NOTE: I do not own the Romeo show.
"We're what?" Romeo Miller was astounded. His dad, Percy Miller, had announced that they were going to be part of a foster program.
"That's nice Dad," said Jodi Miller, Romeo's older sister.
"Yeah, that'll be fun," piped up Gary, Romeo's little brother. "Who are we getting first?"
"No, no, no," Romeo interrupted. "This isn't cool. We're getting a foster kid?"
"Yes," his dad told him.
"I don't need another sibling," Romeo told his dad. "I have enough here. And anyway, I don't want one. Especially one that's not even related—that's like someone fake. Aren't we good enough?"
"Of course you are," his dad said. "But I just thought we could give it a try."
Romeo raised up his arms in defeat. "Ok, ok. But I don't like this. I already told you, ok? Those kids are all messed up and weird—and they were unwanted. Doesn't it occur to you that there's a reason to it all?"
"Maybe the parents were crazy," Jodi told him. "These kids deserve a chance, ok Ro? So you're going to be nice to this kid, ok?"
"Yes, Jodi's right," Mr. Miller told Romeo. "So you have to be nice."
Romeo ignored them and didn't answer. He just stormed up to his room, and locked the door. He hoped the kid would be at least African American, and then he could pass him off as a long-lost brother or something. This idea was so stupid.
He was going to give the kid the worst time he could ever get.
xxx
"Hi, I'm Percy Miller," Mr. Miller told a short lady. He handed her an interview that Jodi had filled out, in order to learn what his children thought of him.
"Oh, you signed up about half a year ago, and we got all your papers in order," the lady told him. "We can assign you a foster child… today, after we go through these questions with you."
"That's fine," Mr. Miller told the lady.
After a bunch of questions (Do you have any other children, Do you have any pets, etc.), the lady told Mr. Miller to continue through the building, where he would be assigned a kid.
"I don't get to choose which kid I want then?" Mr. Miller asked a man who was standing outside a large room.
"No," the man told him. "At this program, we choose the kid that fits your personality the best, and that is most in need of a home right now. Some of the foster homes can be rather abusive, so we try to do our best to get the children back, and penalize those families. We do try to recruit families that look trustworthy, but sometimes people turn out ways that we don't expect. Sit there please," he added, indicating a chair.
He opened the door to the big room and yelled, "Louis! Louis Testaverde! Over here!"
A slim, sullen-looking teen walked over. Mr. Miller looked him over. He was white; with light, brownish hair that was spiked in the front; brown, distrusting looking eyes; long, dark eyebrows; and pretty lanky.
"What?" he muttered.
"You're being taken to your home now," the man said. "Mr. Miller, this is Louis Testaverde—Louis, this is Mr. Miller."
The teen looked Mr. Miller over, probably analyzing him the way Mr. Miller had.
"Hi Louis," Mr. Miller said, extending a hand. Louis turned away without shaking it.
The man handed Mr. Miller a file. "This is Louis's history."
Mr. Miller skimmed it over. Louis Testaverde. Sixteen years old. Abusive family. Taken by the foster program at age eleven. Put in first foster home six months later. Put back in foster program after two months. Put in second foster home one month later. Taken back after seven months—foster family abusive. On and on. Three of the foster homes had abused him, including the last one he had been taken out of. Cold personality on the outside; afraid of being hurt again.
One page caught Mr. Miller's eye. It was an interview with Louis at age thirteen.
Interviewer (I): What do you want in life Louis?
Louis Testaverde (LT): Nothing.
I: When are you going to grow up Louis?
LT: I'll grow up when someone cares about me.
I: Didn't the last family take care of that for you?
LT: All I want is for someone to love me. And when they do that, I'll listen. I just want a real family for once.
Mr. Miller took it all in while Louis glanced at him. Mr. Miller looked at him, and Louis turned away, with a defiant look in his eyes. But Mr. Miller saw the tears that filled his eyes before he brushed them away with his hand.
After several other questionings, Mr. Miller was followed by Louis out to the car. He sat down and eyed the teen in the back, who was basically trying to play "rebel".
"What do you want?" Louis asked disagreeably, turning away.
Mr. Miller looked away. Maybe Romeo or Jodi would make this kid better. He was so rude. Mr. Miller couldn't blame him though. He'd been through a lot.
xxx
"Romeo! Jodi! Gary! I'm home!" Mr. Miller called.
Jodi and Gary came down, and Romeo, an exact copy of the sullen Louis, dragged himself slowly down the stairs.
"Louis," Mr. Miller said to the rebellious looking teen. "This is Jodi, Gary, and Romeo. You guys, this is Louis Testaverde."
"Nice to meet you Louis," said Jodi, smiling, which took a lot of effort because Louis didn't look like the nicest kid.
"Hey Louis," Gary said, ignoring the angry looking expression on Louis's face. "I'm Gary. I'm nine years old."
"Romeo," Romeo said, introducing himself. "Leave me alone, and I'll leave you alone. Most of the time."
Something flickered across the bored looking face. Mr. Miller almost didn't catch it—but it was an expression of fear. But as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared. Louis simply arched an eyebrow, something Romeo had been trying to do for the last two years, but still hadn't mastered.
xxx
Mr. Miller led Louis to a room. "This is yours."
The room was a plain colored blue, but it had a comforting feel to it.
Mr. Miller continued, "If you want to paint it, I was planning on doing that. You can choose a color and tell me what you'd like later, ok?"
The kid ignored him.
Mr. Miller cautiously backed out.
"I got you a present," Mr. Miller said, pointing to a gift wrapped and placed on the bed. "It's a keyboard. If you want to learn how to play, you could be part of the kids' band. Jodi and Romeo are the singers, and Gary is the DJ, but they need someone else."
Louis's bored expression disappeared for once. "They have a band?" he asked, trying to look disinterested, but Mr. Miller wasn't fooled.
"Yeah, the Pieces of the Puzzle."
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