Val_1: Valerie Ann

Valerie Ann chapter 1_



         Although her first concrete memories were of this town and this part of the state, she had no real liking for any of it. It was relatively small town called Centerville, populated by mildly busy people who were mainly generous and laid back in their opinions of the world. Most of the inhabitants knew everyone in the area and, more often than not, knew everyone's life history as well.

         A natural, thick wood blanketed the majority of Jefferson County. The trees crowded close together with bushes blanketing the ground in a dense tangle that sometimes seemed to be a living, growing fence, shielding Centerville from the outside world. Aside from the treeless Sand Bluffs to the northeast of town, various places that had been cleared for farming and Twilight Acres, the large estate located several miles outside of town, the natural woods were mainly unbroken and untouched.   

         Valerie had a found a special place in the woods when she had returned here.  On one side it was bordered by the Sand Bluffs and the middle pastures of Twilight Acres. On another side was the Roady land. The third side was separated from the outskirts of Centerville by a band of tangled woodland. It was divided right up the middle by the split rail fence that marked the boundary line between Twilight Acres and the Roady land. It was a relatively small piece of ground, little more than two acres of softly rolling countryside that reminded Valerie of a park. The ground was free of bushes and the strong, majestic trees were few and widely spaced. She had found it near the end of spring when there had been wildflowers growing and blooming in the shade provided by the new leaves. In the summer, she had spent much of her time there. The shade was deep and cool and the lack of brush allowed breezes to stir the grass and wild geraniums that grew beneath the trees.  A pair of foxes had begun raising a family near the edges of the park and Valerie had spent hours watching them from the branches of the trees.

         Now, as fall was nearing, the maples and oaks were beginning to flush with color, promising a vivid display in a short few weeks. The breeze was growing colder but the sun was still hot on cloudless days. 

         Valerie didn't know why this part of the woods was different, but it felt calmer, more peaceful, and less restricting than other places. She didn't necessarily like the place, but often she felt the need to go there. She went most often when she was seeking a necessary respite from the stress that came of dealing with people.

         Today she was avoiding the younger Roady siblings, Jesse in particular. Jesse was the girl closest in age to Valerie and she had recently become obsessed with a band called the Mystics. She had received several tapes of Mystic songs and music for her birthday and seemed set on driving Valerie up the wall by playing them endlessly in the room the two girls shared.

         Valerie had liked the Mystics. They had been one of her favorite bands until she had been forced to listen to them for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

         She had finally slipped away for some peace and quiet. School had started two weeks previously and she had not been here since before then.

         Now she was seething.

         Standing several yards away from the tree Valerie was quietly perched in, was Lila Stazak. Lila Stazak was the lead singer for the Mystics, daughter of Dave and Mary Stazak, owners of Twilight Acres, the huge estate that lay a few miles out of Centerville. She was one of the most popular girls in town and was friends with most people. She was liked by just about everyone, younger kids and adults as well as those in her own age group. It had been decided, by the general opinion of her closest friends and admirers, that she was the prettiest girl in eleventh grade and a very few people argued. She had everything going for her. Right now she should be back home with a few of her friends and laughing and having fun. So, why on earth was she out here looking as if she hadn't a friend in the world? What did she have to come and invade My place for? Valerie Ann wondered resentfully. It wasn't as if Lila needed a special place of her own like Valerie did.

         She glared down at the other girl. Everywhere she went! She ran into Lila Stazak absolutely everywhere! Jesse played her music non- stop at home. She was in Valerie's classes at school and it seemed that they ran into each other around every corner. Valerie muttered under her breath. It was only because Lila was always swamped by groupies that they had not met alone before this.

          But now, Lila was leaning on the fence that ran up through the center of Valerie's patch of woodlands, looking down towards the Roady farmhouse with an intent scowl drawing down her arching brows. Her full lips were pushed together in a manner that spoke of deep thought and some puzzlement. The breeze tugged wayward strands of hair out of the glossy black braid hanging past the middle of her back and whipped them forward against her smooth cheeks.

