[Ian's POV]
SSundee. That has to be the worst nickname on planet earth. SSundee! Of all the things the people could call me, it had to be SSundee. I blame my foster home for the nickname. If kids are returned by a foster family, the staff gives the kid an ice cream sundae to make them feel better or something. In my eight years of life, I've had twenty-three foster families. And twenty-three pity sundaes. It's not my fault that I always returned! It's all because the family takes off my sunglasses and lets him out…
Either way, I hold the record for most returns in the foster home history. People do not take that lightly. So on my twenty-third return, I was eating my sundae and people just started to chant 'sundae' over and over until I went to bed. They did that every single day. And somehow along the way it morphed into 'SSundee'. So that just became my name to everyone under the age of twenty. I'm not even sure if some of the really little kids know my real name.
Today was no different than every other day. I woke up, endured being called 'SSundee' a couple times, went to class, then headed to lunch. Today's lunch was PB and J, potato chips, carrots, and for dessert ice cream. I didn't take the ice cream. I walked over to the far side of the cafeteria and sat at the corner of a table. I started to munch on some chips when two trays were set down next to me. Uh oh.
"Hey SSundee," Andrew, an eleven year old who started the whole 'SSundee' thing, sat down next to me with a fake smile.
"Please don't call me SSundee Andrew," I said, not taking my eyes off my tray.
"Why? Don't discriminate against your people SSundee."
"That doesn't even make sense," I mumbled.
"You know what doesn't make sense?" the other boy, Kyle, asked. "SSundee not wanting ice cream. I mean, he's had so many of them you would think that it would be his favorite food."
"Nah," Andrew replied. "He's probably sick of them. They are a symbol of rejection after all."
Kyle laughed. "Yeah. That makes a lot more sense."
I stood up and moved to a different table as they laughed. The only table with open spots was over by Amanda and her friends. They are twelve and possibly the most vicious people in the foster home. I looked at Andrew and Kyle, then back at Amanda and her crew. Take a chance at being laughed at the entire lunch period, or for sure being made fun of for the rest of the lunch period. I don't really like either option. But maybe I'll get lucky and the girls will ignore me.
I sat down and started eating my sandwich. At first the girls just kept talking, not noticing me. I thought that maybe today I was safe.
Nope. Why would I think that? A second later, Amanda saw me. "What are you doing over here SSundee? Shouldn't you be drowning yourself in ice cream or something?"
"My name's not SSundee," I mumbled.
"What's that?" she taunted. "I can't hear you. Did you ask for more ice cream? Well here you go SSundee." She dumped her ice cream onto my head. The entire cafeteria roared in laughter. Even the lunch ladies chuckled a little bit.
Rage grew inside of me. I was tempted to take off my glasses and let him deal with everyone. But I didn't. I'm not that cruel. Instead I just yelled at the top of my lungs, "My name is Ian! Not SSundee! Why is that so hard for all of you to get?!" I ran out of the cafeteria down the hall into my room and cried on my bed. "I wish that I could get rid of him," I said to myself. "That would make my life a lot easier." Then I drifted off to sleep.
I can't say I have many dreams, maybe one once or twice a month, but when I do they're always terrifying. Usually someone takes off my glasses and I turn into him. Then I'm forced to watch as he hurts them. I would always wake up in a fit of tears after those dreams.
As terrifying as those dreams are, this one was even worse. This time it was just me in a white room looking in a mirror. But in the mirror wasn't just a normal reflection of me. Instead my sunglasses were off, and the reflection's blue eyes were looking two different ways. His smile looked like a madman's. Otherwise we looked the same. He was my alter ego. My insane, killing, alter ego. I don't know his name, nor do I like to think about it. But if I had to call him by a name, it would be Derp SSundee.
"Hi Ian," Derp said in his crazy voice.
"Uh… hi." I stood there dumbfounded. I've never actually talked to Derp before. It was kinda weird. Like I was talking to myself. Well… I guess I am in a way.
"Why don't you take off your glasses Ian?" he asked. "Why don't you let me out?"
"I don't want you to hurt anyone," I replied, trying to avoid his eyes.
"But why? I could take care of those jerks who call you names."
"It's because of you they call me SSundee!"
"I'm just trying to do what's best for you! Those families didn't deserve you. Besides, they let me out and why shouldn't I be allowed to have some fun? It doesn't affect you, so why should you care?"
"It does affect me! I've been sent back to the foster home twenty three-times because of you! I don't want to be here for the rest of my life!"
"You don't have to be here forever. I can help! All you have to do is take off your glasses-"
"No! I won't let you hurt anyone!"
"I'll get you out of the foster home, I promise! Just let me out for awhile!"
"Why are you even a part of me?! Why do you want to hurt people so badly?!"
"It's what I'm meant to do. And it's fun. I haven't had any fun in such a long time. Neither have you Ian. Why don't you let me out for a bit? We're both the same person. So if I have some fun, we'll both have some fun!"
