It Can Only Get Better
and it begins
Here I was, in my favorite spot in the whole house. Alone, upset, with tears running silently down my face. I loved just sitting in the window sill, in my little spot, when I was upset, or bored, because I could just sit and watch the waves crash up against the garden wall, and the rain drops slide down the window pane. That's where the police found me. I had heard knocking but ignored it thinking that it was another sales person, but no. I had come home to find the house empty. I had thought nothing of it, I was home early, mum must have been out shopping or something, but no. Two hours later the police found me sitting there. They sat me down in the kitchen to inform me that my mother, father and sister had all been involved in a horrific traffic accident and had sadly all passed away. I was alone. My cousin arrived shortly after the police and they left me with her. I hadn't spoken to anyone, the shock had knocked me back. I couldn't believe that I would be alone on the world. My cousin had her own family and couldn't look after me, and apart from her, I had no-one, so three days after the funeral I was placed in care. It was a nice place, but I didn't feel like mingling with other people. I was given grief counseling but nothing worked. I missed my family and nothing would budge that. One month later, I sat in the same chair, looking out the window of the orphanage, watching cars go by. I missed my window sill, my view, but most of all my family. I had watched 7 children, all younger than me be adopted since I had arrived. My care worker, Jules, had told me that it would be unlikely that I would be adopted, because of my age, but that they would try their best. I would be eighteen in 4 years, and I would probably spend that time in this one house, with Ms. Jefferson, who owned it. She had always seemed to ignore me every time a new couple came in, looking to adopt. The under 3's were most popular, 3 to 13 were looked at by those older couples. The people that wanted a, sort of, ready made family, without much trouble. But I was just above their range, and I was the only one. Every week, Jules would come in, talk for a while, tell me that she had no luck so far, and leave.
Saturday morning again. I woke to the sound of crying babies and toddlers. Got up and dressed, and decided that I would have to be the one to help get the little ones dressed. I had come out of my shell a little since I arrived, and had started to help with the babies. It helped me forget my problems when I was looking after them, and I had always loved babies. It gave me a purpose. At ten o'clock, the door bell rang, and I answered it, covered in weetabix and Kate attached to my hip. I opened the door to a man in his early thirties, with an American accent, and led him through to the office.
"Ms. Jefferson, there's a man in the office. He wants to talk to someone, about adopting." I called into the kitchen, and without waiting for a response, left to put Kate in a play pen. I took my seat by the window and lifted the book I was reading. Ten minutes later I was disturbed. "Stupid White Men. That's a funny book for a young girl to be reading." I looked up to see a man staring down at me. It was the same man I had taken into the office. "It's the only sort of grown up book in this place." I replied, turning the page, but not looking away. "My name's Mike. What's yours?" he asked, with a smile. "That's Sophie, Mr Pritchard." Ms. Jefferson said before I had a chance to answer. "Well, if you'll just follow me, and you can meet a few of our other children. Then we can talk in the office." She added, before leading Mike away. That was my only chance to impress someone, and what do I do, nothing. Feeling like all was lost I continued to read my book, but occasionally I would look up to see what kids Ms. Jefferson was showing today. As usual it was the babies. Michael looked like a nice guy, and he seemed at home talking to the babies. It was obvious to me that we would have an extra empty cot by the end of the day.
