Chapter 7

For the purpose of the story, Girls United was never set on fire.

Gabby's POV***

The ride to Girls United was silent, except for the occasional static that came from the radio. We pull up to a Victorian style house, flowers decorate the lawn along with trees and bushes. I follow Bill up the front steps and to the wooden door, a golden plaque hung beside it, reading: United we stand; uniting girls since 1987.

The door opened, revealing an older women with dark, curly, shoulder length hair and round glasses. "Hello, Gabby, I'm Rita, welcome to Girl's United. Please, come in." I follow the lady into the group home.

"Rita, thank you again for taking Gabby in on such sort notice. I also know that these aren't the normal circumstances of which you take girls, so, again, I thank you."

"It's not a problem Bill. I am glad we can provide Gabby with the help and support she needs."

"Aright. Well, thank you, again. See you soon Gabby," He pats me on my shoulder and leaves the house.

"Girls! Come meet Gabby!" Rita shouts. Girls come from different rooms of the house, staring at me and whispering to each other as they pass me and go into an attached room. Rita leads me into a living where multiple chairs were arranged in a circle. Everyone sits in their respective seats, leaving the only empty seat next to Rita next to me.

"Alright girls, you know how this works, we're going to go around the room and everyone is going to say something about themselves. How old they are, how long you've been here, why you're here. Becca why don't we start with you since you're going to be Gabby's roommate."

"Um, okay. I'm sixteen, I've been here for about six months. I'm in for drugs, using and selling. I'm doing better, I guess. I've been clean for the whole time I've been here so, I guess that's good."

"That's great Becca. Kiara, you're up."

"My name's Kiara, I'm fifteen years old, been here for eight months. In for gang stuff, drugs. My brother just got out of jail a couple months ago and he is trying to become my legal guardian." I flinch at the word brother, and give her a small smile.

"We're very happy for you Kiara."

"Alright Carmen, your turn."

"My name is Carmen, I'm seventeen. Been to Juvie for kidnapping, gangs, drugs. Been in this home for nine months."

"And I'm Cole, I'm sixteen. Been to Juvie for drugs and other stuff. I'm leaving soon so I am happy." Says the boy.

"Okay, Gabby. Now that you know a little about the girls, why don't you tell us a little about yourself." Rita orders more than suggests.

"Yea, what are you in for? What can you do when you're that young, what are you? Like eight?" Kiara asks, resulting in a reprimanding glare from Rita.

"I'm twelve," I spit back, "And I'm not 'in' for anything. I've never been to Juvie, never done drugs or anything like that."

"Then why are you here?"

"She is here for the same reason you girls are here," Rita starts, "Gabby has some things that she needs to come to terms with and she needs support. Just like all of you." I glance down at my clasped hands, suddenly realizing why Bill had sent me to this particular group home.

"What happened?" Carmen asks. I keep my eyes focused on my hands.

"Alright girls, well I think we are done for now. Becca why don't you take Gabby up to your room and show her around." I follow Becca up a staircase and into a hall way with bedrooms on one side and a bathroom on the other.

She leads me into a placid room with two twin beds covered with matching plaid sheets. There were two bureaus and a bookshelf on each side of the room.

"Your bed is over there," she says, pointing to a bed. "We wake up at six, breakfast is at 7:30. School starts at 8:15 and goes until three. All of the girls attend North Region Public school, so that's where you will be attending also. Dinner is at six and lights out at nine thirty." I glance at the digital alarm clock that sat on Becca's dresser, the blinking red numbers reading 5:32. Becca leaves the room, claiming she had to use the bathroom, leaving me alone in the room. I sit down on the bed, another foster placement.

The next morning, I sit in the Girl's united van, picking at my seven year old backpack that Bill brought over late last night. Michelle, the other lady that worked at Girl's United was driving us to school. The other girls were sitting together, making small talk and laughing occasionally as I sit in silence.

"You'll be great," Michelle says to me, looking at me from the rearview mirror. I nod glancing out the window again. Sometime later we pull up to a large school, with red bricks as its structure. Students walked around the school yard, some of them appearing to be the same age as me and some older. "The school is a middle and high school, but they are separated by the halls." She pulls a piece of paper from her bag. "Here is your schedule, and come find one of the girls if you need anything." I take the paper from her hand and hop out of the van, following the group of girls towards the front door. I see a sign that reads "Middle School Left, High School Right," with an arrow pointing in the correct direction. I depart from the group and follow other students to their first period classes. I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans, unsure of why I was so nervous about this school, I have done this a million times, why is this one any different? For some reason, there was a strange thought nagging at the back of my brain, warning me about something….

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