2. Incipient

Introducing Cori and her sidekick, Kit! .... In detention.... again...

"Cori!"
 I jumped in my desk, causing my knee to hit the metal bar that connected it with the chair. I scowled to my left where my best friend, Kit, silently snickered at me. His silky light brown hair falling innocently over his eyes, making it hard for me to be mad at him. He always had an adorable charm to his features. Ignoring the pain in my knee I glared at him.
"What?!" I whispered.
"You fell asleep again and Carter is giving you the stink eye." He whispered back.
We were in detention again. This time for being late four days in a row. I blame Kit because he's my ride to school. Maybe its time to start taking the bus.
The room was quiet enough to make me suddenly self conscious as I looked around and noticed a few other pairs of eyes on me. I dared a look up at Mr. Carter. His thinning, brown hair combed neatly back. His glasses sitting low on his thin, bird-like nose. His beady eyes staring right at me and yeah.. they looked a little less than amused.
"I think hes trying to set you on fire with his mind." Kit chuckled at his own joke but quickly covered it with a cough when Mr. Carter turned his hateful eyes on him.
"You better be quiet or you'll be right back in detention tomorrow night." I whispered after Mr. Carter turned his attention back to his papers.
"Then you'd have to walk home." He smirked at me and I grinned back at him.
This wasn't our first detention together and it definitely wouldn't be our last. This is actually how we met six years ago when I was in 5th grade and he was in 6th. Neither of us can remember why we were even in detention back then but we are thankful for our bad behavior leading to a pretty perfect friendship. I needed him and he needed me.
He comes from a broken home. His mother left him and his father three years ago but he won't tell me why. His father is really hard on him so I do my best to be there for him.
My story is a little more pathetic. I was dumped on a church doorstep as a baby with only a note that said "Please take care of my courageous angel." and a piece of fabric tied around my neck that is similar to a bandanna. There's a strange symbol on it I thought would lead me to my real parents but I haven't found any connections.
The clock on the wall said 4:27. Finally almost time to go. Mr. Carter would wait until exactly 4:30 though. I swear the man hates kids and volunteers to do detentions because he likes torturing us.
The seconds trickled by at an agonizingly slow pace but finally Mr. Carter sighed, looked up from his papers and said the magical words.
"Its 4:30," He grumbled "Get out."
The dozen or so kids in the room quickly started to file out the door. Kit and I left behind the rest of the group. We were anxious to get out but we also kind of didn't want to leave. Not if it meant going back to our homes.
We walked shoulder to shoulder as we headed in the direction of the entrance by the student parking lot. The other kids were all ahead of us until I heard what sounded like some kind of annoying bird... which was actually just Amber.
"Hey Chris!" She practically squealed. Kit hated his real name. It was the same as his father's. His mother called him her little Kit when he was a kid so the nickname stuck and he preferred it. The annoyance on his face at that moment made it obvious it still bothered him.
Amber bounced in our direction in her tactical cheerleader way of accentuating her characteristics. Her blonde pony tail wasn't the only thing bouncing as she ran.
"Please don't call me that." Kit sighed, as she hugged him.
"Oh I forgot, Kit. I'm so sorry." She pouted, pushing her perfect pink bottom lip out.
She was so obvious. She snaked her way between me and Kit and looped her arm through his as we continued walking. Kit looked at me from around her as I stuck my finger in my mouth to imitate gagging. He mouthed the words "Be nice" but smiled at me anyways.
Kit was always popular with the girls. So far, I've never seen any be quite so popular with him though. He tried to actually not stand out but in this school his band shirts, dark jeans and converse sneakers were actually different. In a school filled with jocks, preps, and cheerleaders, being like Kit was somehow cool.
"Don't you think so, Corky?" Amber asked, breaking me from my attempt at ignoring her. Her and the other girls at school thought it was hilarious when they called me "Corky". My foster sisters gave them that brilliant little piece of ammo.
"Excuse me?" I asked, not bothering to hide my annoyance.
"The new guy over there. Pretty cute right?" She pointed to Damon. He just started going to this school about two weeks ago. I had never really talked to the guy but he seemed to be pretty nice. I only had two classes with him and he mostly kept to himself. He was all pale skin, dark hair, dark clothes and mysterious attitude. Which, yeah, it is pretty sexy but I wasn't about to admit to agreeing on anything with Amber.
"If you like that sort of-" I started but was immediately cut off by Amber.
"But don't worry, Kit. Hes got nothing on you." She winked at Kit and hugged his arm.
"Whats he even doing here?" Kit asked, ignoring Amber's comment. "I didn't see him in detention.
"Actually hes my ride," Amber giggled, smugly. "He offered to pick me up after practice."
I exchanged a glance with Kit, both of us amused by the thought of those two together.
As if he had heard us talking about him Damon looked up at us from where he was leaning against the door frame of the exit and walked toward us. His eyes met briefly with mine and he smiled at me. I gave him a half smile in return and then his eyes darted to somewhere below my face. Was he seriously checking out my chest right now? I felt myself flush with embarrassment and cleared my throat.
"Well I'll see you later Kit." Amber said as she grabbed Damon's arm and walked out with him. Before disappearing around the corner Damon looked back at me one more time and then he was gone.
"So little miss sun and fun has a thing for prince doom and gloom." Kit pointed out, humorously.
"Good for them." I grumbled, still wondering why he was eyeballing me.
"Don't tell me you've got a thing for Mr. Tall, mysterious and handsome too." Kit laughed, nudging my elbow with his.
I shook my head and repeated Amber's words dramatically.
"Oh don't worry, Kit. Hes got nothing on you." I batted my eyes at him as Kit broke out into a fit of laughter. I laughed with him as we made our way out to his old but reliable Honda Civic.