At eleven, I stood up and stretched, before walking into the kitchen, heated a bottle of formula, and took it out to feed Ben. He was half way through his feed when Ms. Jefferson came out and stood over me, with a sort of half scowl on her face. "Go pack up your things up, Sophie, it seems Mr Pritchard has taken a shine to you. He is going to take you for a two week trial to see if you get on well, so you better be on your best behavior." She then walked off in the direction of her office, and closed the door after her. I finished feeding Ben and put him down for a nap, then went to get my stuff from my room. I felt happy for the chance of a new start, but something inside me kept saying that he didn't want me, he wanted one of the babies. I chose to ignore this and, after packing up my stuff I went down to the office and knocked on the door. "Come in," Ms. Jefferson said and I entered the room. I immediately saw Michael when I walked through the door. He was standing against the wall, with a mug in his hand and a smile on his face. After signing a few papers, we left the office and walked outside to his car. He opened the door for me, put my things in the boot, and got into the drivers seat and we were off. "Ms. Jefferson tells me that there is usually a mandatory two week trial period for this sort of thing. What would you say to spending that in America?" Mike said as we drove further from the orphanage. I just shrugged my shoulders. I was nervous and confused and most of all, I didn't know how I should act around him. "Yeah, well, I was planning on heading back today to sort a few things out, when I thought I would try one last place." He said. I could tell from his tone of voice that he was nervous, and it made me smile a little to know that I wasn't the only one. "That would be good. Thank you Michael." I replied quietly. "Okay, well I assume you have all of your things, so we just have to make a quick pit stop at the hotel, and then we'll be off. And enough of the Michael business, you can call me Mike" he laughed. I smiled at him, and the rest of the journey we talked and he told me a bit about himself. He seemed to be a very private man. He told me that he was thirty three, had been married once but was now divorced, and lived in America. That was it. We stopped at the hotel and had lunch, he gathered his things and we left for the airport. I was a little nervous, scared even, because I had never flown before, but with Mike's help I was fine, and slept most of the flight.
"Well, this is it." Mike said as he pulled the car up to a large gate, punched in a number and, after the gates opened, drove up the drive to a large house with a big front garden. I got out of the car slowly and followed Mike through the front door into a large entrance hall, and on into the kitchen. "You live here?" I said, sounding a little surprised. "Sorry." I added, after hearing my tone of voice. "Yeah, I admit it is a little big, but you'll get used to it. I suppose it only started feeling big after Anastasia and Stella left." Mike replied. "Are you hungry?" Mike asked, he was standing quite awkwardly not quite knowing what to do. We settled down to a little lunch and then Mike showed me to my room and let me explore for myself. Soon I heard voices downstairs and decided to check it out. I slowly descended the stair, heading for the kitchen when I was grabbed from behind and lifted kicking and screaming into the kitchen. "Dad, dad, who's this? I found her sneaking down the oww." One of my flailing arms had hit him in the stomach and he let me go, and I fell to the ground. Mike came over to me and helped me to my feet. This kid was only the same height and rather scrawny, so how he had managed to lift me, with limbs flailing, was beyond me. "I guess you've met Joey then." Mike laughed. A man and lady were sitting with two boys around the table. The taller boy was holding his stomach and scowling, so I guessed that he was Joey. "Sorry about that, Joey, you just scared me a little." I said smiling shyly at him. "S'okay, I didn't mean to scare you." He said back, smiling slightly. "Well, since you've met Joey, this is Billie, Adie and their youngest, Jakob. Everyone, this is Sophie, she's fourteen and I just adopted her from an orphanage in Ireland." Mike said, as he put an arm around my shoulders. "Yeah, it was a good idea calling us over alone first. Maybe we should prep her for later." Billie said. "Prep me for what?" I asked, slightly confused. "Oh, our friend Tré is coming over in a little while and he's a little... " Mike paused and Billie finished the sentence, "odd, to say the least. We just have to prepare you for the worst." He stopped and looked over to Adie. "Lets just say, he likes the boys better," she said pointing to Joey and Jakob, "when they are hanging by their ankles. He does actually act more like a kid than a thirty three year old man." Just then there was a bang in the hall, I stood out of my chair shocked, to see everyone's faces smiling or laughing, "Oh, that would be Tré," Mike said as a short man with bright pink hair walked into the kitchen and stopped. He looked me up and down, "Ooh, fresh meat." He yelled as he ran towards me, but Mike and Billie stood in front of me before he reached me. "Ach, I'm bored, you guys got any food?" he asked, almost immediately, I don't think I like this guy much, he seemed a little erratic at least. "Tré, this is Sophie." Billie yelled as the dude with the pink hair began to search the cupboards. "He's harmless really, just ignore him. It's actually more fun to watch him comin' down," Joey was standing beside me, "he's just high on sugar or caffeine or something at the minute. Give him an hour." He laughed. I followed him and Jakob into the living room where we watched cartoons. The theme tune to 'Sponge Bob Square Pants' had just started when Tré ran in from the kitchen, jumped and landed face down on the sofa beside me, spilling cookies everywhere, "Turn it up, turn it up." He yelled, and Jakob obliged. Thirty minutes later, Joey was proved right. Tré was running around the house with the 'mother of all headaches' as he called it, and it was fun to watch. We all had dinner, making as much noise as we could, led by Mike and Billie, to see who could annoy Tré the most. It was the most fun I had had in a long time.
