Stay Awake

Hey there. My name's Summer, and I'm a 16 year old from Chicago, Illinois. I have a little sister named Jenny, who's 8 years old. You might think that I'm an average teenager, living the typical teenage life -- socializing with friends, going to parties, and hooking up with every guy that I come in contact with -- but I'm far from it. I live in a foster home with my little sister. How we got here, you ask?

That's just the beginning, starting about a year ago. Let me explain.

It was about a year ago, when our parents shipped us off to our grandparents' house for two weeks while our parents traveled to Cabo, Mexico for their 25th wedding anniversary. It was boring when they were gone, our grandparents never did anything with us. They were too caught up in going to yacht clubs, country clubs, and golfing at posh golf courses, since they were both retired and both loaded. We had to entertain ourselves.

But once we got that horrifying phone call that delivered information that I thought I'd never hear, the police officer told us that the plane had crashed and no one survived. Our grandparents didn't want anything to do with us anymore. It's like they turned against us, for reasons unknown. So instead of helping us cope, they sent us away to a foster home, because they thought it would be easier for us. But no. We needed family.

So here we are, in present day, as I lay on my bed with headphones on, music blasting, shutting out the world. I lay there with my eyes closed, as the other girls in the giant room all socialized and played board games and gossiped about girly things. There was a tap on my shoulder, and I huffed and rolled on my stomach, opened my eyes, softening when I saw that it was Jenny.

"Hey, sis. What's up?" I asked, pausing my music and taking out my headphones.

"Mrs. Lowe wants to see you downstairs." Jenny said.

I sighed and shut off my iPod, coiling up my headphones around my iPod and shoved it in my pocket. "Alright, let's see what she wants." I said, following the small girl out of the room, down the hall and down the stairs, into the main office.

"Hello, girls!" Mrs. Lowe greeted, setting a stack of papers down. "I've got some news for the two of you. You may take a seat." she said and pointed to the two chairs that sat in front of her desk.

"What's the news?" I asked. A thousand things rushed through my mind. Our grandparents wanted us back? Turns out our parents ended up surviving? Unlikely.

"Summer, you're being adopted tomorrow," Mrs. Lowe pushed her glasses back up on her nose, folding her hands.

"What? By who? What about Jenny, I can't just leave her here, she needs me! You promised that we'd be together no matter what." I said, getting angry.

"I know, but the family wouldn't take the both of you, I'm sorry. You can always call her on the phone, she'll be just fine." she explained, being so calm about it.

I huffed and tears brimmed my eyes. I glanced over at Jenny, who had her hands to her face, hiding her eyes. I stood up and picked her up, sitting back down and cradling her in my arms.

"Who's the family?" I asked, holding my sister close.

Mrs. Lowe thumbed through a stack of papers, and handed me a packet. I flipped through it, skimming over the information.

Joyce and Bassam Barakat, live in Baltimore, Maryland, children are Joe, May and Jack Barakat, no pets, we want to welcome you to our loving family!

"You have got to be kidding me. Is this real? They've got three kids, why do they need another?" I asked, throwing the paper back on the desk.

"I'm not sure, dear," she shrugged. "But I've arranged your flight to Baltimore already. You'll be leaving rather early in the morning, so go ahead and pack. You may be dismissed." she said and flicked her hand at us.

I sighed and set Jenny down, taking her hand and walked back upstairs. I threw myself on my bed, and all the other girls crowded around.

"What's wrong, Summer?" Caitlin asked, looking up at me.

"I'm getting adopted tomorrow. And I have to leave Jenny here."

"That's exciting! By who?!" Sarah perked up.

"The Barakat family. I'm moving to Baltimore." I sighed, laying down.

"Barakat, that sounds so familiar. Well, can we call you and ask you how it is?" Caitlin asked.

"I guess," I chuckled. "But I have to be up early tomorrow, so I'd like to go to sleep." I said, rolling over. I pulled my blankets up to my face and closed my eyes.

"Goodnight, Summer." I heard Jenny say, and she lightly kissed my cheek.

"Night, sis." I yawned, falling into dreamland.