Chapter 4: Margie part 3

Emma's POV

I sneak my backpack out with me to recess then I watch Ms. Kimberly closely from where I am hiding behind the slide. I watch as she sits down on the wooden bench and pulls her book out of her bag. She crosses her legs and sets her book down on her lap. She opens it and begins reading. I make my move. I walk calmly across the playground, glancing back at Ms. Kimberly as I approach the fence that's supposed to keep us contained. I double-check to make sure no one is watching and then I toss my backpack over the fence. It lands on the other side with a thud. I grasp the metal bars and begin climbing up. Once I reach the top, I swing one leg around. I look back once more and I see Ms. Kimberly in the same spot, still distracted by her book. The other kids are running around playing games, pushing each other on the swings, and hanging on the monkey bars. None of them even notice I'm gone. I guess sometimes being invisible can come in handy. I swing my other leg around and drop to the ground. Landing on my feet, I quickly swipe my backpack up and take off.

Margie's POV

"Missing?! What do you mean, 'she's missing'?"

"Her teacher said that she didn't come back from recess. They searched the entire playground but she's nowhere to be found. She's run away!"

Before I have time to process this, a police officer comes into the room, dragging a sheepish looking Emma behind her.

"Oh Emma! Thank goodness you're okay!" Ms. Candice exclaims while running to Emma and wrapping Emma in a tight hug. "What on Earth were you thinking, young lady!?"

"I was trying to go find my parents." She answers simply.

"And just how exactly did you plan to do that!?"

"I don't know…" she answers. "I didn't get that far."

"She got about six or seven blocks down before I caught up to her." The policewoman tells us. "Runs pretty fast for a little thing."

"Thank you, officer." Mr. Wright, the Principal of the school steps into the room. The police officer nods and then turns to leave. "Now, if you all will please follow me to my office so that we can discuss the matter further."

"Regardless of whatever the reason is, you can't just leave school whenever you feel like it. That type of behavior is unacceptable and if it happens again, I assure you, there will be consequences to face."

"We understand, sir." Ms. Candice coincides. "Don't we, Emma?" Emma nods in agree

Emma and I have become pretty close during the years. Our similar troubles of finding a more permeant foster home have bonded us. And, with me being the oldest in the house and her being the youngest (excluding the infants) I am often stuck watching her. But, I don't hate it as I say. She's actually a pretty cool kid. Of course, she can be annoying sometimes, with her loud mouth and stubborn attitude, but she's the closest thing to a little sister I've ever had. And little sisters are supposed to be annoying, right? Nevertheless, I do care about her. And that was exactly what landed me in the middle of an argument with Ms. Candice later that day.

We both thought we knew what was best for Emma, but we both had very different ideas of what that was. The only thing we seemed to agree on was that Emma wasn't going to give up on finding her parents as easily as she wants us to believe.

"How about telling her the truth?" I suggest.

"What truth?"

"That her parents don't want her."

"You don't know that!" Ms. Candice counters.

"They left her on the side of the road!" I argue. She looks down at her hands for a moment, twirling her ring from her late husband around her finger as she thinks.

"No, she doesn't need to know that. Not now, she's too young."

"She's five-years-old. She's going to find out eventually. We might as well tell her now before she decides to run off again in search of them."

"If we tell her, it will take away her hope of finding a family, of being wanted. I can't take that away from her. "

"We can't have her running off looking for parents who don't want anything to do with her. She needs to grow up."

"She's a baby!"

"She's five!" I protest. "She needs to focus on staying in a good foster home so she can get adopted. She won't want to stay with any other parents now that she thinks her real ones are out there waiting for her to find them!" I wait for her to respond but instead she continues to twirl her ring around her finger. "Fine. If you won't tell her then I will." I walk down the hallway towards the room where Emma stays. For a second, I think that Ms. Candice will come after me, to try and stop me but she stays where she is, standing like a statue as she watches me walk away.

I honestly don't want to do this to her. I know it'll break her little heart, but it has to be done. It's for the best. I walk into the room and spot Emma perched up on the top of the bunkbed. She's the only one in there. All the other girls have likely gone to play outside, leaving Emma by herself. She has still yet to make friends with any of the other girls here. Most of them find foster homes to take them in pretty quickly and unlike Emma and I, they generally stay at those homes for a while. So, she hasn't had a chance to make any long-lasting friendships.

"Hi Margie!" she greets me with a small smile.

"Hey, kid." I respond. "Could you come down from there for a minute? There's something I need to tell you." She climbs down and joins me sitting on the lower bunk.

"What's up?" she asks curiously.

"Emma listen to me…Your parents, they didn't want you. That's why you're here. That's why you can't go off and try to find them. They don't want to be found… They don't want you."

"What do you mean?" she asks innocently.

"They left you on the side of the road."

"What? Why would they do that?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't matter why, or who they are. What matters is you finding new parents to adopt you."

"But I don't want new parents! I want my real mommy and daddy!"

"I told you Emma, you're not going to find them and even if you did they wouldn't want you anyways."

"You're wrong! My parents do want me! And one day I'm going to find them and prove it!" She jumps up and storms out of the room. I chase after her. I catch up to her in the hallway and grab her arms. She struggles to get away but I tighten my hold. "Let me go Margie! Let me go!" I bend down to my knees so we are face to face.

"Emma, you need to calm down, okay? I'm telling you this for your own good. You cannot run off to try and find your parents. They don't want you."

"Yes they do! You're lying! They do want me! They do!"

"Why would I lie to you?" She looks at me skeptically for a moment, like she's trying to figure out if I was telling the truth. Her bottom lip is quivering slightly and her eyes are red. Suddenly, she bursts out into tears and I pull her into my arms. She lays her head against my shoulder and I gently stroke her soft, blonde curls. "Why don't they want me? Why doesn't anyone want me?" she whimpers.

"I don't know. But it doesn't matter. Someone will want you, one day. "

"Promise?" she asks quietly, her voice shaky from crying.

"Promise."

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