Saturday morning again. I woke to the sound of crying babies and toddlers. Got up and dressed, and decided that I would have to be the one to help get the little ones dressed. I had come out of my shell a little since I arrived, and had started to help with the babies. It helped me forget my problems when I was looking after them, and I had always loved babies. It gave me a purpose. At ten o'clock, the door bell rang, and I answered it, covered in weetabix and Kate attached to my hip. I opened the door to a man in his early thirties, with an American accent, and led him through to the office.
"Ms. Jefferson, there's a man in the office. He wants to talk to someone, about adopting." I called into the kitchen, and without waiting for a response, left to put Kate in a play pen. I took my seat by the window and lifted the book I was reading. Ten minutes later I was disturbed. "Stupid White Men. That's a funny book for a young girl to be reading." I looked up to see a man staring down at me. It was the same man I had taken into the office. "It's the only sort of grown up book in this place." I replied, turning the page, but not looking away. "My name's Mike. What's yours?" he asked, with a smile. "That's Sophie, Mr Pritchard." Ms. Jefferson said before I had a chance to answer. "Well, if you'll just follow me, and you can meet a few of our other children. Then we can talk in the office." She added, before leading Mike away. That was my only chance to impress someone, and what do I do, nothing. Feeling like all was lost I continued to read my book, but occasionally I would look up to see what kids Ms. Jefferson was showing today. As usual it was the babies. Michael looked like a nice guy, and he seemed at home talking to the babies. It was obvious to me that we would have an extra empty cot by the end of the day.
At eleven, I stood up and stretched, before walking into the kitchen, heated a bottle of formula, and took it out to feed Ben. He was half way through his feed when Ms. Jefferson came out and stood over me, with a sort of half scowl on her face. "Go pack up your things up, Sophie, it seems Mr Pritchard has taken a shine to you. He is going to take you for a two week trial to see if you get on well, so you better be on your best behavior." She then walked off in the direction of her office, and closed the door after her. I finished feeding Ben and put him down for a nap, then went to get my stuff from my room. I felt happy for the chance of a new start, but something inside me kept saying that he didn't want me, he wanted one of the babies. I chose to ignore this and, after packing up my stuff I went down to the office and knocked on the door. "Come in," Ms. Jefferson said and I entered the room. I immediately saw Michael when I walked through the door. He was standing against the wall, with a mug in his hand and a smile on his face. After signing a few papers, we left the office and walked outside to his car. He opened the door for me, put my things in the boot, and got into the drivers seat and we were off. "Ms. Jefferson tells me that there is usually a mandatory two week trial period for this sort of thing. What would you say to spending that in America?" Mike said as we drove further from the orphanage. I just shrugged my shoulders. I was nervous and confused and most of all, I didn't know how I should act around him. "Yeah, well, I was planning on heading back today to sort a few things out, when I thought I would try one last place." He said. I could tell from his tone of voice that he was nervous, and it made me smile a little to know that I wasn't the only one. "That would be good. Thank you Michael." I replied quietly. "Okay, well I assume you have all of your things, so we just have to make a quick pit stop at the hotel, and then we'll be off. And enough of the Michael business, you can call me Mike" he laughed. I smiled at him, and the rest of the journey we talked and he told me a bit about himself. He seemed to be a very private man. He told me that he was thirty three, had been married once but was now divorced, and lived in America. That was it. We stopped at the hotel and had lunch, he gathered his things and we left for the airport. I was a little nervous, scared even, because I had never flown before, but with Mike's help I was fine, and slept most of the flight.
