Chapter 1

My story must begin with some background. My father was a scientist and my mother died shortly after my sister, Meghan, was born. We lived with my grandmother until my father was approached by the government with a 10-year contract and enough money to last a lifetime. We moved to a military base somewhere in the U.S., I'm still not sure where, and my sister and I were put into a daycare on the base. I remember the lady's name was Joan and that she was a lot like my mom. Joan ran a daycare on the base with 9 children under her care from the ages of 1-6, with myself being the oldest. My father struck up a friendship with Joan and, from what I have been able to gather many years later, they devised a plan that they thought would get them rich many times over. Apparently whatever it was, it was illegal and they were arrested after only one year of us living on the base. My sister and I were split up and put into adoptive care, why we weren’t just sent back to my grandmother I will never know. I haven't seen my sister since.

Two years passed, and I was moved to Chicago and taken in by a family of five. The parents were the kind of parents who believed in hands-off parenting and “don't come complaining to me when something goes wrong, fix it yourself” parenting. The children were mostly older than me with the exception of the youngest. She was 8 and 1/2 and I was almost 9 also, we struck it off instantly. Her name was Christy and you could say she was my first crush. "Henry, will you walk me home today?” she would sweetly ask, and most of the time you could find me following her on my bike like a lost puppy, with her books on my handlebars. I would always be smiling even though she would most likely be talking with a friend and ignoring me completely. Still, I loved her, and we never became brother and sister, we were always friends.

My foster family moved to California when I was 13. I entered Jr. high school and went out for baseball-and so did my father. He started drinking after losing his job, and became abusive. He put me in the hospital just after my 14th birthday, and I was put back into the foster care system. I was bumped from house to house and family to family. I faced rejection after rejection, if not by the social workers then by the families themselves. I grew bitter and angry with each rejection. Coming from an abusive home made the new families try to reach out and show how much they 'loved' me. I felt smothered, and did everything I could to break free. I shoplifted, ditched school, and would start fights on the street just for the sake of fighting. I never felt I belonged anywhere and fighting helped to take the edge of loneliness off. Just before my 16th birthday I really blew it, and it was only then that my life started to gain momentum towards the direction of normalcy.

I tried to steel a car from a police officer named Paul Ross, who was getting his morning coffee on his first day off in a month. I was bored, (I had played hooky again), and he had left his doors unlocked. He came out of the coffee shop a lot faster than I had anticipated and, after a very short struggle, he pinned me against his car and slapped a pair of handcuffs on me. Arrogantly I told him that since it was my first misdemeanor (that I had actually been caught), and because of my past, the judge would only place me into counseling and nothing more. What I didn't know was that this was going to be the straw that broke the camels back for my 'family'. They released me from their care, and I was left in prison until my court date.

I was given a state lawyer, who could have cared less about my future, and I got a judge who didn't take nothin' from nobody. The good news was, that since it was my first felony (that I had been caught), the judge was going to go easy on me. The bad news was, that since I had been through so many families, in so short a time, she saw me as a ruffian who needed more than just 'guidance'. She sentenced me to 6 months in juvenile hall, thinking that some time in the real world would get through my thick skull. Just before she hit the gavel, Paul stood up, and it was at this moment I started to believe there was a God.

"Your honor, if I could have a word please?" he said, "I don't think this young man should go to prison based on this one act of stupidity. I am dropping the charges I have against this young man."

"Well Mr. Ross, you never cease to amaze me.", the judge replied, "I was wondering why you were being so quite this whole time. It is very much against your nature to do so. Since you cannot drop the charges this late into the game, and you very well know that, what else did you have in mind?"

"I thought you would never ask. Your honor, my wife and I have been trying to adopt for a while now but have been unsuccessful in finding the right fit for our family. I was wondering if we could take this young man into our home to help to put him back on the straight and narrow."

"Well since Mr. Jones (me) is not in any foster home at the moment, and will need someplace to stay after he gets out anyway, the court will grant your request. But there are conditions that must be followed. This is only a trial period of 3 months for Mr. Jones to get his act together. He must attend school regularly, and bring up his faltering grades. He must be actively involved in some kind of community project, and the next time he shows up in my court he must be wearing a tie. If these requirements are not met, then the court will see that the rest of the six months will be completed in a state detention center. Are we clear Mr. Jones?"

With a brief nod the deal was set and my future, for the next three months, was set. So that’s what puts me here today. Sitting in a courthouse, trying to finish this dumb assignment for English, waiting for...

"The court will now hear the case of Mr. Henry Jones."

"Come on Adam, that’s us", Paul said.

'Henry' looked up from his note book and sighed. It was time to see how the next three months of his life were going to be spent.

 

Reviews

[Solst Rapture]

REL,

I'm very pleased to have come across you. Hopefully, over time, you shall learn why that is. The main character in my 'first' book is called Adam. I admire this story. It is written smoothly and had me engaged throughout. I only spotted teo things that need immediate corrections:

now but have been unsuccessful in find(ing) the right fit for our family.

"Come on Adam, that's us." Paul said(.)

A very good start and I'd like to keep reading it.

Kind regards,
Solst

[Samuel Dickens]

You're a very good writer, Arielle. I could find no fault with this, and it appears to be the work of a professional. Your book is going to be a fine one. Sam