.
Alex went to go and pack her things into a bag as the Washingtons and Manuela signed off the documentation that Alex was not quite old enough to sign herself. All of her belongings were able to fit easily into the small rucksack Manuela had given her at the foot of the stairs; she only had three outfits, plus sweatpants and a vest top that she wore to bed, a few changes of underwear and a small collection of notebooks that she had somehow managed to keep hold of since her mother's death. Her plain pencil case was thrown in as well, even though it wasn't really hers. The home had a bunch of pencil cases that they would issue to each child so they had stationary for school; each had a scientific calculator, a bunch of pens and pencils, an eraser and a ruler.
They won't miss one used case, she justified to herself.
Finally, she lifted a floorboard under her bed and pulled out the jar of money that she had been meticulously saving over the years. Occasionally, the care home would gift the children some money if they had some extra from the government or given by a private donor. Most kids spent it immediately, but Alex hoarded it carefully. She also had some excess from before she went into the foster system. It all totted up to exactly two hundred and twelve dollars and forty-three cents. Not masses, but enough in case she needed to make a run for it to get by for a few days.
With everything gathered together, she took a final look at her room, the one she had lived in for the past two years. She felt as if she ought to be sad to see it go, but there hadn't been much tying her down to the place; when Alex thought of home, her thoughts went to the little house she shared with her mother back in Nevis that no longer existed. Nowhere else had come close to being considered home. Now that she had removed her few possessions, the tiny room looked like it had barely been lived in.
She turned to run downstairs without giving the bare room a backwards glance.
The Washingtons were waiting in the reception for her, grins stuck on their faces. Manuela moved forward and stuck out a hand.
"I hope I don't have to see you again for a while, kiddo. No offence."
Alex managed a laugh. "Ditto. Thanks, Manuela." She shook her hand firmly. "You've been great."
"I've tried. You've been great too."
She walked out of the care home for what she hoped would be the very last time.
Before anyone comes and complains to me about the way I have portrayed the fostering process in this fic, I would just like to flag up that I am from the UK and have never been fostered. I only knew someone when I was younger who was living in a foster home, but I was still quite young so I didn't really ask her about it. I tried to search online about how it works, but so far, all I have to go on are other people's fanfiction and the horror stories of kids being put in abusive homes. I know that the adoption process is much harder to go through and people go to court because of it sometimes. So, just roll with it and know that Manuela is an utter babe and is ready to bend all the rules in order to make sure her children are safe.
Chapter 3 introduces Lafayette. Meet them on Tuesday!
Thanks for reading! If you like it, favourite, leave a review, tell me what to do to improve if you still aren't sure! I love feedback more than anything else XD
~Leo