"Well, this is it." Mike said as he pulled the car up to a large gate, punched in a number and, after the gates opened, drove up the drive to a large house with a big front garden. I got out of the car slowly and followed Mike through the front door into a large entrance hall, and on into the kitchen. "You live here?" I said, sounding a little surprised. "Sorry." I added, after hearing my tone of voice. "Yeah, I admit it is a little big, but you'll get used to it. I suppose it only started feeling big after Anastasia and Stella left." Mike replied. "Are you hungry?" Mike asked, he was standing quite awkwardly not quite knowing what to do. We settled down to a little lunch and then Mike showed me to my room and let me explore for myself. Soon I heard voices downstairs and decided to check it out. I slowly descended the stair, heading for the kitchen when I was grabbed from behind and lifted kicking and screaming into the kitchen. "Dad, dad, who's this? I found her sneaking down the oww." One of my flailing arms had hit him in the stomach and he let me go, and I fell to the ground. Mike came over to me and helped me to my feet. This kid was only the same height and rather scrawny, so how he had managed to lift me, with limbs flailing, was beyond me. "I guess you've met Joey then." Mike laughed. A man and lady were sitting with two boys around the table. The taller boy was holding his stomach and scowling, so I guessed that he was Joey. "Sorry about that, Joey, you just scared me a little." I said smiling shyly at him. "S'okay, I didn't mean to scare you." He said back, smiling slightly. "Well, since you've met Joey, this is Billie, Adie and their youngest, Jakob. Everyone, this is Sophie, she's fourteen and I just adopted her from an orphanage in Ireland." Mike said, as he put an arm around my shoulders. "Yeah, it was a good idea calling us over alone first. Maybe we should prep her for later." Billie said. "Prep me for what?" I asked, slightly confused. "Oh, our friend Tré is coming over in a little while and he's a little... " Mike paused and Billie finished the sentence, "odd, to say the least. We just have to prepare you for the worst." He stopped and looked over to Adie. "Lets just say, he likes the boys better," she said pointing to Joey and Jakob, "when they are hanging by their ankles. He does actually act more like a kid than a thirty three year old man." Just then there was a bang in the hall, I stood out of my chair shocked, to see everyone's faces smiling or laughing, "Oh, that would be Tré," Mike said as a short man with bright pink hair walked into the kitchen and stopped. He looked me up and down, "Ooh, fresh meat." He yelled as he ran towards me, but Mike and Billie stood in front of me before he reached me. "Ach, I'm bored, you guys got any food?" he asked, almost immediately, I don't think I like this guy much, he seemed a little erratic at least. "Tré, this is Sophie." Billie yelled as the dude with the pink hair began to search the cupboards. "He's harmless really, just ignore him. It's actually more fun to watch him comin' down," Joey was standing beside me, "he's just high on sugar or caffeine or something at the minute. Give him an hour." He laughed. I followed him and Jakob into the living room where we watched cartoons. The theme tune to 'Sponge Bob Square Pants' had just started when Tré ran in from the kitchen, jumped and landed face down on the sofa beside me, spilling cookies everywhere, "Turn it up, turn it up." He yelled, and Jakob obliged. Thirty minutes later, Joey was proved right. Tré was running around the house with the 'mother of all headaches' as he called it, and it was fun to watch. We all had dinner, making as much noise as we could, led by Mike and Billie, to see who could annoy Tré the most. It was the most fun I had had in a long time.