Callie

Stef is nothing what I had in mind when I imagined my parole officer. I had conjured up an image in my head of a buff man who yelled all the time and didn't take any shit. That's not what Stef is like. Her eyes are bright blue and kind, but that doesn't mean anything. She could just be pretending. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a bun, out of her face, but she doesn't look very strict.

What is with all the bullshit? Are you in pain? Do you have any questions? She probably needs to cover all of her bases, for the sake of her own job. That's the case with most of these people.

I'm following Stef to her car at this point. When I was released, the facility gave me back the clothes I had been wearing the day I was taken in. Nothing fancy, just a flannel shirt and some jeans, and they smell a bit off but it's better than the standard issue prison uniform I was forced to wear. My eyes are squinted in an attempt to block the sunlight and I'm shocked by how bright it is out here compared to Chula Vista. We stop in front of a sedan and Stef unlocks the doors.

"Get in."

I do. She follows suit and tosses the papers she had been carrying into the back. She turns to face me, "You hungry?"

"No." I lie. I haven't eaten since dinner last night but I'm not about to admit that to her.

Stef starts the car, "Well I'm starving. Is it okay if we make a pit stop?"

I roll my eyes and turn to face the window, "Whatever."

"Put your seatbelt on, please." I pretend like I don't hear her. "Callie." I let out a huff and throw the stupid seatbelt on.

"It's on. Happy?"

She flashes me a grin of dazzling white teeth, "Very."

We end up at some diner down the road. I wait in the booth while Stef goes to the bathroom. I'm surprised she left me alone. For all she knows, I could take off. I won't, but I could. It's not very crowded here. Then again, it is late morning on a school day. I pick up the salt shaker and turn it in my hand. Are those grains of rice in there?

"It's so the salt doesn't clump together."

I jump in my seat and the shaker falls to the table with a dull 'THUNK'. I look up to see Stef sliding into her seat opposite me. She smiles at me, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"S'ok." I right the salt shaker and put it back in its place. Even though I'm looking at the table, I know that Stef is staring at me. I finally snap my head up and pin her with what I hope is an intimidating stare. All I do is make her smile, that stupid smile.

"I have a daughter close to your age. Just a year younger." She tilts her head a bit, "You kind of remind me of her."

I pick at my finger nails, "How?"

"She's stubborn, too." I glare at her and only succeed in making her laugh; this carefree laugh as if there are no worries in the world and everything is just sunshine and fucking rainbows. A waitress comes to our table and puts down a few plates of food. I raise an eyebrow at the amount: There are two plates of pancakes, a plate of bacon, two plates of eggs and four pieces of toast. The waitress also puts down a small coffee pot before walking away.

"Dig in." Stef says, gesturing at the food before reaching for a piece of bacon and taking a bite.

"I said I wasn't hungry." I remind her as I lean back in my seat and cross my arms.

Stef chews for a bit and swallows, "You didn't have breakfast this morning. The warden told me. You have to be hungry."

"I'm not."

She takes a deep breath and her eyes flutter close for a moment, "Are we really going to do this? Please eat something, Callie. You can't go without eating."

I sigh and reach for the coffee pot. I pour myself a mug and begin to sip it. I almost sigh in pleasure―it's been a while since I've had this caffeinated beverage. I drink the entire cup within a few minutes and pour myself a second mug. Stef's hand comes across the table to take the pot from me as soon as I'm done pouring.

"That's enough coffee." I let out a sigh and clutch my cup close to me in case she decides to take that away, too.

"So tell me about Jude."

I almost choke on the coffee I'm trying to swallow. I clear my throat and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, "What about him?"

Stef stabs her fork into some eggs, "Like…how old is he?"

"Younger than me."

"Okay. What's he like?"

I narrow my eyes, "What does it matter to you?"

"He's obviously important to you," Stef replied as she brought her fork to her mouth.

I sigh and push my coffee cup aside, "Look, you don't have to pretend."

Stef reels back a little, as if I'd hit her or something, "Excuse me?"

