Kyle

We were all served our coffee and drinks. As we stirred and sipped from our straws, an awkward silence stretched out. Nicole glanced around at us, raising her brows. “So… aren’t we going to talk about it?” she asked.

“About what?” Jack said, acting clueless.

“The elephant in the room.”

There was a pause. Tommy then said, “Can we talk about the mouse instead?”

We all gave him looks, but at least we could chuckle a bit, despite the circumstance.

“She’s the spitting image of her,” said Amelia, finally addressing the ‘elephant’.

“It was like looking at a ghost.” Shirley shivered.

“I thought your parents were getting a little girl.”

“We just knew they wanted to foster someone,” Jack explained. “Truth is, we were already a bit upset. I mean- you remember. I complained and everything. I didn’t want some kid staying with us right now.”

“I would’ve preferred ‘some kid’ over her,” said Tommy.

“How did your parents even find her? Were they literally looking for someone that looked just like Amy?” Nicole said.

“I don’t know. They saw her, they jumped at the chance.” I mindlessly stirred my coffee. “They weren’t even going to tell us. I just overheard their conversation.”

“I was hoping they’d change their minds. Or that she didn’t want to come. Something, you know? Next thing we know, she’s in our doorway, and they’re introducing us, like…” Tommy trailed off.

Shirley brought out her phone, scrolling. “You can’t make this stuff up. We’re in a literal horror movie. Watch her kill you out of nowhere or something. Amy’s dark side.”

“Shirley.” Tommy nudged her.

“What? I’m just saying.”

“They have to know what they’re doing,” said Nicole.

“Duh,” Shirley answered. “The whole reason they wanted to foster a girl was because of Amy. They know exactly what they’re doing. Replacing their dead daughter with a freak copy. I never thought your parents could do anything so creepy.” She looked at Tommy.

“Too bad we didn’t bring Harry,” Amelia joked. “He’d be explaining their feelings or something.”

“Did you guys have to leave him like that?” Nicole said.

“Like I said, we didn’t know our parents would be out,” I pointed out. I sipped my coffee, which had gotten cold by now.

“But you left him alone. With her. I feel bad for him.”

“He’s fine. He’s probably in his room, and Diana’s in… well, Amy’s,” said Jack.

“Wait, what? Diana’s in Amy’s room?” Nicole exclaimed.

“Yeah, they redecorated and everything. Still her furniture, though.”

“Can’t she stay somewhere else?”

“We offered our rooms and everything. But no,” said Tommy.

“This is why I wanted a dorm,” said Jack.

“You always wanted a dorm,” I corrected him.

“Yeah, and this is another reason to want one. A good reason.”

“Didn’t you guys notice she was wearing Amy’s shirt?” Shirley scoffed. “That ugly one she always wore?”

Amelia covered her mouth. “Oh, my God.”

Another stretch of silence spread out between us. The waiter came back with our orders; hamburgers, fries, and a salad for Shirley.

I was trying not to roll my eyes. Shirley didn’t need any diet. But as long as she didn’t force Tommy into dieting with her, I wouldn’t complain.

“Does she know?” Shirley asked.

We gave her obvious looks. “Are you serious? You really think we would tell her?” Jack scoffed derisively.

“She was just asking, you guys,” Tommy defended her.

“No, she doesn’t know. And she won’t,” I said. “We just need her to move out as fast as possible and we’ll be good.”

“What if your parents decide to… adopt her?”

“They can’t. She has a bio family. The system won’t let them.”

The girls seemed a bit less tense at this. “How long?” Nicole asked.

“Six months… at least. Maybe more.”

“Six months?! You have to live with her for six months?” Shirley shook her head in disgust. “Unbelievable. They won’t let her go to school with you, will they?”

Tommy froze, looking at us. “I… I don’t know.”

“God, no.” Shirley turned white. “Oh-my-God, if she goes to our school, I’m literally never showing my face again. I can’t. Everyone’s gonna say so much about me.”

About her? When did this become about her? Maybe we should’ve left her home instead of Harry…

“About you? What about Tommy? And Harry?” Amelia echoed our thoughts.

“I’m Tommy’s girlfriend. Whatever they’re saying about my Tommy, they’re saying about me.” She hugged him and put her head on his shoulder. Suddenly, my hamburger was no longer appetizing.

“They can’t send her to Summit High. They know what would happen. They’ll probably send her to Lawson or something.”

“I hope so,” said Jack.

“You guys haven’t gone to church, right?” Nicole asked. “She can’t go there, either.”

“No, we haven’t gone since… well, since Amy died.”

“Answer me this.” Shirley narrowed her eyes. “If it were one of you guys that died instead of Amy, you think they would’ve done the same thing? Get a foster son that looks just like you?”

“Shirley,” Tommy said.

“It’s a legitimate question.”

I glanced at Jack, then shrugged. “I dunno.”

“This has always been the problem. Amy was their little princess,” Shirley continued. “Now that they did some prince-and-the-pauper stuff, what do you think ‘Diana’ will become?”

“Shirley, that’s enough,” said Nicole, noticing the growing tension.

“Mom and Dad said that… that they would pay more attention to us,” Tommy said slowly.

“Oh, really? How’s that going? Obviously not very well, if they got an Amy clone. Worse, their new ‘favorite kid’ won’t even be their kid by blood!”

“Can we talk about something else?” I quickly said.

