Seed Money by B. E. Baker

Author:B. E. Baker [Baker, B. E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Purple Puppy Publishing

10

Dave

Once, when I was thirteen years old, I had a test in math. . .a test I was not ready to take. I didn’t cheat, even though I could have. I didn’t copy the rules on my hand or slide a cheat sheet under my desk like my friends did. I didn’t even try to sneak a peek off my neighbor’s test.

But I did bomb it, utterly and completely.

When the teacher passed out the grades, she would usually mention who got the highest one. Sometimes she’d also mention the lowest. She felt it helped encourage kids to excel, and discourage them from being unprepared.

When she announced that I scored forty-two points on that test, the meanest kid in our class, who also happened to be the richest and the best-looking, said, “Garbage guy’s got garbage brains.”

Sadly, the name grew even more popular.

When kids started chanting it in the cafeteria at lunch, none of my friends did a thing about it, except for Bernie and Bentley. They told everyone to shut up. When that didn’t work, they hid in the library with me.

None of the teachers did a thing.

As an adult now, that might be my biggest disappointment. You expect adults to be, well, brave. Strong. Smart. Kind. All the things we’re taught we should be. But adults are just like teenagers, only bigger, and usually even more afraid.

So when I walk back to the hardware store, and I hear Seren say she’s going to be that kid’s foster mom. . .

I should be horrified.

Seren can barely keep her own life together. She’s in no place to be fostering a kid. But he’s essentially standing in a cafeteria, and the people he thought might help him, his advocate, the police, the woman who’s already in the back of the cop car for stealing, are all looking away. . .

Seren didn’t.

She may not be able to do as much as she’d like.

But even having someone to hide in the library with you can be huge. I’m really, really proud of her in that moment. For standing up. For trying to do something.

“We both will,” I say.

“Excuse me,” the woman in the grey suit says. “But who are you?”

“He’s my business partner,” Seren says. “We jointly own an inn. It’s opening in two months.”

“An inn?” The woman frowns. “Do either of you have a stable home or the time to become a foster parent? I’ve been a caseworker for fourteen years, so believe me when I say that becoming a foster parent’s not a formality. It’s a lot of work. These kids need stability and—”

“I’ll do it.” Seren swivels her phone around. “I looked it up. I imagine since you’re insisting on pressing charges, he’ll be put in juvenile detention pending the results, which I’ll be very interested in following.”

“That’s true,” the caseworker says.

“And I’ll get approved before he is released, so when he’s ready to come home, he can come live with me.”

“You’re, what? Twenty years old?” the caseworker asks.

“Twenty-seven,” Seren says. “And four months.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.