          Valerie sat breathlessly in her tree, watching the other girl and hoping that she would go away soon. She didn't want to meet Lila or have to speak to her. She avoided friendships with girls like that, girls who had everything. Once she had tried it. In another county, another family, there had been a girl called Ami. She had been Valerie's 'best friend', right up until the time Valerie had heard her showing off by making fun of her in front of her other friends. Ami had been good at mockery. The memory of that ill-ending friendship still burned her. She had no wish to repeat her mistake. She had learned well enough the first time.

         And being around a girl like Lila made Valerie feel like a dirty mop rag. Every time she saw the other girl, she was reminded of everything she would never be and she saw everything she would never have.

          Lila Stazak was beautiful, had an amazing voice and a career in singing that already had her catapulting towards stardom. She and the Mystics often played for huge occasions and were well known. Lila was among the best in her classes at school and maintained a straight A average with apparently no effort at all. She was friendly, fun to be around, and she had two parents who lavished her with everything she could possibly want.

         Valerie couldn't even remember her own parents. She could remember countless other homes, other parents who had looked at her, found her lacking and sent her on again. She had been a foster child all her life. Because she had been moved so often, she had never yet finished out a full school year and this had resulted in her being awesomely behind her classmates in school. Her wardrobe was a mismatched jumble of hand-me-downs and second-hand clothes provided by the county. Her sullen blue eyes were hidden behind thick, round glasses which, combined with the blunt cut of her unruly red hair, disguised any comely attributes of her face. And the resentful anger or cool indifference that was mirrored in her face discouraged even the most outgoing teen from trying to befriend her. The courageous few who tried were soon rebuffed by her sarcastic and scornful attitude. She was so used to giving the world a cold shoulder, she wasn't sure anymore if she could do differently if she wanted to. The caseworkers had a whole list of diagnosis and disorders attributed to her that went on all the records and even when they were trying to be optimistic, they said she was 'more difficult' than usual.

         Below Lila had straightened up, but her dusk violet eyes were still staring intently across the Roady land. Valerie was glad that she had chosen a tree that stood to the south of where Lila was. She was positive that Lila would have seen her if she had been seated anywhere between Lila and the house.

          Her lips moved as she shoved her hands into her jeans pockets and the words came quietly up to Valerie. "Oh well. Not today then. But it'll be one of these days. I can be just as stubborn as you are."

          The sound of barking caused both of them to look towards the main house of Twilight Acres and a moment later the dog came into view, running easily along the top of a hill heading straight towards them. It was Lila's dog, Cosmos, a tall black cross-breed with a white mask and russet coloring all over her legs and belly. She galloped straight up to Lila and shoved her nose into Lila's hands, her tail waving wildly.

         "Cosmos!" Lila's voice was reproving even as she greeted the dog with a loving pat. "I thought I asked you to stay up at the barn?"

         The dog snorted and sat down, staring straight up into Lila's eyes as though communicating some vital piece of information. Lila stared back silently. Several moments later, she shook her head, breaking off the staring contest. "Alright, go on."

          The dog leapt to its feet joyfully and crowded against Lila for more rubs before turning away to look around. She went in a wide loop around Lila first, thoroughly investigating the ground before she slipped through the fence and began sniffing around on the other side. Valerie's stomach twisted slightly as the dog came closer to the tree where she was sitting. She looked from the dog to Lila, wildly hoping that the girl would call the dog away.

          But Lila showed no sign of doing any such thing. She crouched down and watched the dog explore, an expression of deep sorrow and loneliness crossing her face. For a moment she looked utterly miserable.

          Valerie stared at her, caught into perplexity. Why should Lila be miserable? She doesn't look happy. You should talk to her. A voice whispered in her mind.

         She scowled at it, silently making a scathing reply. What could You say that she would want to listen to? Hey, maybe she'd mark you down as her charity case of the year.