We all stared at our uneaten hamburgers. Shirley was the only one eating.

Jack’s phone pinged, breaking the silence. He checked the message. “Uh-oh. It’s Harry.”

Nicole’s thick brows furrowed with concern. “How’s he doing?”

“He says… oh, my God, Diana almost went into the attic.”

Tommy cursed under his breath.

“Almost? So she didn’t?” I clutched my fork.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“No. He’s asking who left the door unlocked.”

“Wasn’t me.” Tommy held up his hands.

“Probably Mom or Dad. I haven’t gone up there,” I said.

Jack texted him back. “He also wants 20 bucks for staying home with her.”

I snorted. “Yeah, right.”

“You guys owe him 50, in my opinion,” said Nicole. “What you guys did was pretty mean.”

Her scolding tone dissipated my contempt. I sighed, nodding. “Yeah, you’re right. I just…” I held my head. “I didn’t know what to do.” I felt Nicole’s arms wrap around me in comfort.

“We’re all in this together, okay?” Amelia assured us. “Hopefully, Diana won’t like it here and she’ll want to move.”

“That’s what we’re gunning for,” Tommy replied.

“And… eventually, you’re going to have to tell her.”

“We’re not going to tell her,” Jack said firmly.

“If you don’t, someone else will. You don’t know where she’s going to school, or if she’ll meet any more of your friends. You don’t know. She almost got into the attic. She’s going to find out.”

She had a point. If our parents were crazy enough to send her to Summit High, there would be plenty of people talking about her. Sooner or later, she’d know. Maybe that would be enough to scare her away…?

But how could we tell her something so… I couldn’t even find a word for it. It was such a bizarre situation— I wasn’t even sure if it was real. Maybe it was just a fever dream. Maybe I went crazy after Amy died, like our parents did.

I looked at her face, heard her voice, but that wasn’t my baby. That wasn’t the sister I wished for when I was 3. The sister I named ‘Amy’.

I started eating my hamburger, which was also cold. It was delicious, but I couldn’t enjoy the flavor. Bite after bite, the juicy meat and American cheese were forced down.

As callous as Shirley was, every word she said was true.

~~~

Diana

August 21st, 2023

I finished mopping the floors and wiped sweat off my forehead. I was a bit tired from so many chores, but not too exhausted. I could handle it.

I went to the sliding door leading out to the backyard, where the boys were playing catch with a football. It was a large yard with a pool and a tool shed. Susan said they used to have a playground, but once the boys got older, they took it out and replaced it with a pool— which I didn’t dare approach.

I went outside and looked at the group wearily. “I’m done!”

“Done what?” Kyle said.

“Mopping, vacuuming, and wiping the windows.”

“What about the bathrooms?”

“Yup. I dusted, too. Is there anything else you want me to do?”

They didn’t look at me, continuing their football. “Did you take out the garbage?” Kyle asked me.

“Yup,” I said.

“Did you wash the dishes?” Jack asked.

“Yup.”

Tommy glanced at me. “Make the beds?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Do the laundry?” Harry quirked a brow.

“Yes. And I put it away, too.”

The football stopped at Tommy. They all looked at me.

“You’re fast,” Jack finally said.

“Okay. I guess you’re free,” said Kyle.

“Wait! She needs to cook!” said Jack. “We took our turns. Now it’s hers.”

“What do you want to eat?” I asked.

“I dunno.” Kyle resumed the game of catch. “I guess spaghetti or something.”

“Okay. I’ll have it done soon.” I turned and went back to the kitchen.

I boiled two, large pots of water. We were seven people, so a lot of spaghetti was required, especially if we wanted leftovers for tomorrow. I took some boxes of linguini pasta out of a drawer and set them beside the stove. I then grabbed a saucepan to get started on the sweet tomato sauce.

I glanced at the clock. 3:23. They’d be here in about forty minutes. Plenty of time.

The boys came in at one point while I was cooking the sauce and meat. They all paused and watched what I was doing, seemingly curious. “How do you cook so fast?” Kyle asked.

“I’ve lived with big families before. And I had to get the food on the table on time.” I tasted the sauce with a separate spoon and nodded to myself, immediately going to wash it. “What about you guys? What can you cook?”

“Basically the same stuff.” Tommy lifted the pot cover a bit and peered into the boiling spaghetti. I’d left it open a bit, so he didn’t get a gust of steam in his face. “Spaghetti and whatever.”

“Cool.” I patted his arm so he could get out of the way and fished a string of spaghetti out with my fork. After trying a piece, I gave them an ‘OK’ sign with my fingers and turned it off. It was ready now.

I took some plates out of the cupboards and looked at them. “Could you…?” I jerked my head for them to leave.

They hesitantly left the kitchen, continuously looking back at me. What was so strange about me cooking? They’d seen me do it before.

As I finished serving, I heard the Fields’ car arrive. I looked up at the clock and dusted off my hands. 3:55. Perfect timing.

Susan and Davis came in talking, their voices echoing through the foyer. They stopped at the dining room and smiled at the table’s appearance.

“It smells delicious in here,” said Susan, taking a whiff of the freshly cooked meal. “Diana… did you cook?”

“Yes, ma’am, I did,” I said.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Actually, it’s my turn. I’m a bit overdue.” Perfect excuse.

“Diana, thank you. It smells amazing. It’s spaghetti, right?” said Davis.

“Yup.” I went to get the food.

“Did the boys give you any trouble?” