ASHER DANIELS DIDN'T KNOW WHO SHE WAS.

Sure, she was Asher, that was obvious to even her. But she wasn't a Daniels, not by birth. And it hurt her, to know that she'd started out as somebody else, and hadn't been good enough to stay that person and live that life.

But that was all in the past.

Someone had given her up, she didn't care. Why would she?

But, until that fateful October day, Asher had never realized that maybe she had been good enough. There were other reasons to throw a child away, after all.

IT STARTED OUT NORMALLY, AS THESE THINGS DO.

Asher had woken up, gotten dressed, eaten breakfast, complained about going to school, and forced to go to school by her adoptive parents. Really, she didn't mind, she had nothing against Weston Junior High. Bullies were self-conscious idiots, she had her wonderful best friend/crush Quinn, and the food was decent enough.

Besides, Asher was smart enough to cruise through her classes with okay grades.

School was just... so... what was the word... right, mind-numbingly boring. Freaking prison with a dress code.

"Ash, look out!" Someone screamed, barreling into her.

She looked down at the person, laughing. It was Quinn, of course. The beautiful, blue-dyed tips of her crush's- best friend's- platinum blonde hair, as well as the striking light green eyes that seemed to stare into her soul, made the girl easily recognizable. Quinn rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, taking the hand Asher offered her and hopping up.

"Sorry 'bout that..." Quinn murmured, hair falling in her face as she stared at the ground.

Asher rolled her eyes. Always so regretful, that girl. Never let herself just be free of her own iron rules, despite how lenient her parents were. She could sneak into a high school party, get drunk, and still not get in trouble, yet she almost always refused to break even the smallest little rule.

"It's fine. Now, come on, I'm not missing this bus! If I'm late again, they'll call Isa and William!" She exclaimed, grabbing Quinn's wrist and pulling the two of them onto the stupidly purple city-issued bus at the last second. Quinn almost fell into Asher again. Asher chuckled and hopped into a seat, Quinn right behind her.

"Why do you call them Isa and William? They're your mom and dad, aren't they?"

Asher sighed, it was always this question. Quinn had never asked about her family before, despite how close the two were, so she didn't expect her to know, but it was still annoying.

"Kinda, sorta, maybe. They adopted me. Anyway, Isa and William are their names, so that's what I'll call them."

Quinn shrugged. "Whatever," She looked around for a second, smirking. "For once, I kinda want to break a rule."

Asher raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Tell me more."

Quinn's smirk morphed into an impossibly wide devilish grin. "There's this lady with a screaming kid," She pointed to the back of the bus, where the handicap seats, which were all full, were. "And she's trying to get some people to move their wheelchairs and scooters so that she and her baby can sit there. What a bitch. Anyway, I have an idea."

Asher smiled almost as devilishly as Quinn. "I'd just love to hear it."

Quinn whispered something in her ear, and Asher's eyes glinted evilly, grin growing even wider than Quinn's as she pondered the idea... oh, who was she kidding? This was happening!

Asher looked at Quinn, next to her in the police interrogation room. Her friend was biting her lip, and seemingly trying to glare at herself. She obviously regretted the events that had taken place on the bus. We will not speak of those for that very reason.

"The one time I do something wrong, I get arrested..." She hissed, a single tear dripping down her face.

"Hey, it's fine! Your parents will bail you out, you'll get grounded for like, two hours, all's well. I, on the other hand, should hope they don't send me back- oh, shit, what if they send me back?"

"They wouldn't," Quinn sniffed, "They're lucky to have you as a daughter, why else would they have chosen you? You-you'll be fine too, I think. They must really love you, Ash."

Asher shrugged, still worried. Isa and William were assholes. They had only adopted her for money, which they got from the agency as compensation for three years. The time was almost up, surely they'd send her away, and then she'd never see Quinn again!

Soon enough, Isa and William stormed through the door, very clearly pissed off.

Asher winced and followed them to the car, and just as she'd thought, they started screaming. "What the fuck did you do, you little brat? We had to spend three-hundred fucking dollars to bail you out!"

She couldn't help herself, the words just came out. "You mean the same amount of money you get every month for me? That 'three-hundred fucking' whatever?"

William and Isa exchanged a look, and, in the heat of the moment, William raised his hand and brought it down on Asher's face. Hard. "That's it! We are done with you! We'll do the paperwork tonight, you're gone the second we can get rid of you." Isa hissed, starting the car and speeding home- no, speeding back to the house. Not home. Never home.

Word Count: 948 words