I woke up the next morning, momentarily forgetting where I was. I'd actually gotten a good night sleep since I didn't have to sleep on a metal slab and a two-inch foam mattress. This was the most comfortable bed I'd ever slept in. I swung my legs over the bed and stretched, realizing I really need to pee. I got up, dressed in my regular bedtime attire of a long t-shirt and underwear. I opened the door and popped my head out, not wanting anyone to see me. The coast was clear, so I rushed across the hallway to the bathroom and locked the door.

Their shower was nice, and the hot water didn't stop after a couple minutes. I was pleasantly surprised to find some Pantene Pro-V shampoo and conditioner in the shower. Actually some decent toiletries. As I washed, I noticed lots of bath toys stored off to the side. I'd be sharing this bathroom with Sebastian and Francisco.  I don't think I'd ever had bath toys.

I turned off the shower and toweled off, then wrapped it around my body. Checking the hallway again, I tiptoed back to my bedroom and looked for some clean clothes to wear. I was on my last outfit so it was good that Vanessa was taking me shopping today. I had other clothes at my mom's house, but I wasn't sure when they were going to let me go back.

I got dressed and tied my wet hair up in another towel to dry a little, then walked quietly to the kitchen. Vanessa was at the kitchen table working on her computer and Lin was on the couch with Sebastian.

"Good morning, Nora," Vanessa greeted me, taking off her reading glasses and standing up. "Ready for breakfast?"

I nodded and she proceeded to show me a few options. She'd gotten me Cap'n Crunch, so I poured myself a bowl and sat at one of the bar stools to eat.

"Once you're ready, we'll head out," she told me. "There's a couple good department stores nearby and we can hit up any specific shops you normally go to."

I stirred at my cereal, not telling her that I usually shopped at Goodwill with my mom. Most of the time, she made minimum wage. I'd always wanted to go to the cool stores like Abercrombie and Hollister, but I couldn't even afford the cheapest thing in there. I wondered if I'd look foolish shopping with Vanessa. I didn't know anything about shopping.

Soon, I was ready and we left my dad and the boys at home. Vanessa was really nice. She could tell I was pretty unsure of myself, so she went around to different racks, pulling things off that looked like me. She guessed my sizes and soon we went to a dressing room with armfuls of clothes. I looked at the price tags. $14.99, $29.99. Things my mom could never buy me.

We stocked up on the essentials – underwear, bras, socks. I got a new pair of tennis shoes and some flip flops. When we took our stuff to the cashier, I felt guilty that she was spending almost $300, but she didn't seem to flinch. We put my bags in the trunk and headed to the next store.

A few hours later, we returned home with dozens of new clothes, and a new bedspread with some new decorations. I'd chosen a simple black and white pattern for my bed. I wasn't really into colors. She also bought me a new backpack since mine had holes in it and was starting to smell. I didn't mention school, and I wasn't sure what would be happening with that. My old school was in Queens and it would probably be too far. I'd be happy to leave that place though – the kids were jerks and the teachers didn't really care.

Vanessa helped me unpack all my things in my bedroom. We arranged my closet and put my other clothes away in the bureau drawers. We made my bed and put up decorations. It was starting to look a bit more homey. Thankfully, Vanessa left me to be alone in my room for a while. I laid back on my bed, wondering what this was going to cost me that they were being so nice to me. What did they want out of me? There had to be something.

For lunch, everyone made sandwiches and munched on some fruit and vegetables. Sebastian talked a mile a minute. I was grateful he was there so all the attention wasn't on me constantly. I could feel that Lin and Vanessa were unsure of how to act with me. They weren't pushing me to talk or anything, and just let me be. After lunch was finished, I disappeared to my room and laid on my bed again. Curling my legs up, I pulled out one of my little notebooks and found a pencil. I opened it up and looked over my writing from a few days ago. I hadn't had time to write anything since my mom had been arrested. Once my pencil hit the paper, I couldn't stop.

How can it be

You're not here with me

You were taken away

With strangers I must stay

Tell me how do I exist

In a world without where you're missed

I don't belong

How long

Until I see you again?

There was a knock at the door and I quickly closed my notebook and hid it under my pillow. It was Vanessa.

"Hi, Nora," she said, holding the doorknob. "We're gonna go down to the park down the street. There's some skateboarding ramps there."

That's all she had to say. I got up and found my shoes quickly. I dug out my helmet and knee and elbow pads and kicked my skateboard into my hand. The five of us walked to the park down the street. Lin and Vanessa took a seat in front of the playground where Sebastian happily ran and I made my way over to a small skateboarding park. It had been days since I'd rode. I climbed to the top of the ramp and began rolling. I built up my momentum and was able to do a couple jumps. They had a couple rails where I practiced grinding and some boardslides. I fell a couple times, but that's how it goes. I was just glad to get back out.

