I let Mia hug me for as long as she wanted. She was a hugger, and it's best to let huggers do their thing. Once she released me, I ran my hand through my hair. What was I supposed to do now? I looked at the kids, even if they didn't want me to call them kids, I would think of them as kids. They need to learn so much. I needed to make another plan. The first thing I was going to do was adopt Mia. It won't be too hard if she is already at the orphanage, ready for adoption. I'll let that be a surprise for her. But getting Drake and Grayson, that won't be particularly easy.

"Guys," I said. "I'm sorry for everything that has happened."

They all looked at me. I knew I had to adopt them one way or another. But that is a long complicated process. I had the next step to my secret plan, reveal Drake's and Grayson's parents. That will be difficult. But I had an idea.

"I have a crazy plan," I said. "And it might just work."

"What's the plan?" Drake asked.

"Your not gonna like it."

"What is it?"

"You and Grayson need to get in so much trouble that you get physically abused."

"We can't do that," Grayson said. "That's torture."

"It murder," Drake said.

"It's the only way to get you away from them. It's the only way I can have you all. And that might not even work."

"I guess we could try," Drake said. "If it means getting things to a normal level."

"Would I still-" Grayson said.

"What?" Mia asked.

"I forgot!"

"What is it Grayson?" I asked.

He started to look for his backpack. When he found it, he carefully picked it up and set it on the table. He opened it up and pulled a white dog out.

"Where did that come from?!" I yelled. Pets were not allowed unless told otherwise. And otherwise never happened.

"I brought him from home," Grayson said quietly. "I didn't want my parents to hurt him."

"He's so cute!" Mia screamed. "What's his name?"

"Jack."

Mia had no idea what was important. I just wanted to get rid of her. But she would most likely be the first one that I can adopt.

"Everybody stop. Just give me a moment to think," I said. Grayson would have to keep the dog through adoption, he could be seen as a therapy dog. But I don't know how much Collin would like that. He might turn out liking the presence of dogs.

"What were you trying to say Grayson?" I asked.

"I was asking if I would get to keep Jack if I got taken away."

"Yes, you could keep him. But he has been here all day?"

"Yah, I kind of forgot about him a little. But he has been doing pretty good."

"Put him back in your bag. You don't want somebody to see him."

Grayson put Jack back in his bag and zipped it up most of the way. I looked at the clock, it was 2:01.

"We need a plan for tonight," I quickly said. "You all go home in an hour."

They all had horrified faces, they didn't want to go back home. I realized that I wasn't going to be able to do this alone. But I didn't have anybody yet. And finding somebody that will believe the story will be a real challenge.

"What are we supposed to do?" Mia asked.

"Don't know yet," I said, waiting for an idea. "First you have to go home the way you came. Who rode the bus? Or the big yellow vehicle."

"I did," Mia and Grayson said at the same time.

"What about you Drake?" I asked.

"It wasn't big and it wasn't yellow. But my sister and I came together."

"You'll just have to find her after dismissal and stay with her. I need to figure out what bus you two rode."

"I rode with April," Mia said. "And she'll help me do what is necessary."

"What about you Grayson? Do you ride with anybody?" He just shook his head no. I had to figure out what bus he rode. This would be fun. "I'll be right back."

I left the room and found Vice Principal Luisse Duncan. "I need to know what bus Grayson rides."

"Alright, is this so you can contact his bus driver?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to let him know what happened today."

"Alright, let's go see."

We walked to her office again and she pulled up the file on her computer.

"He rides bus 266," she said.

"Thank you."

I ventured back to the room. I walked in and looked at the kids. They were scared, they didn't want to go home.

"Grayson, you need to get on the bus 266. On the side of the bus, it says NO. 266. There are a lot of busses, so make sure it says 266."

"What do we do once we get home?" Drake asked.

"You just hang in there. I'm trying to get you all where you need to be."

I looked at them as they looked at me. I was stressed, I wasn't ok. But I was going to have those kids in my home, whether somebody was going to try to stop me or not. This was the one thing I wasn't going to give up on.