Away From Home Chapter 1: If you were put into my shoes at the time you would believe it was a nightmare from hell. Just hours before I was partying with the underclassmen I use to see every day at school, just hours before I was reminiscing with the teachers that changed my life, just hours before I was loving life, and then like a bird shot out of the sky, it all went tumbling down. Nothing in the world would prepare me for what would happen next. Nothing in the world would prepare me to be taken away from my own home! In my head it I came home with a mob boss holding my Mom at gunpoint and threatened to shot if I didn’t go with him but unfortunately it was nowhere near that intense. I walked in the house from my night of fun and games only to hear sobs. Immediately I rush to the source only to find my Mom deep into crippling thoughts. Like any normal concerned child I asked her what is wrong, but I was not prepared for the words that would escape from her mouth. “They are coming to take you!” she said. As her words played ring-around-the-rosies in my head they pierced my heart with extravagant force. At that moment I was hit with the worst feeling I had ever felt, knowing exactly what she was talking about, yet not knowing anything about what she was saying! I looked for words, for some question to ask, but my lips were as silent as the air around me (aside from my mother’s cries). I ran to my room as fear gobbled up my stomach texting everyone I found of relevance to my life, everyone that I would miss, everyone that would miss me, everyone I loved, everyone I thought loved me. What happened next will forever be a mystery to me, because all I remember was waking up to the sound of the door bell ringing, to me sounding like death bells. No one else would get
up so of course I had to go answer the door and as I did all I saw was two officers and a CPS worker, she said many words and though I only heard a few, I got the gist of it and went to pack my things. I was surprised with the presence of my mother and sister as they entered my room, ensuring I had enough medicine, clothes, and anything else I would need. As I grabbed my IPod out of my suit jacket I turned to my family, gave them a big hug, said “I love you,” and walked towards the door like a Chihuahua with his tail between his legs. As I walked out the door Ms. Tanya (CPS worker) said something but I couldn’t hear here over my Mom saying “Ms. Tanya get out of my house!”(I always loved the tenacity my mother carried with her!) As I chuckled to myself I walked to the car, opened the door, and looked at my house as the car drove away. Chapter 2: We drove and drove for what seemed like hours, and though it was dark, I could see as fields began to get larger and larger. At that moment I knew I was going to some country tail location. Ms. Tanya along with her male colleague began to talk to me, but I couldn’t hear them over the thoughts that were raping my mind. Why had the universe been against me? Where had my silver platter gone? Who had overtaken my thrown and why did I have no recollection of it? I might have had time to answer all my questions, but we began to pull up to the house, and at that moment my heart dropped to my stomach quicker than a bird shot out of the sky. The house was in the center or one those circle streets that I cannot really explain, but it was 2 stories, with off white colored bricks, a typical suburban house. As we evacuated the car and began to walk up the walkway I saw that all the lights were on. At the corner of my eye I saw a boy glimpse out of the top right window, it wouldn’t be until days later that I would figure out who that boy was. The next thing I remember was sitting at the dining room table along with
Ms. Tanya, her colleague, and the people who would be my foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. Williams. As the adults discussed certain aspects of my living I began to survey the house. The living room and kitchen were clean which made me delighted that I wasn’t about to spend however long I would be here with people who didn’t value cleanliness but then my nose caught a whiff of something I knew all to well. I began to sniff the atmosphere and caught the smell of cigarette that slowly began to fade. I never had a problem with smokers, but I never enjoyed the smell that tagged along with their presence. I hadn’t realized it but by the time had landed back on planet earth the adults had finished talking. I said goodbye to Ms. Tanya and Mr. Williams took me upstairs to what would be my room. I climbed into the top bunk, laid my head down, and silently began to cry my eyes out. Chapter 3: I laid there in the dark, tears rolling down my cheeks like a runaway train. I saw the door open and slowly turned my head to make sure the allusion that I was asleep stayed in contact. I didn’t know who it was and all I could see was the dark outline of his body but his words were as clear as day. “Clarence did you see the new boy? I know you didn’t fall asleep.” As quick as he came he left and the silence of the night had resumed its former position. I began to think and of all the things I could think about there was only one that stood out like a black dot on a white wall, Emily Bireley. This was my bestfriend, this was the one who could simply look at me and make me smile, this was the one who, if I weren’t already engaged to Katy Perry, I would marry without a doubt in my mind, and I feared how I would survive without her. I began to reminisce over all the times we spent together since the beginning of 4th grade and then raged engulfed me as a thought of Alyssa probed its way into my head. I hadn’t hated Alyssa but I knew what thinking of her during this hard time would lead to. I would begin to fall for her again, I would
begin to think of all the things we said to each other, and all the times we hung out, and my heart would begin to break because it would know I couldn’t have her no matter how much I lusted for her. The feeling eventually passed and bells began to ring in my ears, it wasn’t until seconds after had I realized it was the sound of alarms to wake up the other kids. “Beep Beep Beep Beep” continued to roar until finally one the kids rose up from his bed like a mummy from his tomb and pressed the sleep button sending the clock to its former slumber. He went to the closet and as he headed towards the room door to his surprise it opened before he even received the chance to open the door. It was another foster child eager for information. “Did you guys see the new kid yesterday?” was the first and only question I heard him mutter as both kids walked out of the door. I still pretended to be asleep and tried with all my might to suffocate the sounds of my tears. For hours upon hours I stayed in my bed, cold and alone until I got up because I had to peepee. When I walked into the restroom I looked into the mirror (I could never just pass a mirror and not look into it, it’s just not humane,) but what I saw in the mirror was not myself. It was as if the Angel of Death had occupied my body and was about to drag me to hell. I had cried so long that the rings around my eyes were pure black. I looked like living dead. I washed my face, put on a smile, and started what would be the best acting of my life. I walked out of the bathroom, sat on the couch, and let SpongeBob comfort me. Chapter 4: The first to walk in the door coming home from school was Deldrun, he said hello, introduced himself, and vacated to his room. The next was Clarence. After him came Devin and Adrian around the same relative time. I thought this was it until an hour or so later Trey walked
in. He went to middle school and therefore got out much later. I had now met everybody including Ja’Keim who I had met that morning. This was it, for the time I was here, this was my family. I would make the best to get along with everyone like I always did (it wouldn’t be that hard because I was use to it….. right?) Thanksgiving break was soon approaching so Mr. and Mrs. Williams said they wouldn’t enroll me until after the break, which means me and the house would have a lot of free time together. I spent this time to get to know the house as well as the neighborhood. I talked to the walls, walked around the field in the front of the house, counted how many steps laid on the stairs, and other countless activities that would probably get me sent to an insane asylum. When the end of break had arrived I had been well acquainted with the family, knowing that Trey and Devin loved to play football, Deldrun loved to watch wrestling, Ja’Keim and Clarence loved music, and Adrian just was a laid back type of dude. Like anyone that knew me I was the one who sang whenever and wherever I went, it annoyed a few sometimes but it never stopped me from singing. I could tell about my experience at school but I don’t really find it beneficial so I’ll give some bullet points. I went to school early in morning, seven periods a day, hated geometry, teachers I connected with most was my English teacher Mr. White and my World Geography teacher Ms. Edmondson, and I made Varsity Choir (of course!!!). School didn’t bring me that joy it used to. I had a few good friends but it just wasn’t the same, but the one thing that kept me going was Mrs. Patrick. Since the sixth grade she had always been there for me and though she couldn’t be there physically she was still there.