I must have lost track of time, because Lin and Vanessa walked over to say we'd been there for an hour and they needed to take Francisco back for a nap. They asked if I wanted to stay for a while longer and I said yes. Lin handed me a spare key to the apartment and made sure I knew how to get back.

"Be back by 6," Vanessa said. "I'll have dinner ready then."

I spent the rest of the afternoon in skateboarding heaven. I met a couple other kids my age and asked where they went to school. There were a few public schools near the neighborhood. I wondered where I'd end up going. The school year had just started and I'd missed almost 5 days of school due to this whole mess. Well, I attended school in juvie but that was a joke.

It was close to 6:00, so I picked up my board and headed back. When I walked into the apartment, it smelled like chicken. Vanessa had made pasta and chicken with some vegetables. I guess they were the kind of family that ate together every night. I wasn't used to this. Usually, my house consisted of grabbing food whenever you got hungry. My mom wasn't much of a cook.

I sat down at the table, uncomfortable. What did they do? They just sat around and talked?

"So, Nora, how long have you been skateboarding?" Lin asked me.

"Since I was eight or so," I told him.

"Do you do competitions or is it just for fun?"

"Just for fun," I said. "I met a couple kids from the neighborhood. They said they go to Harbor Heights."

Vanessa took a sip of her wine and set it down. "We've been meaning to talk to you about school," she said. "It seems like your last school wasn't really up to par."

"That's an understatement," I said. School was so boring.

"After dinner, we can look at some choices," she told me.

I helped clean up the dishes, trying to make a decent impression, but Vanessa shooed me away. She told me to get Lin's computer and start searching for schools in Washington Heights. I pulled up Google and checked out Harbor Heights. Seemed decent enough.

Lin soon came to sit next to me. "How have your grades been?"

"Not great," I told him.

"Have you ever been test for GT?" he asked me.

"Gifted and talented?" I asked and he nodded. I shook my head.

"Vanessa and I both went to Hunter College High School when we were kids," he explained. "It's a school for academically gifted kids. We could see if you could take the entrance exam."

A school for nerds? I'd stick out like a sore thumb. There was nothing gifted about me. Except maybe my ability to swear.

"I don't know," I told him honestly. "I'm not that good at school."

"It's worth a shot," he told me. "Maybe you haven't been challenged enough in your schools up to now. Should we set up an appointment?"

He seemed pretty dead set on the idea so I shrugged. We also decided to ask for a tour of Harbor Heights and Community Health Academy. Soon, it was time for Sebastian and Francisco to go to bed, so I watched TV while they both wrangled the kids. Afterwards, they both joined me on the couch.

"Mind if we turn that off for a minute?" Lin asked me. I shrugged and turned it off. "We wanted to talk to you a bit."

I looked between them and felt uncomfortable. I wasn't used to being the center of attention. Instinctively, I brought my knees up to my chest and picked at my fingernail beds.

"We wanted to lay down some ground rules," Lin continued. "It seems like maybe your mom had a pretty loose reign."

"I guess," I agreed.

"So, what do you think are some reasonable expectations?" He asked me. I hated these kinds of questions. Why did adults try to make you feel like you had a say in rules? They were just going to decide themselves anyway.

I shrugged, not willing to play along.

"Well, how about checking in with us about your plans?" He suggested. "If you're not here or at school, we're gonna need to know where you are."

"Okay," I said, keeping my eyes on my fingernails.

"You already have both our numbers," he reminded me. "Tomorrow, Vanessa is going back to work and I'll be in and out of the house a bit. We have our school tours set for the afternoon. Did you have any chores at your house?"

"No," I told them.

"Well, in exchange for cleaning your room, taking out the trash, and sweeping the kitchen floors, we'll give you $10 a week for an allowance," he told me. "How does that sound?"

I'd never gotten an allowance before. I agreed, already plotting how I was going to spend my money.

"Otherwise," Vanessa cut in. "We just expect you to treat us with respect and get your school work done. Sound fair?"

I nodded in agreement. "How's it gonna work when my mom gets out of jail?"

They looked at each other. "Well, we'll cross that bridge when it happens," Lin said. "I imagine we'd have joint custody of you somehow."

I wondered how that would be, going back and forth between the hell hole of my old neighborhood and this oasis. My mom was very loosey-goosey, not really caring what I got up to. It seemed the Mirandas would be much more involved and up in my business. I'm not sure how I felt about that.

"Alright," Lin said, patting his knees. "Now that we have that out of the way...wanna play a board game?"

This was way too Pleasantville for me. "No thanks," I told him. "I think I'll just go to my room."

They didn't argue as I walked back to my bedroom and shut the door behind me. Here in my room I didn't have to pretend to be anything. I didn't have to pretend to like it here. I didn't have to pretend I was okay with my mother being locked up in prison. I took my notebook out from under the pillow and started writing again.