The sunlight streamed through my open window the next morning. It blinded me as I opened my eyes and I quickly turned away and groaned. Morning came too quickly. I looked for my phone and saw that it was 11 in the morning. I was never an early riser, though I was surprised no one came to wake me. At Alice’s, they always woke me before 10 even though I hated it. I then remembered that I was on the floor and that my face felt tight. I slowly stood up and walked to my dresser to look at myself in the mirror. My face was streaked with dry tears. My eyes were bigger than normal. I must have cried myself to sleep. Sighing, I went to find the bathroom.

       The hallway was quiet but I could hear voices downstairs. I found an empty bathroom and quickly worked to fix the disaster that was me. A few minutes later, I looked semi decent. My hair no longer had bedhead and my face was clean. I put my things back into the bag that I brought with me and opened the door to go back into my room. When I opened the door, I ran right into Cameron. I stumbled back and dropped my things onto the floor. I had to grip the edge of the sink to keep from falling as well. Cameron didn’t seem shaken, just annoyed.

       “What are you doing in here?” He asked sharply.

       “Nothing, I was just leaving.” I quickly gathered my things and walked past him. I didn’t turn back. I just went into my room and quickly closed the door. I threw my bag onto the bed and sat down breathing heavily. What was his problem? I haven’t been here 24 hours and he already hated me. I knew I didn’t have to put up with him and his aggressive behavior and I wasn’t going to allow myself to. When I was sure I was breathing correctly, I got up and headed towards the door. I would have opened the door but my hand stopped on the handle and my eyes looked at my dresser. I had put my parent’s note in one of the drawers and I always read it when I woke up in the morning. It was one of the things that helped to keep me sane. I walked towards the drawer, took out the note, and retreated back to the bed. I stared at the wrinkled paper and the neatly written words. My mother wrote the note but the words were from both of them. Besides the pictures, this was all I had left of them that was personal. 

       I took a deep breath and read it softly to myself like I’ve done many times before:

       “Our dear daughter, we are so very sorry that we have to do this to you. If we could take you with us, you know we would. We did this to keep you safe. We hope you don’t grow to resent us. It was the toughest decision we have ever had to make. It is not safe to bring you with us. We just hope you understand. We will come back to you someday. You are our little princess and you will never be far from our hearts. We will always love you.

Mom and Dad.”

       I didn’t realize I was crying until I felt something run down my cheek. I quickly wiped the tears away with the back of my hand. The note never failed to make me emotional. I hated being emotional. I missed them so much, though I couldn’t remember much about them. They would never be far from my heart. I would wait for them forever if I had to. I will find them one day. I had vowed that to myself when I was a child and I vow that now. I gently folded the note and put it back inside the drawer. I took a deep breath and went downstairs.

       I descended very slowly. The voices grew louder and louder as I approached the kitchen. I saw Jason, Aliyah, and Hayley. I didn’t see Jade or Cameron. I’m guessing that was a good thing. They heard me and all turned in my direction. Aliyah was the first to smile and run towards me. I gave her a little smile and a pat on the back which she happily took.

       “You sleep a lot.” She said.

       “I didn’t realize how late it was. I just woke up.” I said quietly.

        “Are you hungry? We were just going to make something to eat for lunch.” Hayley said.

       “Lunch?” I asked. Was it really that late?

       They all laughed. “You slept really late, Kassey.” Jason said chuckling.

       I knew my face was flushed. “What were you going to make?” I walked up to the group.

       “Well, I checked with your social worker, Ms. Reynolds, to see what you like to eat. She informed me that there weren't a lot of things that you preferred.” Hayley said, sounding confused.

       “I don’t eat that much. I get my own food most of the time and stay in my room.” I confessed.

       “You're a loner?” I heard another voice and I turned to see Jade coming into the kitchen.

       “Jade, that’s not cool. She’s not a loner.” Jason said defensively.

       “No, that’s kinda true. I’m a little bit of a loner.” I tried to brighten up the mood.

       They all smiled. “Can I talk to you for a bit?” Jason asked me.

       I nodded and he took me outside to the front yard. The ground was still covered in leaves of different colors and shapes. It was like a painting. None of it seemed real. 

       “I heard you crying last night. You alright?” Jason asked.

       I stiffened. “Why would you think it was me?” 

       “I know everyone’s cries here, even Hayley’s. Your’s is different. Plus, the walls are really thin.” He said seriously.

       I didn’t say anything. I didn’t remember much of anything that happened yesterday, only the argument I had with Cameron. After that, everything was a blur. I didn’t know how to answer him but he seemed to be waiting for me to say something. 

       “I think you heard something else. I don’t know why you thought it was me.” I lied.

       He stared at me for a moment before saying, “You know you can trust me, right?” 

       I thought for a moment before nodding. “I think you and Aliyah are the easiest ones here to talk to.”

       “Thanks.” A smile lit up his face.

       The door opened and Hayley peeked her head out. “There was somewhere we were going to take you.” 

       “Where?”

       “It’s a surprise. Hayley does it with every new kid who comes here. We all go to a different place every time so no one can spill it.” Jason explained further. 