I clenched my fist. "Leave me alone you psychopath! We are not the same!" I slammed my fist into the mirror, shattering it into a million pieces.
"You can't hold me back forever Ian…" Derp's voice called. Then the white room faded around me.
I woke up breathing heavily and sweating. When Derp said that we were the same person, I lost it. We're not the same! I don't kill people for fun! Why would we be the same?
Someone knocked on the door. "Ian? Are you in there?" It was one of the caretakers. Amy I think. She poked her head in and gave me a smile. "Hey Ian. A new couple is here looking to adopt instead of just foster. Why don't you go get ready?"
"What's the point?" I asked. "They won't choose me. And if they do, they'll probably just return me like every other time."
"That's no way to act Ian. Maybe this is your time." She stood up and patted me on the shoulder. "Now get ready. When you're done come down to the conference room, alright?" I nodded and she walked away.
I slipped into my suit that I use for every interview with couples. I hate that suit. The reason should be obvious by now. I walked down the hall towards the conference room and sat by the other kids. We all waited for our turn.
After an hour or so, Amy called my name. "Ian, you can come in now." I walked towards the door, trying to ignore the whispers behind me. They were probably about how I was about to get rejected.
Once I was in the room, I sat down by the round table in front of the couple. The woman had long straight dirty blonde hair with green eyes and a friendly smile. The man had short red hair with blue eyes with a bored look on his face.
"This is Ian," Amy introduced. I gave a small wave. She turned to me. "Ian, this is Joanna and Luke. Be kind and respectful. Remember the rehearsals, okay?" I gave a small nod. I've gone through this a hundred times before. I think I know the drill by now.
Amy left the room, leaving me staring at the couple. "Uh… hi. What's up?" I asked to break the tension.
Joanna kept her smile on. "Oh, nothing much Ian. My husband and I are just looking for a little kid to adopt. Do you think you could be that kid?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. I just met you. How would I know what you're looking for in a kid? I could be the complete opposite of what you're looking for and I wouldn't know."
Luke chuckled. "Well, you earn points for being the first kid we've seen so far with a sense of humor. All the other kids were basically rocks."
Joanna glared at him. "Luke, that's not nice."
He put his hands up in surrender. "It's true." I laughed a little bit at this.
We all talked for a while longer, mainly about my interests and every once in a while cracking a joke. They did ask about my sunglasses at one point, but I told them that I had an eye condition and they protected my eyes from light. I'm not sure if that's an actual thing or not, but it sounded convincing to me.
Finally the interview was over. Amy came in with the next kid and I went back to the waiting area. As soon as the door was closed, the SSundee comments began.
"How'd that go SSundee?" One kid called. "Would you say enough to get another sundae?" Everyone laughed.
"If he does get picked, how long do you think he's gonna last?" One girl asked the rest of the kids.
"I give it two weeks," someone replied. "Then when he comes back, he can add a, what, thirtieth rejection to his list?" Again the room erupted in laughter.
Let me take care of them… Derp said in my head.
I grit my teeth and shook my head. These kids may be jerks, but they don't deserve to face Derp. So instead I just said in a semi-calm voice, "Why do you all insist on making my life here harder? Don't you think I'm beating myself up enough over being returned so many times?" My voice started to get louder. "Well, now I'm stuck here with people who bully me! And why?! Because I got returned a lot! I feel horrible about everything already, so why can't you all just leave me alone?!"
They all stood there, frozen, at first I thought it was because of my little speech, but I turned around and saw Joanna and Luke standing there with Amy apologizing about my behavior. I just ruined my chances of them picking me. I muttered sorry and then ran to my room and started kicking everything in sight.
"Stupid!" I screamed. "I'm stupid! And I hate you Derp SSundee! None of this would be happening if it wasn't for you!" I chucked a pillow at the mirror, hoping it would shatter my reflection like in the dream. But of course nothing happened. I just continued kicking everything I could.
I was so angry, I didn't even notice that someone came into my room until I felt a hand on my shoulder. "I know it's rough, kid." I turned around and saw Luke standing there, a worried look on his face. "I was in an orphanage when I was young. That's why my wife and I wanted to do this."
"You don't want me," I mumbled. "I get returned by everyone who fosters me. No one really likes me here either."
"How many times have you gotten returned?"
I gulped. "Twenty-three…"
To my surprise, Luke just laughed. "Only twenty-three? I got returned thirty-nine times before I was finally adopted!"
My eyes widened. "Really?"
Luke nodded. "Yeah. You and I have a lot in common Ian. I was also bullied for being returned so much. But you took it way better than I ever did. I never had the guts to stand up for myself. You seem like a good kid that just needs a lucky break."
Joanna walked into the room. "So we're gonna give you that lucky break."
"You mean it?!"
They nodded. "Yep. You just seem like the perfect kid for us. So you better get packing! We're going to go finish signing the papers."
