So anyway, while we were playing, that day that Gwen was with us, Jade was talking to Connor, the owner of the boys' home, as they watched us play through a window. There was a knock at the door, and Connor opened it to find a man and a woman who were looking to adopt a son. They introduced themselves as Tara and Sean McGrath, and joined our unseen audience.

They asked Connor about all the boys one by one, and after he had described all ten of them, they decided on Randy. They went into another room to start filling out the paperwork, when Tara's curiosity got the better of her and she just had to ask. "I thought that this was a boys' home. Who were those two girls out there?"

"Oh them?" Jade answered, "They're from the girls' home across the street. The brunette is Gwen Stiliano. She was adopted a little over a year ago by Alison and Roy Stiliano. Very nice people. They took her here just for the day to visit her old friends. The other one is Rina."

"Yes, we know Gwen, but Rina? That's it? You're not going to say anything else? Not even a last name?" asked Sean.

"She doesn't have a last name that we know of."

"Why not? I thought everyone had a last name."

"We don't know all that much about her. Only her first name." Jade looked at the befuddled faces, and decided to go a little more into it, "She just wandered out of the woods eleven years ago. All alone. No parents, no birth certificate, only a necklace with the name 'Katrina.' And she was pretty cut up too. They immediately took her to the hospital, and they conducted a huge search for her parents. No response, so they sent her here. No one ever wanted to adopt her either, because she's developed a personality that makes her a parent's worst nightmare, unless you know how to handle her. So the poor thing grew up thinking that she was all alone in the world."

They all looked at each other, totally stunned by my pathetic story. Then they turned back to their paperwork without speaking again for a long while. Even Connor was devastated. He may still have resented me a little for clobbering Randy, but he'd never heard that story before. No one in the world had, so they didn't know how to react.

About ten minutes later, out on the court, I passed the ball and then tried to get open again. Then I heard Jade's voice. "Randy, Rina! C'mere!" There were three people with her: Connor, and two other people whom I didn't know. We called a time out, and Randy and I jogged over. The rest of the boys watched, just waiting to hear what we did wrong now. "Randy, Rina? This is Tara and Sean McGrath. They want to adopt you."

The silence that followed seemed to go on forever. Everyone stared at us expectantly waiting for a reaction, and Sean and Tara threw us "friendly" smiles to ease the tension, but it didn't help. I felt the thirteen pairs of eyes on me. Their intense energy heated my body making me perspire and turn tomato-red. There was a lump in my throat and I had trouble breathing. Subconsciously, I placed one foot behind me, and as soon as I heard the faint sound of my sneaker hitting the pavement, the other foot followed. I backed away slowly. Tara reached out to me, but in my trance, I had let my body take break free of my mind and take control of itself. It turned and ran away, as fast as it could: So fast that I felt my ponytail go straight back in the wind.

It was almost like I was possessed. I guess I kind of was. I wasn't in control of myself. I didn't know where I was going, but my feet did. "Rina, wait," someone called, but it did them no good. I wasn't about to come back, and they were in as much shock as I was: Far too much to follow me.

I started running out of breath after about two minutes, and ducked into an alley to sit down. I just sat there, totally dazed for about ten minutes that seemed like ten seconds. I was drowning in my own thoughts. Thoughts like, "Why did I run away?" "Finally! I'm getting what I've always wanted!" "What about the boys?" "Wow! What a big change!" "What do I say to that?" and "Oh man! I shouldn't have run! What'll they think of me now?" But the biggest one that came through my head over and over was the two-word question, "Why me?"

"Rina?" I heard someone say, "I thought I heard someone back here." I looked up and saw Randy and Gwen walking toward me.

"Don't scare me like that!"

"Woah! Chill out girl," said Gwen, "How are you doing?"

"How does it look like I'm doing?"

"Don't be so grumpy! Sheesh!" said Randy, "Why'd you run like that?"

"You want the honest truth, I don't know. I'm just confused I guess."

"About Mr. and Mrs. McGrath?"

"Yeah. I mean, this is what I've been wishing for eleven years, and now that it's coming true, I don't know if it really is what I want."

Gwen put her hand under my chin and gently lifted it so that I was looking at her. "Rina, I was the same way. I didn't know what to think when I met the Stilianos. But then I decided to go for it, and look how well everything worked out. I mean sure, Ellen's there, but hey, you can't have everything. Trust me. I know Mr. and Mrs. McGrath."

"Oh great! And I'll bet they said they don't want me anymore, huh?"

Randy shook his head vigorously. "No way! They still want to adopt both of us. And take it from both of us," he gestured toward Gwen, "We both know what it's like to have parents. I had them up until about five years ago when they were killed in a car crash, and there's nothing in the world better than parents. I'm just sorry that it took me this long to realize it."

"Think it over, okay Rina? We've been best buds since before I can remember, and I just want to be sure that you've made the choice that'll make you the happiest. Let us know when you decide. Take as long as you need. Because when you're ready, Jade, Randy, the McGraths, and I will be there for you."

"But when you do decide, don't do it for us or the McGraths. Do it for yourself. We'd better be going. I hope we'll see you later." And with that, they left me in the alley. Then I knew what I wanted to do, and one little tear, the first one I'd cried since I was four, slid down my cheek.

I heard a voice above me, and looked up to see a repulsive guy sitting on a windowsill about twenty feet up. "Aww.Ain't that sweet?"

"Hey, you! What do you think you're doing? Either et down here any explain to me why you're spying on me, and maybe end up with a chipped tooth or a bloody nose, or do what a sensible person who values there life would do and beat it!"

"Touchy, touchy!" he said, "I see I'm not welcome here, so I'll just leave. See ya later, Champ!" Then he jumped from the windowsill and onto a rooftop, where I lost sight of him.

"Oookay then," I muttered as I started walking off, "That was just slightly freaky."