Page 3 of Mistaken Magic

"Witheight of you in the house now, we rotate, so you will get one day off from chores," she went on. "Youwill be expected to keep track of your duties, since the day of the week will change.Now, let me show you where the laundry room is, hm?"

"Actually,"Itried, jerking my thumb to the back door, "Iwas kinda hopingIcould see the neighborhood?Imean, to get an idea of whereIlive now?IthoughtIsaw a park on our way in."

Theexpression on the woman's face changed. "No.Youwill not go to that park, nor will you socialize with the delinquents who frequent the place.Theysell drugs,Lorraine.Thelast thingyouneed is another mark on your record, soIsuggest you dedicate yourself to changing your attitude."

"What?"Igasped. "Idon't have an attitude!"

Shestabbed a finger in my direction. "Thatone.Oh, we were warned about you, young lady.You'rea thief, a miscreant, and a bully.Theonly reason you weren't arrested for punching that boy is because you were leaving, so you wouldn't be a problem."

Thatboy?Theone who'd grabbed my ass?TheguyI'dtold to keep his hands off me, and yet he'd still ignored me?AllI'ddone was stand up for myself!

"Heassaulted me,"Imumbled under my breath. "I'dwarned him.I'dtold the teachers.That'boy' put his hands on me even afterIsaid no!"

"Thatdoesn't mean you had to hit him," she shot back. "Therewill be no fighting in this house.Tryit once, and we will send you to the state."

Ijust dropped my head and sighed, knowing there was no way to win this. "Iunderstand."

ThenIallowed her to teach me all about my chores.Somuch for a week off from school.Instead,Iwas being made into slave labor.Itwasn't so much thatIhated the chores, but being locked inside?Thatfelt off.Itwas almost as if this woman felt the less freedom we had, the more likely we'd give up, give in, and become meek little robots to do her bidding.Likeshe was trying to break us down or something.

Ihated it.Iwasn't being given a chance;Iwas being punished, and over the course of the morning,Mrs.Sparksmade that very clear.Everylittle dig, jab, or reminder of my record came with another warning, and there were far too many.Notonce did she ask my opinion - about anything.Shesimply told me how it would be.Fromlaundry to my free time, it was all put on a schedule, and ifIdidn't stick to it, she made it clearIwould go back to the state.

Ipushed down my anger.Ismothered my frustration.Icould do this.Ihadto do this.Iwasn't sure how, but it wasn't likeIhad any other option.

Eventually, the others came home from school, andIwas given a little break to meet them.Alist of names was thrown at me too fast for me to keep track of.Peoplewere pointed out.ThenIwas ordered to head upstairs and clean the main bathroom because that was my chore for the day.

Iwas on my knees, scrubbing the toilet, whenMr.Sparksstepped into the doorway.Hedidn't say a thing at first.Themansimply loomed in the entrance, looking me over as if he was judging me.Iglanced up and tried to smile, but that made his harsh face turn into a scowl.

"Whatare you doing?" he demanded.

"Mychores,"Ireplied.

"Onyour knees?"

Ilooked at the toilet, then back to him. "Yeah?ShesaidIhad to clean the base too."

"Youlook like you're vomiting.Standup, girl.Ifyou want to seem presentable, then you must act like it!"

Hewaited untilIgot to my feet, then stormed out.Weird.Thewhole thing was amazingly weird, and it was not helping my feelings about this house at all!Evenworse, trying to bend over while scrubbing the outside of a toilet was murder on my legs.Ihad a feeling my ass would be sore tomorrow, and that was probably breaking another stupid rule: no aches and pains where they might inconvenience one of theSparks.

WhenIwas done,Iput the cleaning supplies back under the sink.Thecabinet banged asIclosed it, making me wince.Whenfeet moved toward the bathroom,Iwas braced forMr.Sparksto come yell at me again.Instead, an older girl appeared in the doorway.

"Lorraine, right?" she asked.

Inodded. "Yeah, andI'msorry, butIforgot your name."

"Stephanie," she said. "Wordof advice,Mr.Sparkshates banging."

"Yeah,"Ibreathed. "Ididn't know it would do that."

Shequickly waved me down. "Thekitchen cabinets do the same.Sodoes the washing machine.Anyof them will get you a lecture."

"So, walk softly around here, huh?"Iasked.

Shenodded. "Very.Iguess they had a few wild fosters who convinced them being strict is the only way to be.Itsucks, butat least we know what to expect."Hersmile made it clear that wasn't much consolation. "Oh, andIhighly recommend sleeping in pants."

Alarmbells sounded in my head. "Why?"Iasked.

"Theycome check on us in the middle of the night.Nolocks on the doors, no knocking to announce them.Getsreal awkward at times, if you know whatImean.So, change by your closet and sleep with everything covered."

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