         But look at her. She looks like she feels as bad as you do. You should talk to her. You could make her smile.

         Her scowl became an outright glare. Most people quailed under that glare, even caseworkers, but it seemed to have no effect whatsoever on the voice of her conscience, that annoying, quiet voice that always spoke in disapproval when she snubbed someone or turned someone away with a sarcastic remark.

         Go on. Say something to her.                              

         Oh yes- like What for instance?

         Anything. Ask her just anything. Like what her dog's name is or how she's feeling this afternoon. Come on, Valerie, you can think of something.

         Valerie stubbornly bit her tongue and then almost jumped out of her skin as a sudden sharp bark shocked her out of her internal conversation and back to her body. She jumped again as the dog barked a second time and lost her balance. She grabbed frantically for the tree trunk as she started to slide off the branch, straight towards the black dog, which was standing with its front paws against the tree trunk, looking directly up at her.

         "Cosmos? What?" Lila climbed over the fence and came over. Her large eyes seemed to grow impossibly wide when she saw Valerie clinging ungracefully to the trunk, one foot hooked over the tree branch. "Ann!"

         Valerie grunted as she struggled to pull herself back up onto the branch.

         Lila grasped Cosmos' collar and pulled her back towards the fence, then held her there. "I'm sorry, Ann. I didn't even know you were there! Cosmos! Sit."

         The malamute sat down immediately but she never removed her ice gray eyes from Valerie.

         Valerie dug her toe against the tree trunk and kicked as she tried to get back up, but she was making no progress. She finally held still for a moment, desperately hugging the trunk to keep from falling. Her fingers were beginning to ache.

         Lila was still looking up at her. "Are you okay?"

         "Oh, fine and dandy." Valerie grunted as she made a huge effort and managed to get her knee up over the branch.

         "Do you want me to.. help at all?" Lila asked.

         "No. I'm fine." Valerie snapped. She transferred one hand from her death grip on the tree trunk and grasped the tree branch. Instantly her tired fingers gave way and she tumbled out of the tree landing in an ungraceful heap right in front of Lila and Cosmos.

         Cosmos' ears came forward and she looked at Valerie with profound interest. Lila jumped forward to put her hand out to Valerie.

         "Are you alright? I'm so sorry about that. If I'd known you were there I'd have kept Cosmos over by me."

         Valerie brushed Lila's hand aside and climbed to her feet. "Don't. Just don't worry about it." She bent over to see if she had ripped her jeans. She hadn't, but she had scraped her ankle raw and ruined the sock too. There was a big hole torn in the side of it. Valerie set her teeth. Oh, Mrs. Roady would be thrilled to death about this one. She straightened up.

         Cosmos' tongue lolled out and she began to wag her tail in a friendly manner as she regarded Valerie. Lila sat down and leaned against a fence post. She looked up at Valerie and gave a sudden, charming smile. "Hi Ann. I was hoping to find you out here. I've been trying to meet you for a while now."

         Valerie blinked as a wave of unthinking astonishment swept through her and her conscience shot guilt through her, reminding her of everything she had done to avoid meeting people at school. Then her defenses were back up and she said skeptically, "You did?"

         Lila nodded her large eyes truthful. "Yup."

         Valerie started to turn away, "Well-" Then she hesitated. Years of living from home to home had made her a keener judge of people's emotions than most people. Lila's beautiful smile had come easily, but it slipped away as quickly as it had come and Valerie saw sadness lingering in her eyes.

          She squelched the sarcastic reply that had come to her lips and gave in to the rare sympathetic impulse. "So, what's been going on with you lately?" She tried to casually stick her hands in her pockets, uncomfortably aware of the hole worn in the right pocket. She almost immediately wished she had remained silent. She didn't really want to hear about Lila's troubles.

         Cosmos sniffed the air and then got up to trot restlessly away. Lila watched her disappear into the trees, evidently unworried about the dog wandering off.