I zipped around my room like lightning, gathering everything I owned in my backpack then headed out to the front of the building where the office was. None of my other foster families were as nice as these two were, so maybe I actually had a chance of staying! That is if I keep Derp away…
I pushed that thought aside. I'll worry about him later. For now, I wasn't going to let anything ruin my mood. Not even the people around me betting on how long I would stay with Luke and Joanna.
I opened the office door where they were waiting. Joanna greeted me with a smile. "Are you ready to go Ian?" I nodded.
Luke picked me up and put me on his shoulders. "Then let's go kid!" We all ran out to their car laughing. Let's see how long this lasts.
It's been a month since Luke and Joanna adopted me. My longest time to date! I still won't let them take off my sunglasses for obvious reasons, but they're very respectful about it. They also helped me pick out stuff for my room, enrolled me in the Vermont elementary school, and even took me to an amusement park!
Today Luke had to go to work, so Joanna took me to a playground by our house. As soon as we arrived, Joanna's phone rang. She frowned at it. "It's my work. I'll be right back, okay Ian?"
"Okay."
"Don't wander off," She walked over to a bench by a tree and answered her call.
I ran over towards the playground and heard yelling from under one of the platforms. "No! Darren go away!" one voice screamed.
"I just wanna see your fancy glasses Adam," another voice replied.
"No! You can't have them!"
I poked my head around and saw two kids, both around my age. One had curly brown hair and sunglasses on. That was probably Adam. The other kid, Darren, was a couple inches taller than Adam with black hair and trying to take the glasses off Adam's face while Adam was trying to slap his hands away.
Darren finally got a hold of the glasses and laughed in triumph. But just for a split second. The next thing I know his smile morphed into a look of fear. "N-no! Don't hurt me monster! I'm sorry I never left food for you!"
Adam was on the ground, covering his eyes with his hands. "Where are my glasses?!" Did Adam do that to Darren? With his eyes?
I first tried to help Darren, who was backed up into a pole screaming. I tried telling him there was no monster, but he acted like I wasn't even there. So I gave that up pretty quick.
I spotted Adam's glasses in Darren's hand. I took them and tapped Adam on the shoulder. "Here! Just put them on!" I screamed over Darren's shrieks.
Adam took the glasses and put them on. For a split second I saw his eyes. They looked like the sky. Adam looked at me, then over at Darren. "I didn't mean to do that, I swear!"
"I know," I replied simply.
"Wait, you don't think I'm a monster for making a guy live his worst fear when he looks into my eyes?"
I shook my head. "No. Not at all," I bit my lip. "I have the same problem."
He looked shocked for a second. "What?"
"When I take off my sunglasses, my alter ego comes out and, uh… destroys things. Please don't tell anyone!"
For a second he looked relieved. "I won't tell if you don't tell anyone about me."
I stuck my hand out. "Deal. I'm Ian by the way."
Adam shook my hand. "Adam."
"Your eyes look like the sky by the way."
"You saw my eyes and nothing happened to you?!" He asked, shocked.
"Huh. I guess that is a little weird. I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm also wearing sunglasses?"
Adam shrugged. "I'm not gonna question it."
"So is your nickname Sky? Cause, you know, your eyes."
"Uh… no."
"Well, that's your nickname now! Alright Sky?"
He laughed. "Sure. Why not?"
Darren abruptly stopped screaming and dropped to the ground. Adam and I both looked at him. Oops. Forgot about him. "I'll go get someone to help," I said.
"That's probably a good idea."
I ran over to the bench and poked Joanna in the arm. "Joanna, Joanna, Joanna,"
"...yeah. Can you wait one sec?" She covered up the speaker and looked at me. "What Ian?"
"There's a kid over by the playground who fainted."
"I'll call you back." She hung up the phone and followed me over to the playground where Darren and Adam were. She bent down by Darren and checked his pulse. "I'm going to go call an ambulance. You two stay here," she commanded.
Adam and I just stared at Darren. "I killed him," Adam mumbled.
"You didn't do it on purpose Sky," I told him. "He was the one who took your glasses off. So technically he did it to himself." He didn't seem convinced. Honestly, I would have the same reaction if the same thing happened to me. We just stood there in silence looking at Darren.
The next thing I know EMTs swarmed around us, most attending to Darren. A couple were talking to Joanna. One of them turned to us. "Do you two know anything about what happened?" he asked. We both shook our heads. After that they loaded Darren into an ambulance and left.
I looked over at Adam and saw the guilty look on his face. I patted his shoulder. "He'll be okay."
"You don't know my curse," he mumbled.
"Let's do something else to get our minds off of it," I suggested. Adam didn't reply. "C'mon Sky!"
He finally cracked a small smile. "Alright." he poked me in the side of the arm. "Tag. You're it." He sprinted across the playground away from me.
A wide smile formed on my face. Two cursed kids are now best friends. What could go wrong? "Get back here Sky!"
So we ran around laughing for the rest of the day. Maybe Amy was right. Maybe this is my time.