Kit dropped me off at my house, which was only a 5 minute drive from his own. I waved at him from the driveway and turned toward the huge 3 story, 7 bedroom, plain white house. It was old and creepy and probably built before the civil war. I liked it though. Its been the only home I've known since I was a baby. Mr. and Mrs. Farrow were pretty decent people. They would take kids in who had nowhere else to go even though they constantly struggle with debt. Right now they had 5 kids they were taking care of.
My foster sister, Erin, was sitting on the porch with a guy I had never seen before. Too old for her by the looks of it. Shes only 14 but this is common for her. I guess the lack of parental love in her life has driven her to be desperate for male attention. I don't know much about her past. She never mentions it so I know it must have been bad. Shes a pretty girl only a few inches shorter than me. She has long sand colored hair and big bright green eyes.
 "Brian would not approve." I said, as I approached them. Brian was Mr. Farrow's first name. His wife was Meghan.
"He won't be back for an hour so he won't know, unless someone opens their big fat mouth again." Erin snapped. I had told on her once before but it was for her own good. She obviously hasn't forgiven me yet.
"He'll catch on one day." I said as I walked between them up the stairs forcing them apart.
Erin clucked her tongue and shoved my leg causing me to trip and almost fall face first. She stood up so fast I barely saw her move and got an inch from my face yelling.
"Do they know your boyfriend drives you home every day?" She hissed. They did know about Kit but my temper was rising and I sure as hell didn't need to explain myself to a 14 year old that was acting like a child.
"Sit down Erin." I said through clenched teeth. I was already grounded so I was trying to avoid a fight but Erin loved fights and knew exactly how to get under anyone's skin.
Her eyes flicked to the bandanna on my neck and she smiled like she had just found what she needed.
"You know, even if they see this stupid thing and know who you are they won't take you back. Nobody wants you. You are pathetic." She knew it was a low blow but she wasn't finished. The next word out of her mouth was the cherry on my cake of fury. "Corky."
Everything went red and what felt like only a second later I was under someone who had their full weight on me, pinning me to the hard ground at my back. I could see Erin around the person's arm. She was on the ground with a bloody nose. She was crying and glaring at me and I quickly stopped struggling as the weight of just how screwed I was replaced the physical weight on top of me.
"Calm down." I heard the guy say. I realized it was the guy that was sitting with Erin. He had to be at least my age.
"Let me go or you'll be next, pretty boy." I snarled at the guy holding me down. He immediately got off of me so I got up, grabbed my backpack off the ground and walked quickly inside. I ran to my room upstairs, passing the younger kids who were sitting in the family room, playing video games. I heard a couple of them call out to me but I ignored them.  I slammed my bedroom door and threw myself face down onto the bed and let out a scream into my pillow.
I tried not to let it get to me. I only had 9 months until I was 18 and then I could leave this place. I looked around my room, noticing it had been cleaned while I was at school. Meghan would do that sometimes. She says its because she gets bored while we're at school but I think its a way of snooping. Kids in the foster program often struggle with drug addictions and she wants to make sure we don't take a bad path.
My desk had been cleaned off. My books were now neatly stacked on the corner with my laptop sitting in the center. My closet doors were closed. The dirty clothes were no longer coating my floor. I sighed as I climbed off my small twin sized bed and walked to the desk to open my laptop. I opened it and smiled at the background picture on it. It was of me, Kit, and my foster parents at the Pennsylvania Canyon when I was 14.
My messenger window opened with a message from Kit.