         "Oh, not much and everything." Lila replied with a sigh. "I haven't heard from my father in over two months now."

          Valerie blinked in surprise, caught totally off balance by the statement. "I just saw him in town on Monday."

          "Oh, Mr. Stazak is my guardian. My father isn't here. Mr. and Mrs. Stazak, Mary and David, love me alright. They do their best anyway, but they're not Mom and Dad, no matter how hard they try."

         Valerie felt curiosity stirring. Maybe she and Lila had something in common after all. She gingerly made her way to a grassy patch near Lila and sat down slowly. She had several new sore spots due to her fall out of the tree. Then she looked over, her voice very casual.

         "Are you adopted then?"

         "No. Mary and David only hold guardianship until my parents get back." Twilight looked up in earnest. "They will be coming back one of these days. They're away from home right now, but they'll come back."

         Valerie felt her curiosity sink back into her stomach. "Oh. Good." She muttered.

          "I think sometimes that the Stazaks are afraid Mom and Dad aren't really coming back at all and that's why they're so nice to me. I do love them both, a lot, and I'm grateful for all they've done for me, but... I don't belong here." She finished in a low voice.

         This last comment puzzled Valerie. Lila doesn't belong here? She filed it into the back of her mind to think about later.

         They sat in silence for a moment, picking at the grass. Cosmos suddenly rejoined them, bounding out the thick brush that filled the band of woods that separated Valerie's woods from the outskirts of Centerville. The dog immediately crawled half onto Lila's lap and lay down, resting her chin comfortably on Lila's knee. She huffed her breath out contentedly and lay still.

         Lila rubbed her ears affectionately. "What have you been doing, Cosmos? After squirrels?"

         Cosmos rolled her head to look up at Lila balefully and Lila laughed softly.

         Then they both heard the bushes to the south crashing and cracking as someone pushed their way through. They both turned to see who it was. A tall boy in jeans and a FFJC t-shirt appeared following the fence line. He was carrying a football under one arm and saw them almost immediately. Valerie recognized him at the same time.

          It was John Velez, a black haired, dark eyed boy just under two years older than she was. His father worked for social services as a lawyer and had for years been her guardian at law, the person who went to court to represent her best interests. John had been her best friend for years. They'd known each other from the time she'd come into the system, through various homes until she had been moved too far away. He had been her companion and her constant in life until she was ten and that life had been totally shattered by a failed adoption and a move to another state. That had been her first and most agonizing lesson in how much friendship could hurt.

         She suddenly wanted to put her head in her hands and groan. The two people she had put the most effort into avoiding since she'd arrived in Jefferson County and they both found her at the same time on the same afternoon.

         "Hey! Hello Lila. Hey Valerie." John came over to them and grinned. "I thought I'd take a shortcut home and now I've found some company."  He gave Valerie a cautious, questioning glance. "I haven't seen much of you, Valerie, since you got back." Since she had returned, he'd tentatively tried to renew their friendship, but each attempt he made was repelled by her new attitude. He hadn't given up though.

         Valerie found that she couldn't force herself to scowl as darkly at him as she wished she could have. "I'm not called Valerie anymore, John. Ann. Just Ann."

         John nodded. "That's right. Sorry, I forgot. How've you been?"

         She merely shrugged.

         He turned to Lila after a long moment, apparently deciding to ignore the lack of a satisfying answer, "And how are you? Up to anything interesting lately?"

         Lila shook her head, smiling. "Not really." She motioned to his t-shirt. "FFJC. What does that stand for?"

         John looked down at the letters on his shirt front. "Foster Families of Jefferson County." he said. "It's a local association for foster families. So we can be sure they're getting what support they need. You can get counseling, financial aid; tuition fees... all kinds of stuff through FFJC. If you're involved with foster care." He gave her a teasing grin. "Why? Looking for a sibling?"

         Lila gave him a very strange smile. "Hhmm."

