Not too long ago
By Imogin2 of the xsorbit4 rebelfic board.
Disclaimer: I take no credit in this story it was created by Imogin2, who does not own Roswell.
Not too long ago, there was a crash just outside the city of Roswell. It aroused every one's attention and started the people thinking, 'Are we really alone in the universe?' These people would find out in the not too distant future, the truth that they pondered.
1991
I'm sitting in a corner that I've claimed as my own. It's cold and drafty in this room where they've put me. There are other kids running around, but non-of them welcome me to play in their games. 'Who cares about their stupid games anyway.' I tell myself, trying not to be jealous of their joy. My social worker says she found me out in the desert in New Mexico. They brought me to a 'group home' as they say it, in Phoenix,. I call it a prison for kids who aren't loved. It's our little jail where grown-ups lock us up so they don't have to see us and feel sorry for us. I went through three foster homes before landing back here. My first foster home wasn't too bad. There was a mother, father, and two boys who were older than I was. That's where I learned to defend myself. The boys often horsed around with me and I had to learn how to fend them off so they wouldn't hurt me. They fed and clothed me as if I was their own, but I never felt like I belonged. The second home wasn't that bad either. Again there was a mother and father. But instead of two boys, there were two girls younger than me and a boy older than me. I often played with him, his name was Jacob. The third home was the worst. The mother hated me and the father abused me. There was a boy and a girl at that house. Both of them tormented me to the point of insanity. Eventually, I ran away. The authorities found me a few days later in a dark alley in downtown Santa Fe. So here I am, back at where I started, in my jail.
"Tess, come here please." Says my social worker, whose name is Katie. I get up and slowly walk over to where she's standing. She guides me to an office where two people sit in front of a desk. They turn around to look at me and their eyes widen. I shrink back and try to hide behind Katie, but she pushes me forward. "This is Charlie and Sandy Madras. They would like to talk to you and get to know you. Go on, say hello." Katie nudges me forward again. I stare blankly at them, trying not to show any emotion. I know what their goal is. They want to adopt me, to call me their own. I hate the idea. I hate the way people think they can take kids and place them in a home and think that the kid will love it. Kids have feelings too, and most of the time, adults never think about the child's feelings.
"Hi." Is all I say to them. They look at me with excitement in their eyes.
"Hello Tess. I'm Charlie. And this is my wife, Sandy." The man says to me. I don't move.
"How old are you, Tess?" The lady asks me.
"I'm 7 years old."
"Oh. That's a great age! Have you started school yet?" The lady asks, trying to start a conversation.
"Yes." I hate talking to strangers. The lady's eyes dampen when that's all that comes out of my mouth. She whispers something in her husband's ear and then turns to Katie.
"She's perfect." The lady says. Katie smiles and shakes her hand.
"Great. We'll get her stuff ready right away." Katie turns to me. "Tess, these people are going to adopt you. They're going to be your new parents. You'll have a family now. No more foster homes. Aren't you excited?"
I'm angry beyond my belief! How could they just give me up to these strangers whom I've just met? It's like I have no opinion what so ever for where I want to live. I give a disgusted look on my face and walk out of the room and into my room to pack.
I'm sitting in the back seat of the van, looking out the window at the barren desert. Turns out Charlie and Sandy have kids of their own. Right next to me sits Kevin, who is two years younger than me. He had tried talking to me in the beginning, but I never answered any of his questions. Eventually, he gave up and went back to colouring in his colouring book. In front of me in the middle seat, there is a baby girl, Meghan, who is sitting in a car seat. She's about 1 and a half years old. I think she's cute.
I long to know where we're going, but I'm too stubborn to speak. Charlie and Sandy are chatting away in the front about their new house. Then Sandy turns around and looks at me.
"You want to know where we're going?" She asks me. I don't say a word, but she knows that I do. "We just moved into a house in Roswell. It's a nice big house with a big back yard. Kevin, why don't you tell Tess about the house?"
Kevin gives a pained look as if it's a torture to talk to me. But he doesn't argue. "It's a big blue house, you'll know when you see it. Our bedrooms are upstairs on the second floor. Mom and dad sleep on the main floor and so does Meg. I think you'll like it." He started to get excited as he tells me more. "We moved in just a couple of weeks ago. I don't know anyone in Roswell, so we'll have to play together a lot." He waits for a response from me but only sees my interested look, so he continues. "There's a park right near our house, so we can go play there lots. We'll probably have to bring Meg along with us, but there's lots of baby stuff there too." I start to get excited. The way he explains it makes this place sound so much better than any other place I've ever been.
"Hey, look out the windows! We're in Roswell." Charlie exclaims and we look outside. After a while of driving around, we turn into a quiet area of the city. Here there are lots of old fashion-looking houses. We drive down a few blocks and then turn into a driveway. We come to a complete stop and start climbing out. When I look up, I see a big blue house. 'Home' I say to myself.
"Come on! I'll show you to your room!" Kevin yells and we run into the house. Inside, there are still a few moving-boxes spread out all over. We run upstairs and turn the corner. "This one is mine." Kevin tells me and we walk inside his room. The walls are black with stars and planets plastered on. "I love stars. This summer I'm going to space camp! Come on, I'll show you your room!" He grabs my hand and we run to a room that's across from his. The walls are painted a light yellow quilt mural, which I think is beautiful. It feels so warm and welcoming, the most welcoming room I've ever been in. "So. Do you like it? Look over here, this is your bed. And this is your dresser. Over here are some toys we bought you last week." Kevin ran around the room showing me everything there is to be seen. I walk over to the bed and gently sit down. The blanket is yellow, just like the walls. From the corner of my eye I notice Sandy standing in the doorframe watching me. I look at her and smile.
"Thank you. I love it." I thank her politely. I'm rather speechless as I look around the room in awe. Sandy walks in and opens the closet door. Hanging up in the closet is three dresses.
"I bought these for you two weeks ago. I wasn't sure what size you were, so I only bought three. It's okay if they don't fit. We can bring them back and buy you different ones. Don't worry if you don't like them, just tell me." Sandy tells me. I can tell she's hoping I'll be pleased with her choice. I stand up and walk over to the closet to get a closer look. One dress stands out to me and I ask her to take it down so I can look at it. I'm not one for dresses, but once in a while I might find one that I like. This dress had big sunflowers imprinted all over. The overall colour of the dress was an off white. "Oh. This goes with that dress." Sandy handed me a sun hat that matched the dress perfectly. It reminded me of those picture perfect little girls on commercials when they are swinging on a swing and having the time of their life. I'd always wanted to be like one of those girls. Maybe I could get one step closer with this dress. I look at it, falling in love with the dress instantly. Sandy breaks the silence. "Well, we should start unpacking all your stuff. What do you say?"
"Sure. But I don't have that much. Only this suitcase." I say, feeling embarrassed by how little I have of my own.
"That won't be a problem. We're going to go shopping for everything you need tomorrow." Sandy replies. I feel a bit better.
It's been a week and a busy one at that. The day after we arrived, Sandy, Kevin, Meghan, and I all went shopping. Sandy bought me 5 pairs of pants, 7 t-shirts, 10 pairs of underwear, and 3 more dresses. The best part about it all was that I got to pick every thing myself. Poor Kevin, he had to stand around all day in the girl's section waiting for me to pick out my clothes. I knew he only came to get out of the house, so I didn't feel too bad for him. He played with Meghan most of the time anyway. The next couple of days I spent going to the doctor and dentist for check-ups, and visiting all of Charlie and Sandy's friends. Yesterday, we all went to the mall to buy school supplies for the new school year. School starts next week.