"You guys are all the same." I comment, looking across the diner at a mother and her toddler son. He's maybe three years old with a shock of blonde curls and curious blue eyes. He's mashing his hands into his food, fisting it and bringing it to his mouth, and his mother is just laughing as if there isn't a funnier sight in the world.

"How are we all the same, Callie?" Stef asks in a quiet voice. She's looking at me, her blue eyes searching my face as if the answer is written on my forehead. I shake my head and scoot down the booth bench.

"I need to use the bathroom."

She nods and I stand up and head for the restrooms, but not before I catch the perplexed look on her face.

Stef cruises the car as we look for the right house. The neighborhood we're in isn't the worst I've lived in, but it's definitely not at the top of my list either. Stef keeps making faces at every house we pass and I wonder what she's thinking about. We finally come to a rolling stop in front of a modest house. It's on the small side and surrounded by a metal fence. Stef puts the car in park and just sits there for a moment, looking the house up and down. We must be sitting for two minutes in silence before I clear my throat.

"Maybe we should go?"

She looks at me for a moment and nods a little, pressing the button to release her seatbelt and stepping out of the car. I do the same. Stef grabs my bag, my small duffle bag, from the trunk and slings it over her shoulder. I let her lead the way to the front door because I don't know what I'm in for. There's a sign on the front door.

DOORBELL BROKEN. PLEASE KNOCK.

Stef swings open the screen door and pounds on the wood of the front door. We are waiting about ten seconds when the door suddenly swings open. I'm taken off guard and stumble back a bit into Stef, but I quickly fix myself.

There's a woman peering at us. Her pale skin accentuates the slap shot make-up job on her wrinkled face. The only way I could describe it is gaudy: blue eye shadow, red lipstick…Her hair is peroxide bottle blonde with brunette roots poking out. A cigarette hangs loosely from her lips, ashes occasionally falling to the floor.

"What are you selling?" she asks in a raspy voice, turning away for a moment to cough into her hand.

Stef narrows her eyes a bit, "My name is Officer Stefanie Foster from the San Francisco police department. I'm dropping off Callie…you are aware you're receiving a new foster child today, yes?"

The woman nods and waves her hand, "Yeah, yeah." She turns to me with a saccharine smile full of yellow teeth and I get a whiff of tobacco, "Hi, there Ally. You can call me Marcy. Do you want to come inside?"

"Callie."

Marcy raises an eyebrow, "Huh?"

"My name is Callie." She nods, but I don't think she truly cares.

I think Stef senses this, because she asks, "How long have you been a foster parent?"

"Six days," Marcy answers and takes a drag from her cigarette. Suddenly she pauses, thinks to herself a bit, and lets out a puff of laughter, "Six months. Ha! I swear my mind is just going these days. Menopause or something…"

Stef gives her a weird look. So do I. This woman sounds as if she is completely off her rocker. I don't know what I was expecting; my placements have always been less than ideal.

"Well," Stef says, clearing her throat, "Callie has some pain medication with her; please make sure she gets it."

Marcy nods, some more ashes fall from her cigarette, "Allergy meds. Got it."

Stef tilts her head and raises an eyebrow, "Pain medication."

Marcy waves her hand and turns around again to hack into her hand. I take my bag from Stef and nod towards her car.

"You can go now."

She looks reluctant to leave, "Alright…" she reaches into her pocket and hands me a card with her name and number on it, "We'll be in touch so I can get you set up in school. If you need anything, anything, please call me."

I wave my hand at her, and turn towards the house. I'm stopped when I feel Stef's hand on my shoulder and I flinch away without a second thought. She, however, stands her ground and looks me dead in the eye, "Callie."

I roll my eyes, "Okay, okay! I'll call."

She smiles, satisfied, before walking back to her car. I watch her start the car and disappear for a moment before turning back to Marcy.

"So, where do I sleep?"

I have a research paper due Thursday night and I've written two paragraphs. Yippee. Thank you for the great response! You guys are amazing :) I'm so excited for Season 2. I'm patiently waiting…

Someone asked why I don't update more often if I have the chapters written out in advance. To answer, it's because I like to proofread (my spelling is awful) and I like to be able to change things if I want. That happened with the last part of this chapter.

Leave a review below!

-Liv