         "We're having a get-together in two weeks. If you were interested, you're welcome to show up. Bring your Mom and Dad. It's not too boring, Li."

         She still had that strange expression on her face. She looked up at him. "Don't call me that. It's not my real name John."

         "It's not?" John Velez repeated, frowning in puzzlement.

         Lila looked calmly up at him. "No. It's not. That's the name Mary and David like me to use because it seems less peculiar, but I like my real name much better. You two may call me by it." She said with her usual air.

         John was quite obviously curious. He always had been one for finding out about everything and everyone. Valerie had been the more cautious one back when they had been inseparable pals and had done everything together.

         "Oh? What is your real name then?" John inquired.

         "Twilight."

         "Twilight?" John asked and received a nod in confirmation. "That's pretty. What's it supposed to mean? Does it stand for something?"

         Twilight shrugged and gave them another one of the charming smiles that made her whole face come alive. "Ah, that I can't tell you."

         Valerie looked away, irritation touching her expression. 

         John looked down at Twilight, caught between curiosity and perplexity. Then he shrugged and grinned. "Whatever you say, Miss Twilight."

         Resentment streaked through Valerie. That had been one of the games they had played as kids. Everything had been 'Miss Valerie' and 'John, sir'. She didn't like listening to him call another girl 'miss'. It was one of the few things she let herself remember as bring her own.

         Inwardly, she scowled. Wonderful, scratch another off the list.

         Twilight laughed softly and got to her feet. "I'd better get home now. I've just... remembered something I need to look into." She snapped her fingers, calling Cosmos to her side. "But I'll see you later. When the time comes right."

         John turned to watch her duck through the fence and walk away. Then he looked back at Valerie. "You think that was supposed to make sense, Ann?"

         Valerie shrugged, still unhappy at his abuse of their former game. "Who knows?"

         He leaned on the fence and an awkward silence stretched as he searched for something to talk about. "So," he finally said, "How have things been going?"

         She shrugged. Her life was something she was unwilling to talk about. It was always changing and always the same old song. Pack up, another home, another disaster of trying to live with the changes, pack up again.

         John seemed to have realized as soon as the words left his mouth that they had been the wrong ones. He winced and shifted his feet, quickly finding another question. "Will you be going to the get-together, Val- Ann?"

         Valerie shrugged again. "Will I even be here in two weeks?" A little of her bitterness came into her tone as she spoke.

         John sighed. "Hey, Valerie, things will look up. Believe me. They will."

         "Right." Valerie got to her feet and prepared to walk away.

         John took a couple of quick steps and came up beside her. "Are you going home?"

         She nodded shortly and started walking.

         "I'm headed that direction. I'll come with you." John followed her. "This is kind of a shortcut I use to get home. It's half as long as taking the road."

         He paused to allow her time for a comment, than continued. "I'd never seen you out here before. Or Twilight either. She kind of reminds me of you."

         Valerie glanced at him incredulously. "Of me?"

         "Yeah. A lot actually. She's kind of like what you were like when we were kids." He gave an uncomfortable smile. "I guess that's why the 'miss' slipped out. I don't usually go around calling girls 'miss', you know."

         A smile almost twitched at Valerie's lips. John didn't usually 'go around' with or after girls at all. He was friendly and polite, but nothing beyond that much to the annoyance of several girls she knew.

         "Did you mind?" he asked after a short quiet spell.

          Valerie was faintly startled. "Why should I mind?" She lied, quick and smooth.

         He cast her a sideways glance and Valerie felt unease sweeping through her. He had known her entirely too well. He'd be able to catch more of her lies and half-truths than anyone else. 

          Yes, Valerie, that would be why you were avoiding him! Her sarcastic inner voice remarked snidely. Now, get rid of him.

         She didn't want to. She was beginning to remember how good their friendship had felt when they had it.

         What would be the harm? We could be friends again, even if just for a little while.

