Chapter 3: Heading out

We buckled into the van and pulled away, heading toward the place we'd be staying for a while. On the way, Amanda explained that we were going to a "lovely couple's" house with several other kids: a little boy about a year younger than Josie, a girl around my age, and another girl around Sabrina's.

Six kids? I thought. That was a lot of people in one house. And I was going to be surrounded by girls. The only other boys were a baby and the foster dad. Sabrina would have a field day with that, and I'd be stuck in a world of tea parties and makeovers.

Yuck. I thought, No way am I letting them trap me in all that. If I can get my PlayStation, I'll just keep to myself until we go back to Mom.

My sisters didn't share my dread. The second they heard there would be other kids, their faces lit up like fireworks.

"Did you hear that, Jakie?" Josie asked. "Other kids we can play with!"

I nodded and looked out the window, rolling my eyes.

On the way, Vicki suggested we stop for some supplies we'd need: toothbrushes, toothpaste, pajamas, and a couple outfits. We pulled into a Walmart. Amanda said she'd go in alone to make it quicker.

This crushed Sabrina.

"Can you grab me a hairbrush?" she asked desperately.

"Sabrina, they'll have a hairbrush at the house," I snapped. She was obsessed with her hair — constantly brushing it, caring for it, and complaining about it.

"Ew, no. I'm not using a stranger's hairbrush. That's like using someone's toothbrush," she said, disgusted. She turned back to Amanda. "Please? I need to brush it before bed so I don't wake up with a bunch of knots."

"Yes, I can get you a hairbrush," Amanda chuckled, about to close the door.

But then Sabrina had another request.

"If you're getting pajamas, can you get My Little Pony PJs? And My Little Pony underwear? I really like My Little Pony."

"Ooh, ooh! Can I pwease have Tinker Bell PJs?" Josie chimed in.

"My Little Pony and Tinker Bell. Got it," Amanda said. Then she looked at me. "How about you, little man? Want some Batman PJs or something?"

"Yeah, Batman's cool. I like Spider-Man more, though." I paused, then added, "But I want boxers, not tighty-whities. I don't wear those."

I shouldn't have said anything. Because the second Amanda went to close the door, Sabrina opened her mouth again.

"Jake, what about your pull-ups?" she blurted.

"Sabrina—oh my God! Shut up!" I barked.

"Well, you need them for bed, Jakie," she said matter-of-factly.

"Don't call me that! And no I don't. Shut up."

"Okay, okay, settle down you guys," Amanda stepped in.

"But it's his nighttime underwear at home," Sabrina protested.

"No it's not," I nearly yelled. "Not anymore," I muttered, turning toward the window.

"It's fine," Amanda repeated calmly. "Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out." She gave me a quick wink before closing the door.

I didn't know what she meant by that, but it was enough to keep me from exploding. I still wanted to kill Sabrina for putting my business out there.

A few minutes later, Amanda came out with a couple bags and put them in the trunk. I couldn't see what she bought, but as soon as she got in the van, my sisters fired questions like rapid-fire.

"Did you find my My Little Pony PJs?"

"Did you find Tinker Bell?"

"Did you get bubble gum toothpaste?"

"Oh! Did you remember the brush?"

They were acting like it was Christmas shopping.

"Yes, sweeties," Amanda laughed. "I got the brush, and I even found My Little Pony and Tinker Bell toothbrushes."

"Yaaay! Thank you!" they shouted.

Amanda looked at me. "I also found Spider-Man PJs for you, bud."

"Thank you," I said quietly.

Then Sabrina struck again.

"Did you grab Jake some pull-ups, Amanda?"

Her words sliced the air open.

"Dude, shut up!" I yelled.

"Hey, bud, calm down," Amanda said gently. "It's fine. And Sabrina? Let's not worry about that, okay?"

Then she quickly changed the subject. "How about we grab some ice cream before heading to the house? We've gotta finish it before we get there — we don't want to make the other kids jealous."

So we stopped for ice cream. Sabrina got chocolate, Josie got vanilla, and I got strawberry — my favorite. We finished our cones and drove toward the house that was supposed to be our new home.