Every morning she would send me a word of wisdom, not those words I would here every day or even every now and then but those words that I didn’t know even existed. The words that were often overlooked and didn’t reach the fame and glory that it should have, but it still held that power in fact held even more power for as if it was made specifically for me. These words would follow me and remain in my head even to this day. As weekdays came and went I dragged myself along, continuing with my normal impact on the world and when I needed it the most someone called me up to the office to be picked up from school, for what reason I did not know. Chapter 5: Once I realized they had picked me and Clarence up I asked him where we were going. He told me that we had a psych evaluation. The sound of this brought my mind to ease and I leaned back as the wheels of the Durango vibrated through the car. As we arrived at the building and me and Clarence sat down in the lobby we Clarence began to speak as I played on my IPod. “Aye look mane I ain’t tryna be here all day so do be up here saying some stupid stuff, they finna ask you some questions like in a room full of people do you feel alone, say no like what kind of stupid shit is that!” Haha, as we both began to laugh a white man came around a corner and called man name. We entered a room and the man began to ask me questions, just as Clarence said. They asked me to identify what I saw in this black blotches laid out on notecards like counselors do in movies with troubled children. He asked me to identify some words which revealed me to be reading at an 11th-12th grade level (I’m baaadddd baby!!!) Finally we were done. I left the room
to meet up with Pops (Mr. Williams) and Clarence and we left. We went home and I was tired so I went to sleep early, and had the best sleep I would while I was here. Chapter 6: We are free, except in jail, and this jail felt like it was in the deepest and darkest corner hell. I didn’t know it but this would be my last week in the foster home and it would be the worse I ever had. It was if all my skyscrapers came crashing down, as if all my castles turned into manors, I was a King that had just been demoted to a peasant. I felt as if the whole house had randomly turned against me. The only ones that were still cool with me were Clarence and Ja’Keim but in my head they hated me too. On the outside I was Batman but on the inside I was a little boy still afraid of Bats. I cried every night and had no reason why. The Angel of Death returned every morning to whisk my body away like when I had first arrived but I would slap on a smile as a disguise in hopes that no one would know. I felt as if God was wrongly punishing me of someone else crime or was it a crime of my own that cause this great thunderstorm over my life. I wanted to give up, I wanted to let go, I wanted to be home so badly but for whatever reason it seems as if I had to go through hell before I could get to heaven. Of this entire week the last day was the worst. I didn’t remember one thing that happened the night before I woke up. All I recalled was watching Under the Red Hood and hour before I laid down but nothing else, not school, not what I ate, nothing. My mind was a complete void. I had enough on my mind though. I had no time to worry about the little incidents. I had to keep focus on making it through the rest of my stay in this house of straw before I broke down and
would never be able to be repaired. I had to push on, though I physically had nothing else to give. I had given my all. What else did I have? Chapter 7: I had not known it, but somebody somewhere was praying for me because my prayers were being annoyed…at least it seemed that way. Today was the day, it was my court day. I wouldn’t be there but everyone that would determine my future. What happened in that court room today would define what I would be forced to do with my life for the next few months maybe even years. I had been forced to go to school but I didn’t do much learning (haha you never do now a days!) I starred of into space for a majority of the day until I reached sixth period, my favorite period. ENGLISH! Today we had a pop quiz but not one those normal quizzes. Mr. White pop quizzes consisted of him picking a random person and asking them a random question from the pages we were supposed to read, got the question wrong and you would lose five points. I prayed to the heavens that I wouldn’t be called on and right when my prayer was about to be answered Mr. White had called my name. I was sure of sudden death of my grade but then came a ram in the bush to save my life. The phone rang and I had quickly tried to process an answer but I wouldn’t need one. When Mr. White got off the phone he said to take my belongings that I was going home. I bolted out of the room faster than a speeding bullet and didn’t stop until I saw Pops at the front. “Wassup Pops where we going?” “You going home boy!” his words rang in my ears and stayed in my heart with the feeling of disbelief. I thought he meant back to the foster home but he ensured me I was going home home, back to my mom, and my sister, and my dog! Everything
else moved so fast, I hadn’t gotten the chance to say goodbye to anyone except Ja’Keim but frankly I did not believe many of them would care. I was going home! It had been only a month but I could swear it been a whole year. Never would I wish what I had just went through on even my worst of enemies, and I hoped I would never have to experience it again myself. I would get home and bury this memory into the back of my mind. Well at least I thought I would. Chapter 8: I saw it. There it stood like it always had. My house! I jumped out the car and rang the doorbell. The first to arrive at the door was of course Charlie (my dog) but he was too small to answer the door so I continued to wait. Finally my sister Venezia opened the door and I was greeted with a big hug. Next I saw my mom walk down the hall with a smile as wide as the Grand Canyon as she hugged me with nothing but pure love. This was it. I had been thru hell and back but I made it. I survived the worst nightmare I ever had but I couldn’t bury it. I couldn’t simply forget no that would be too easy. So a year later I sat at a computer (might or might not have been last minute) and wrote about my past. I sat and wrote about my time away from home.