         What would be the harm? Oh, none at all. Nothing! Just getting your heart ripped into pieces again when you're shipped off. Nothing to worry about.

         Well, you don't have to hurt him anyway. He's just trying to be friendly. Her conscience whispered. Just be quiet and wait it out. But wouldn't it be nice…

         Valerie heartlessly squelched that thought. Wishes and dreams never did anyone any good. They just made people feel more depressed about what they had.

         Through the trees ahead, she saw the tall, white farmhouse with peeling paint that was home base for the Roady clan. When she had first begun living there, she had barely been able to believe two parents, eight children, three dogs, two horses and innumerable cats lived there without homicide being committed on a daily basis. The level of noise and activity had totally confused her and left her feeling on edge for the first few weeks. Now she was accustomed to it and it didn't bother her so badly, but there were still far too many people for her to avoid.

         Matt, Jason and Jefferson, the three nine year old Roady boys were playing kickball behind the house. They hollered hello to John without stopping and John grinned and waved back. He knew most of the kids who were in foster homes due to his parents involvement and because he liked them. The Roady triplets, the three boys, often hunted him up to play a game of baseball or soccer with them and he could usually be counted on to willingly oblige them.

         Matt ran over to them. He was a slim, smallish Cherokee boy who had been adopted by the Roady's at birth. His face was glistening with sweat. "Can you play with us today, John?"

         John shook his head regretfully. "No, Mom's got a list of chores for me at home. Some other time, Matt."

         Matt groaned and pleaded for a moment, then sighed. "Okay. See you after school tomorrow, maybe?"

         "Sure." John watched him run back to join his brothers and smiled.

         As they neared the porch, Jesse came out the back door carrying a basket of wet laundry. She closed the screen door carefully behind her with one foot as she spoke. "Ann, Mrs. Scott called. She should be here in a little bit."

         Valerie got cold all the way to the middle of her stomach. She grunted. "Great."

         "You'd better get cleaned up, Ann. You've got dirt all over your jeans." Jesse told her and the tone of her voice was not unkind.

         Valerie shoved her hands into her jeans pockets."Thanks for telling me." She muttered as she irritably made her way into the house.

         John called after her, "See you later, Ann." There wasn't much hope of a reply in his voice, but she remembered his stubborn determination from years ago.

         Valerie just kept walking. She didn't need anyone trying to make friends with her. She'd probably be moving soon and it wasn't worth it. Her well-trained heart didn't engage in the twinge of regret that shot through her.

         She allowed the screen door to slam loudly as she walked into the kitchen, venting some of her anxiety.

         Mrs. Roady turned away from the sink. "Ann, where've you been?"

         "Walking."

         "I need you to tell me before you take off like that." Her voice was firm.

         Valerie turned and met the woman's eyes, letting her pent up bad temper turn into outright challenge in her eyes. Nancy Roady met her eyes levelly. She was a strong willed woman and used to having her children obey her. Even children who only stayed with the Roady's briefly usually did as she asked them to.

         But resentment and the certainty that the Roadys would never keep her in their home prevented Valerie from doing the same. She found herself clashing with Mrs. Roady constantly. Sometimes she wondered why she always had to get into fights with her foster mother, but she couldn't seem to stop.

         "Go on up and get clean clothes. What happened?"

         "I fell out of a tree." Valerie mumbled.

         "I couldn't hear that." Mrs. Roady took a step nearer.

         Valerie swallowed a growl and raised her voice. "I fell out of a tree."

         "Are you alright?"

         "Fine." Valerie scowled down at her shoes.

         Mrs. Roady looked her over and her eye caught on the fist sized hole in the side of Valerie's sock. She sounded completely exasperated when she spoke. "Valerie Ann! I cannot afford to buy a new pair of socks for each one of my kids every day! While you are living in my home I expect you to take care of your things because I simply do not have the means to replace them."

         Valerie's scowl deepened. "I didn't ask you to."

