Isabelle Cooper woke up to knocking on the bedroom door. “Time for breakfast.” Mrs. Walker called. She was Isabelle's foster mom and had been for the past ten months. It felt like much longer. Isabelle grabbed her glasses and shoved them on, tucking her shoulder-length blond hair behind her ear. Then she ran downstairs and took her seat at the table, next to Mrs. Walker's daughter Kelsey. At age six, she was just the sweetest. After a silent meal of oatmeal (Mrs. Walker considered kids’ talking to be unproductive), Isabelle went back to her bedroom. She opened her backpack and pulled out her 6th-grade homework for the weekend. When she had been studying for a test for only a few minutes, Kelsey came in, holding a stuffed teddy bear. “Will you play with me?” Kelsey asked. “I want to play Bear with you.” Bear was a game where Kelsey and Isabelle babysat a teddy bear who was always getting into trouble. Isabelle smiled and stuffed her homework into her backpack. It could wait. “Sure! What did he do this time?” “He spilled his juice on the carpet.” “Again? Try to think of something more interesting,” Isabelle encouraged. “How about he tried to cook eggs, but he made a huge mess!” Kelsey laughed. “That's a better idea! Okay, let's play. Teddy, I told you, you can't make eggs without me or Izzy watching you!” Isabelle pretended to be serious. “You're grounded from playing with your friends for a week!” she scolded. “But I was trying to make them for you,” Kelsey made the bear say. She switched to her normal voice. “Now go clean them up!” She made Teddy pick up some imaginary eggshells and throw them in the trash. “Hey, Izzy? Can we go to the playground?” “We can if you put your shoes on first,” Isabelle said. She and Kelsey ran downstairs. “Mrs. Walker? Kelsey and I are going to the park!” Isabelle called down. “That’s fine, but be back in an hour!” “Okay!” Isabelle checked her watch as they stepped out the door. 9:18 am. “So, what do you want to do first?” Isabelle asked as they walked down the street. The playground was right in front of them. “The swings, the twisty slide, the tunnel slide, or the monkey bars?” Kelsey ran toward the twisty slide. “That!” she yelled, pointing to it as she raced across the bark chips. Isabelle smiled and sat down. Kelsey was adorable. Still, Isabelle wished she had a friend at school her own age, someone to really talk to… Most school days, Isabelle walked to class alone, ate lunch alone, and barely talked to anyone. Sometimes she tried, but it seemed no one wanted to be friends with the orphan girl Izzy Cooper who was in foster care. Everyone stayed far away, except to tease her about her glasses, her name, or pretty much anything. Sometimes Isabelle wished she could live in another world, where she could start fresh, and no one would know anything about her. “That felt like flying!” Kelsey's cheerful voice snapped Isabelle out of her thoughts. “Cool! What are you going to do next?” Isabelle asked in the same tone. “Will you do the swings with me?” Kelsey dashed over to them without waiting for an answer. Isabelle stood up and followed her. She sat on the swing next to Kelsey's and pretended to pump as hard as she could. Kelsey was just below her. Gradually Kelsey got higher, until she was above Isabelle. “I'm higher than you!” Kelsey giggled. She slowed to a stop and hopped off. When she had gone back to the slide, Isabelle jumped off her swing and into the air. For a split second, the wind rushed through her hair and seemed to take all her problems with it. Then she hit the ground. “Now the monkey bars!” Kelsey exclaimed as she got off the slide. Isabelle thought of the year before, when she had figured out how to climb on top of them. Maybe I could do that again, she thought, But I would have to keep Kelsey away so she doesn't try too. An image came into her head of Kelsey climbing, falling, getting hurt, Mrs. Walker getting angry… Isabelle looked over to where Kelsey was jumping and grabbing the bars, then dropping to the ground. “Hey Kelsey!” Isabelle said, “I think we should do the tunnel slide now. I know it's dark, but I think you can do it now!” “Okay, but can you go with me?” “Sure.” The two girls went up the stairs and got in. Kelsey held on to Isabelle as they went down. “Okay,” Kelsey said, “I'm ready to do it by myself now.” She went back up the stairs while Isabelle tried to get on top of the monkey bars. She was able to get her legs up and was hanging upside down when she happened to glance at her watch. 10:26 am. Oh dear. “Wow, how did you do that?” Kelsey suddenly asked in wonder. Isabelle was so surprised that she lost her balance and fell to the ground, scraping her arm on the bark chips. “Can I get upside down?” Kelsey tried to copy what Isabelle had done, but she couldn't get her legs high enough. “Actually, Kelsey, we've been here longer than half an hour. We have to get back to your house. Now.”
Kelsey nodded in understanding, and they both ran back as fast as they could. Isabelle tried not to think about what would be in her immediate future. When they returned to the house, Mrs. Walker was glaring at Isabelle and pointing toward the basement door. “You. Down. Now.”