       “Everyone is getting ready to leave in a few minutes.” Hayley said and went back into the house.

       Jason turned back to me. “You alright?” 

       “Yeah, I’m good.” I need to learn how to get along with these kids if I want to stay here, I thought. I couldn’t keep arguing with Cameron or shying away from Aliyah. I needed to at least try. A few minutes later, the family all exited the house and we began our walk.

       Hayley had covered my eyes as we slowly approached the surprise. As soon as things started going dark, I began to panic. Where were we going? What was happening? I tripped on pebbles and cracks in the road, and Jason held onto my arms to keep me steady. I didn’t really care for surprises, but right now, my heart was thumping in my chest. We then stopped and Hayley stepped away to clear my sight. As soon as I saw where we were, I was filled with overwhelming happiness. I stood there looking at an amusement park filled with obstacles and trees to hang from. It was empty, and we were the only ones there. I’ve always liked amusement parks since I was a kid. It was the only place where I could be wild and not be embarrassed by it. I took off running towards the vines that hung from the trees. I heard voices yelling behind me but I ignored them. I grabbed the vine and pulled myself expertly up the tree. There was a small pond you were supposed to jump into when you let go. That was my favorite part.

       I gathered my strength and swung myself back and forth until I was swinging high into the air. When I swung forward the last time, I let go and landed right into the water. The pond was deeper than it looked, but I knew how to swim. I was drenched but I didn’t care. I had never been more happy than I am right now. When I came up, I got drowned with water as someone jumped in next to me. I wiped my face to see Jade resurface and spit water out. She had a grin that spread from one side of her face to the other. 

       “This is fun, huh?” Jade asked in a high voice.

       “Yeah!” I laughed.

       “This is the happiest we’ve ever seen you.” Aliyah walked to the edge of the pond and looked at us. She sat down and dipped her feet into the water.

       “I’ve always liked being in or near the water. It’s my favorite place.” I explained.

       “Can’t imagine how water could make you that happy, especially considering where we’ve all come from.” Aliyah muttered to herself but I heard her.

      “CANNONBALL!!!”  

       I looked up, a little too late, to see Jason’s figure hurling towards us. There was a big splash and we all went under. Jade came up gasping and I came up laughing. I looked around for Jason and found him floating on his back. Aliyah screamed at us with complaints about getting her outfit drenched.

       “What the hell was that?” Aliyah screamed.

       “Such language.” Jade said sarcastically.

       “I have always wanted to do that and today was the best time to do so.” Jason answered calmly.  

       “That was so unnecessary.” I chimed in.

       He opened one eye to look at me. “Says the one who ran like the devil was chasing her.”

       “Not the same thing.” I argued but a smile peeked through. I was so glad they had brought me here. I haven’t been anywhere like this in a long time. I used to sneak out at night to go to a lake. When I was near the water, I felt like I was closer to my parents. I didn’t know why. I just felt more secure and safe, more happy. 

       “Where’s Cam?” Aliyah asked as she looked around the park. 

       “I heard he was Ziplining.” Jade said.

       “Ziplining?!” I asked. I definitely knew what I was going to do next.

       Jason looked at me once and we both jumped up and splashed to the start of the pond. We got to the zipline and we heard Cameron cheering as he zoomed past us. Jason whooped loudly to let him know we were watching him and I laughed. We waited till he slowed down and got to the entrance of the ride. We helped to unbuckle him and he fell onto Jason as he tried to stand himself up. Cameron took one look at me and seemed as if he wanted to say something.

       “We are going to have fun. No arguing, alright?” Jason said sternly as he looked at the two of us.

       “I have nothing to argue about.” I said quickly.

       “Neither do I.” Cameron agreed.

       Jason nodded. He helped us all get situated with the ziplining equipment and then strapped himself in. Cameron taught us how to go forward, stop, and all of the things we needed to know. I was in the front, so I was the first to go off. I sped off like lightning. The wind whipped at my hair and I put my arms out to touch the trees as I went by them. It felt great. I went higher and higher until everything below me looked really small. I looked behind me to see Cameron and Jason catching up, but they were still pretty far away. The experience was exhilarating. It was dangerous and it was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. I started slowing down and I willed myself to go faster. 

       “Kassey, Look out!” A voice yelled.

        I looked behind me and then looked back to be hit time after time with tree branches. I guess I wasn’t paying enough attention to notice where I was going. I still didn’t care. Bruises or not, I was still having fun and I would do this again in a heartbeat. 

        We all stopped at the end of the ride and Jason worked to get us unbuckled. I felt dizzy as I landed on the ground and I fell over. Both boys ran to pick me up. 

       “You alright?” Cameron asked.

        I was surprised that he wanted to know but I didn’t want to disturb the peace we suddenly had. “Yeah, I think I forgot to eat breakfast.”

       “Well, lunch and dinner too, but we’ll eat when we get back. I think we have to leave anyway.” Jason said as he looked at something beyond me. Cameron and I turned to see Jade and Aliyah walking towards Hayley. When she caught our eyes, she waved at us. Our day out was over.