         "Even if you didn't, it is my job to keep you decently clothed. If you were younger I might not complain about this so much, but you are old enough to at least meet me halfway by taking care of what I provide for you." She turned back to the sink where she was halfway through peeling a twenty pound sack of potatoes.

         Valerie sent a burning glare towards the woman's back and turned to stomp her way up to her room.

         By the time she had changed into clean clothes, her caseworker, Mrs. Scott, was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, talking pleasantly with Mrs. Roady. She smiled at Valerie and motioned to a chair across the table. "Hello Ann. Come and sit down. I have a couple of things we need to talk about."

         Valerie got a glass of water and sat down, veiling the coldness twisting her gut with a sullen attitude. She slouched down and glared at the tabletop.

         Mrs. Roady dried her hands on a hand towel and left the room quietly.

         Mrs. Scott looked soberly across the table at Valerie. "Nancy called me yesterday afternoon and left a message to let me know how you're doing. I hear you've been having difficulties here in the home. Is it something that I could help you with?"

         Valerie retained her obstinate silence.

         Mrs. Scott continued after a moment. "Several of your teachers have called me to inform me that you have been skipping classes and your grades are failing. I am very concerned, Ann."

         Valerie crossed her arms and clenched her teeth as she listened to Mrs. Scott's speech on how everyone needed to adapt a little when they were trying to make a family or a temporary home work and how she knew it was very difficult but she needed to put some effort into it. Valerie had heard this speech far too many times already and only listened with half her mind, until Mrs. Scott said,

         "Ann, there's a sibling group that has just recently come into the system, that we've been trying to find a place for. The Roadys have said they will take the kids but it will put them over the limit unless," she paused for a moment, hesitating to continue.

         Valerie finished for her. "Unless you move me."

         Mrs. Scott nodded. "Yes. I'm currently looking for a good placement for you. If we can't find a place by next Thursday, we'll put you into the Springvale facility until we can find one."

         Valerie's back muscles contracted all the way up to her neck. She'd heard about the "Springvale facility" from other kids who had been there. They had a more colorful name for it and none of the stories she had heard from the kids who had been there were good. Her throat tightened. "So?"

         Mrs. Scott looked at her kindly. "We're doing our best to find a good place." She looked down at the papers in front of her and said, "The other thing I wanted to talk to you about is that I’m being transferred to another department and my caseload is being redistributed. You'll be getting a new caseworker sometime this week or next week at the latest. I don't know yet who that will be. When we know for sure we'll let you know."

         Valerie nodded silently. A new caseworker, yet another move in a week or less and the promise of the Springvale facility if they couldn't find another family to take her. She should have expected it.

         Throughout the next week, Valerie suffered from a bad temper that could not be alleviated. The Roady children were wary of her and only spoke to her when it was absolutely necessary. She and Mrs. Roady kept a hostile formality between them and the tension in the house increased at a slow and steady pace as Thursday approached.

         Valerie escaped as often as she could just to go and sit somewhere quiet where she could be miserable without anyone noticing. But she adamantly avoided her favorite part of the woods. She didn't want to go back and didn't want to see either Lila or John.

         Lila had not been in school since the day she had met Valerie and John. Valerie wondered occasionally where she had gone and why, but mainly felt relieved that she didn't have to put the effort into avoiding the girl, especially since John had become such a nuisance.

          John had noticed the very next day that something was wrong and was constantly trying to talk to her. He walked with her home from school on the pretense that he was going to play with the boys, sought her out at school- even found the place off the school grounds where she went to hide- and asked every single day what was wrong. Finally, she had yelled at him, telling him that it was none of his business. After that he was quieter and he didn't walk her home, but he looked more noticeably concerned.

         After school on Thursday, Valerie went to her part of the woods after dropping off her backpack and homework at the Roady's house. Despite her determination to avoid that section of the woods, she seemed drawn in that direction. Footsteps slow and hesitating, she made her way through the familiar trees, heading for the place that had been her sanctum from the unfairness of her world.