The Judge Steps In

So lets recap 4th grade shall we? I am not actually sure how many schools I went to in 4th grade. I think I went to a couple that only lasted a few days. Then I ended up in a school that may have been the coolest school I ever went to. It had a movie theatre, and if you were a good kid you got to go to movie every Friday with popcorn and soda. It was like a real theatre with a ticket booth and a marquis telling you what movie would be playing on Friday. If you were a less good kid you lost the soda, and if you were even less good you lost the popcorn too. I never saw the inside of the theatre. In the winter I had been kidnapped by my step-father who I had never met from the playground.(see "Meet Your New Step-Father")

https://vocal.media/families/meet-your-new-stepfather

After the kidnapping from the playground by my new Step Father I was kidnapped rather quickly by my Father from the mall parking lot. I don't even think I had time to go to a new school while I was with my Birth mother and my Step-Father. (see the story "Buying Roller Skates at the Mall")

https://vocal.media/families/buying-roller-skates-at-the-mall

So as far as school years go it was pretty busy already. It was now spring time. I had gotten up to go to school and put on my favorite jeans, my favorite tee shirt and the sweater my sister thought she made me wear but I secretly loved wearing. It was a very normal day until the principle showed up at my classroom and said I had to go with him. I was wondering what he had found out about. But something was very off, he was being nice, way too nice. I knew something was very wrong. When we got to his office and the Sherriff was there I was pretty sure I hadn't done anything that bad.

The conversation was pretty brief. The judge in my parents divorce was tired of all the kidnapping craziness so he was kidnapping me from both of my parents and putting me in foster care. Nothing I could do or say would change it but the principle and the Sheriff were both really sorry. In fact the principle was sorry enough that when I mentioned my favorite sweater he went and got it from the classroom for me. So I walked out of the school with nothing but the clothes I had on. When we got outside there was a car with a woman in it waiting. The Sheriff explained that it was his wife and she would be bringing me to the foster home. She explained some of the rules. I would not be able to talk to anyone in my family. I would not be allowed to use the phone or send any mail. Which was kinda stupid because to be honest I was in 4th grade, I had no Idea how to call someone on the phone, I did not know a single phone number nor did I know any address to send a letter to. And I would not be allowed to go to school. When we got to the house which was a farm with a single wide mobile home on it she introduced me to the husband and wife and promised to go to my dad's house in the morning to get me a few of my own things. Before long school got out and their daughter who was in high school got off the bus and I had met the whole family.

A few thoughts on the foster home, first of all I know I had it good. No one hurt me in any wayor even raised their voice to me. That does not in any way mean that I was happy to be there. I was generally a fairly angry kid but I was really angry at being put in a foster home. We had been through many custody hearings at this point the judge knew I didn't want to be with my birth mother, he knew she was not really a great mother but he absolutely insisted that my mother get custody. I have really only even disliked a few people in my life but I think I hated that judge.

The trailer only had two rooms so I slept on the couch. When my things came the next day they were in a paper grocery bag and they stayed in that bag in a corner of the Livingroom. There were a lot of rules for a very angry very young kid. There was a time by which I was to have all the blankets I used folded and put into the cupboard I was shown. I don't think they were very happy about the part where I couldn't go to school. I don't think they knew what to do with an angry little kid all day. One morning caught their daughter sneaking into the house. She told me that I wouldn't be there if anyone in the whole world cared what happened to me so if I told her parents she would kill me and no one would care. The joke was on her, I didn't care enough about her to tell her parents anything.

I ate breakfast at the table at a very specific time, the lady of the house was diabetic and had a pretty strict schedule for eating. Then I was pretty much on my own. The one saving grace of my days was the dog. She was a great Dane named Mya. She was still a puppy but huge and she and we had a lot of fun together. It wasn't her fault I was there and I really enjoyed playing with her.

One day we went into town to visit some friends of theirs. I got my bearings. I had been so upset in the car with the Sheriff's wife that I had lost track of how we got there. I worked out that the road in front of the house would go past my house and I made a plan. The next day I got up super early, which was no problem because I didn't sleep much. I snuck out of the house and started walking home. I was not getting into any cars I was just going to walk home. It was miles but I didn't care I knew I could just walk home. I had my bag of stuff and because I actually wasn't a terrible person I put away my blankets and tried not to steal Mya. She really wanted to come with me though and I had to raise my voice to get her to go home. After she did I took off towards home.

I honestly don't know how long I was at the foster home, and I also don't know how far I made it. But I do know that when that diabetic woman found me she was really angry. She spent the day telling me I was lucky it was her that picked me up, fair point. And she spent the day on the phone with the Sheriff and the social worker telling them she was done having me there and they would have to work out something else, perfect plan as far as I was concerned, or so I thought.

Thank you for taking the time to read my little story. Feel free to like or comment. I never say no to tips and there will be another story coming to explain how I left foster care.