"Erin's man candy of the week?" He asked.
"Uh .. yeah. That may have gone bad." I replied.
"You kick his a*s? =p"
"Not exactly. He kind of had to pull me away from Erin..." I cringed as I hit the send button.
"You kicked Erin's a*s??!!!" He replied.
I didn't know what to say. I knew it was bad but she deserved it right?
"She dug pretty low this time. Might have lost my temper."
"That's my girl." Was all he said, making me smile.
"So no lecture about peace, love, and chicken wings or something?" I asked.
"Nah, I'm sure she had it coming." He replied.
"So I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked.
"Of course! Bright and early... but first.. about these chicken wings.." He said, making me smile at my screen.
"Goodnight Kit! =)" I replied and closed messenger.
I opened a browser and went to google. I took the cloth from my around my neck and laid it out on the desk, running my fingers over the picture on it. I assumed it was some kind of family crest based on the style it was in. The cloth itself was all black and the picture all in red. I've had Meghan do some touch ups on it over the years when the ends start to fray. At the tip of the bandanna was the tip of a sword or dagger. The top of the dagger has a picture of two wolf heads that go out on opposite directions, looking very similar to wings. 
I closed my lap top as I heard Brian's dark blue SUV pull into the driveway. I felt my heartbeat drop when I realized I was about to be grounded until I turned 18. I headed downstairs, reaching the bottom just as Brian came in with a stack of pizzas.
"Your turn to cook tonight?" I asked, smirking.
"If you don't like it, don't eat it," He smiled. "More for me."
I smiled back at him and grabbed two of the boxes off the stack. The three younger kids came running into the room. Sarah was the meanest 12 year old you'd ever meet. She keeps her brown hair cut short at chin length. She hates me but she loves Erin. Go figure. Then there's the twins. Marcus and Michael. Scrawny, blonde haired little demons. They love to pull pranks and I've been the main target of most of them. Last week they thought throwing firecrackers into my bedroom while I was sleeping was hilarious so I begged Brian for a locking door knob but he hasn't picked one up yet.
The kids all sat down as I grabbed plates for everyone. Meghan was working late tonight so she wouldn't be joining us.
"Oh, Cori!" Brian said. "I almost forgot." He reached into a plastic bag that he sat down on the counter and threw and metal object in my direction. To my great delight it was the door knob I had asked for.
He tossed me a key to go with it and smiled at me. I smiled back and thanked him. As soon as he turned his attention back to the pizza I stuck my tongue out at the twins. They both frowned and shook their heads.
My joy was short lived when Erin walked into the room and took her seat. She avoided looking at me as I stared in shock at the bruise spreading across the bridge of her nose.
"Erin, my God!" Brian shouted, concerned. "What happened?"
I felt myself fill with dread. I was about to disappoint him again. I looked down at the plate in front of me unable to bear the shame of Erin ratting me out.
"We played baseball in gym class today and I wasn't paying attention." Erin said with a disinterested shrug.
My head shot up with disbelief. Confused, I stared at her but she wouldn't meet my eyes. I knew she wasn't keeping quiet out of the goodness of her heart. What was she up to?
"You've gotta be more careful, kiddo." Brian said, his voice laced with concern but clearly convinced.
"I promise I will be." She smiled at him sweetly then turned her eyes on me. "I've learned my lesson."
It was meant to ease Brian but I could sense the threat towards me in it.
Brian gave Erin's hand a quick affectionate squeeze.
"You alright, Cori?" Erin asked.
I just nodded and grabbed myself some pizza. I didn't feel hungry but I didn't want Brian to worry about me too. Only 9 more months I kept telling myself. I just had to figure out how to survive that much longer.

Author's Note

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!