Scarlett knew if they took in another foster child, especially one with special needs, that the empty bedroom would be needed badly. And since she owed the two of them so much - basically her life, she’d thought somberly - it seemed like a very, very small sacrifice to give up an actual bedroom of her own as a form of repayment.
Besides, she reasoned, the second reason she’d turned down the offer to move into Aaron’s old room was because she actually liked her little office/bedroom space. It was cozy and quiet and private, and the first place she’d felt completely secure for as long as she could remember.
Margie and Roz had looked a little dubious when she had gently refused their offer, but had also exchanged a look of relief at the same time. Especially since Kate was pleading with them to take in a new foster child, another boy with Down’s syndrome who was a little younger than Andy.
“Kate assured us he was a little sweetheart, just like Andy,” Roz had told Scarlett. “So it should be a piece of cake to look after him. My heart broke every single day with Aaron here, knowing we just didn’t have the right sort of know-how to help him. And while I hate the thought of him - or any kid - having to live in residential care, it’s probably the best place for him in the long run. His damned selfish parents - well, there’s a lot like them, unfortunately.”
“Yeah, I’m aware,” Scarlett had muttered in response. “A lot of people who should never have had kids in the first place. And, look,” she’d continued, anxious to change the subject, “I’m happy to help when the new kid arrives. Andy’s no problem at all, and neither is Marcus really. Especially since he’s always willing to help me with my homework.”
Roz had grinned and playfully ruffled Scarlett’s wild curls. “You’re doing great in school, kiddo, though I’m glad Marcus has been able to help you. It’s been a long time since Margie and I had to deal with chemistry and geometry, so I doubt we would have been much help to you. As for helping out with the kids, you already do too much, Scarlett. You’re not here to be the maid, after all.”
It was true that since moving in two months ago Scarlett had been more than eager to help with whatever chore needed doing. She happily helped Andy and Marcus get their breakfast while Margie was struggling to get Aaron ready, since Roz would have already left for work. She did dishes, took out the trash, vacuumed, helped with the laundry, and was constantly offering to do whatever needed doing. Margie had had to gently remind her that she also needed to do her homework, and that she was doing far more than her fair share of chores around the house.
And while Scarlett felt obligated to help out as much as possible as a way of showing her gratitude for having been taken in, secretly she also hoped that by making herself as invaluable as possible to her new foster mothers would make them think twice about changing their minds - something that she continued to live in fear of nearly every day.
Admittedly, she hadn’t gotten into any trouble yet at school - no fights with other students, no sassing back to teachers, no cutting classes. One of Margie’s and Roz’s best friends worked at the school district offices, and had been able to pull some strings to get Scarlett transferred into one of the better charter schools in Las Vegas. It was a very small school, with fewer than three hundred students, and with teachers who actually seemed to give a damn about the kids.
In addition to the core classes like math, English, and science, there were also a variety of specialized studies offered at the school - art, music, computer science, etc. Scarlett had zero interest in anything remotely related to the arts, and initially had gravitated towards computer science. But during a brief tour of the campus she’d happened upon the CADD - Computer Aided Design and Drafting - classroom, and had been instantly intrigued. Becoming an architect or civil engineer had never occurred to her before, though if she was being completely honest, she hadn’t given much thought at all to her future. With all of the issues she’d had to deal with over the past few years, the mere thought of maybe attending college one day had been the furthest thing from her mind, not to mention both laughable and impossible.
After being at her new school for six weeks, however, she was slowly beginning to change her point of view. She’d had several meetings with the school’s guidance counselor, a young woman named Dahlia who she had taken an instant liking to. Dahlia was soft spoken and infinitely patient, but could also be tough and determined when the situation called for it. She had more or less dismissed Scarlett’s past troubles and delinquency with a wave of her hand.
“Everyone deserves a second chance,” she’d declared. “So we start over, hmm? Right here and right now. Despite what you might think, Scarlett, and despite the grades you received at your last school, I happen to know you’re extremely intelligent. The admittance test you took a few days ago proves that. You got one of the highest scores I’ve ever seen. You have plenty of smarts. Now you just need the right type of learning environment, the right sort of teachers, to help you develop that brain. Trust me, you’ll have your pick of good colleges when the time comes. Provided, that is,” she had cautioned, “you commit to studying and getting along here, and not picking fights. No tolerance here for that sort of stuff. You’ve been given a great opportunity, Scarlett. Don’t blow it, okay?”
Scarlett thought about Dahlia’s words of advice at least once a day, and was doing her utmost to follow them to the letter. She did like her classes, especially the drafting one, and her teachers thus far had been wonderful. And while she might not have gone so far as to make any actual friends at school, at least she wasn’t tempted to throw a punch or yank a lock of hair from someone’s head.
She was trying, really trying, not to screw this up - either at school or here at home. She recognized and appreciated the facts that she had been given a second chance, and that if she blew this it would likely be her very last chance to make something decent out of her otherwise shitty life. But it was something she struggled with every single day, multiple times a day, and she just hoped she would continue to find the strength to keep all of her demons at bay.
She glanced up at the clock over the kitchen sink and realized Andy’s school bus would be arriving within fifteen minutes, Marcus’s in twenty. She still had to get herself ready for school, though fortunately Margie always dropped her off, considering the place was a good five miles away. Scarlett was just beginning to hustle the boys into quickly finishing up their breakfasts when Margie walked into the kitchen and took over.
“Go. Get yourself ready,” she insisted, shooing Scarlett away. “You should have woken me up instead of dealing with all of this yourself. Guess I overslept a bit.”
“Another rough night?” sympathized Scarlett.
In addition to being something of an insomniac - though nowhere near as bad as Scarlett was - Margie was in the throes of menopause, and one of her worst symptoms was frequent sleepless nights.
Margie nodded, eagerly filling a mug with the coffee Scarlett had already brewed fresh for her. “Not as bad as some, but no picnic either. Thank God for caffeine, that’s all I can say.”
“Hey, I can take the bus to school today if you want to go back to sleep for awhile,” offered Scarlett.