Bound to a System, Six Years Too Early
READING AGE 12+
On my twelfth birthday, I was trying to soften a stale dinner roll with hot water when a voice announced that I had been "successfully bound" to a system meant for users six years older. Then my best friend, Tessa, was blamed for a fight I had watched her try to stop. By morning, the report could cost her the only safe place she knew—and me the chance to leave Alder House for a family of my own. The system can't change a caseworker's mind or make adults believe me. It can only give me small, awkward assignments. But if I tell the truth, what will I lose before anyone listens?
Unfold
I moved in with the Hales six weeks later.
The placement wasn't a fairy tale. Franklin shed on my clothes, Mr. Hale did burn the toast, and Mrs. Hale sometimes asked too many questions when I was tired. There were forms, appointments, and a bedroom that took time to feel like mine.
But there was also a key with my name on the tag.……
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