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MacLaren's Childrens Center was in a way a relief. The worst had happened. The waiting was over.
( Astrid was more like Ingrid than she'd ever believed. And even that thought didn’t frighten her anymore. )
But Astrid had been wrong. The worst, it turned out, was still yet to come. Because, in the morning, a caseworker would come and lead her out of the room, under the jealous dagger stares of the other girl, and load her in to a van, always a van, to drive her out to the storage unit to get her things. They had a new placement for her already. Well, no. It was an old one.
"I can't go back there," she told them, staring in the rear view mirror as she pressed back against her seat.
"Oh," said the case worker, smiling back in that rectangular mirror, "don't worry about that, sweetheart, all the costs have been completely covered."
Ron. Obviously. Or his guilt.
But that wasn't what Astrid meant at all.
[[ THOUGHT I WAS DONE WITH IT, DID YOU? First part from Chapter 22 of White Oleander by Janet Fitch, and the last little bit's all me, natch. Standard terms and conditions apply! ]]
( Astrid was more like Ingrid than she'd ever believed. And even that thought didn’t frighten her anymore. )
But Astrid had been wrong. The worst, it turned out, was still yet to come. Because, in the morning, a caseworker would come and lead her out of the room, under the jealous dagger stares of the other girl, and load her in to a van, always a van, to drive her out to the storage unit to get her things. They had a new placement for her already. Well, no. It was an old one.
"I can't go back there," she told them, staring in the rear view mirror as she pressed back against her seat.
"Oh," said the case worker, smiling back in that rectangular mirror, "don't worry about that, sweetheart, all the costs have been completely covered."
Ron. Obviously. Or his guilt.
But that wasn't what Astrid meant at all.
[[ THOUGHT I WAS DONE WITH IT, DID YOU? First part from Chapter 22 of White Oleander by Janet Fitch, and the last little bit's all me, natch. Standard terms and conditions apply! ]]
