Page 5 of Mistaken Magic

"Hey, you,"Isaid softly, peeling off a bit of my crust. "Hungry?"

ThenItossed the crumb halfway between us.Thecrow fluttered up, but didn't leave.Landingagain, it hopped closer to inspect the crumb.Thefirst time it pecked was a test, turning the scrap of bread over.Thenit took the bite and flew off.Justto see if they were paying attention,Itossed out another bit of bread.

Sureenough, another crow came down to do the same thing.Well,Iassumed it was another because it came from the opposite direction, but they all kinda looked the same.Thena second joined it, soIpicked off one more piece.ThemomentIthrew it toward them, the rest of the flock realizedIwas handing out food.

Adozen or more began to caw, and probably five flew down to beg.Ikept pinching off little pieces and tossing them onto the ground, and they kept getting closer.ConsideringIdidn't have a phone to distract me, andIwas pretty sureIwasn't allowed to watchTVhere, this was the best entertainmentI'dhad sinceI'darrived.Onemore piece got swallowed, soIwent to throw another.

Caw!

Thecrow was loud and looking right at me just as the back door opened. "LorraineBrooks!"Mrs.Sparksscreamed, sending the entire group of crows into the air. "Whatdo you think you're doing?!"

"Uh, feeding bread to the birds?"BecauseI'dthought it was pretty obvious.

Thewoman's eyes narrowed, then she stormed over to grab my arm, yanking me onto my feet. "Itold you to stay inside!"

"No, you didn't,"Iinsisted. "Iwas just having lunch, andI'vedone all the stuff you told me to."

"Inside!" she snapped, pushing me that way like the boogeyman was about to get us both. "Firstvines and now crows?Whatis wrong with you kids?"

Ihad no idea what she was talking about, butIwasn't dumb enough to ask.Isimply headed back in, finishing my sandwich in two bites.Iftoday was going to be like yesterday, this was allI'dget until dinner, soIwanted to make it count.ButonceIwas in the kitchen, the woman grabbed my arm, spinning me around to face her.

"Idon't know what kind of tricks you think you're playing, but you should be grateful we're putting a roof over your head!"

Inodded, because my mouth was full of my sandwich.

Soshe stabbed a finger toward my face. "It'salways the ones who can't stay in one place.Noone wants you,Lorraine, soI'myour last hope.Youstay away from the birds.Youdon't mess with the trees.Youdefinitely don't bring any of it inside my house, do you hear me?"

"Mhm,"Imumbled, nodding quickly.

ButIwas convinced this woman was wacko.Completelyoff the deep end type of mental problems.Clearly, she hadn't taken her meds this morning.Maybethat was whatMr.Sparkshad been looking for in my room?Wassomeone getting high on her prescription drugs?Ifso, it wasn't me.Iwas doing my best to be a good girl, thank you very much.

Unfortunately, my little "mistake" with the birds meantIhad to do extra chores as punishment.Armedwith a bucket and a sponge,Iwas told to wash all the baseboards in the house untilIeither finished or dinner was served.Theworst part was that it wasn't a small house.Withat least nine bedrooms and two floors,Iknew exactly which of those things would happen first.

Iwas sitting on my rump in the first-floor hallway when the others got home from school.Hearingthe front door open made me realize the previous sound must have been the bus, because no, we weren't allowed to drive while living here.Butwhen the first boy stepped in talking to someone behind him, he had my complete attention.

"I'venever seen that many in my life, and they're all inourbackyard!"

Theguy was maybe a year younger than me, and a junior.Ithought his name wasMarkus, but could've been wrong.Igot him andDominikconfused.OnewasHispanic, the other wasBlack, and the names could've gone either way.Sincethey'd never talked directly to me,Isupposed it didn't matter.

Stephaniecame in next. "Ihope they shit all overJohn'scar."Thatmade me chuckle, which made her notice me. "Whatareyou doing?" she asked.

"Daythree, andI'malready feeling likeCinderella,"Isaid. "Itossed a piece of bread to a crow, nowIget to scrub baseboards.Isthere, like, a manual for the rules around here?"

Theguy chuckled. "Goodluck with that.They'reusually pretty hard on you for the first month or so.Afterthat, if you keep the volume down, it's like they don't notice."

"Breakingme in or something?"Iasked.

Heshrugged. "AccordingtoMr.Sparks, it's the only way to keep discipline, because you never know what kind of heathens we might be."

Stephanienudged his arm. "You'rescaring her,Markus."

Hepushed her back playfully, but his smile was a little too fond. "Iam not."Hepaused as the door opened again and the next group began to pile into the house. "Soonerwe get chores done, the sooner we get to bed, right?"

Thegroup of them all headed for the stairs, butIkept scrubbing.Onthe upside,I'dguessed his name right.Onthe downside, going to bed early was a good thing?Wasn'tthat what normal parents used as punishment?Howthe hell wasIgoing to last a whole year in this place?

Thenagain,I'dprobably get moved in a few months.I'dmake another non-mistake like feeding some stupid birds and get punted again.Thefrustration was almost overpowering, soIpushed it all into the scrubbing.Therhythm of the brush against the wall was cathartic, almost hypnotic.Mind-numbing was a better word, but it didn't matter.

Ofall the horror storiesI'dheard about foster homes, this hadn't been on the list.Wewere basically theSparks' maids!Iwoke up, started cleaning, and that was about it.Prisonershad more rights than this!Granted,Iwas probably just being selfish.Wewere fed.Wehad our own rooms, so we didn't even have to share.Fromthe sounds of it, theSparksdidn't beat us, andIhadn't heard a whisper of anything worse.

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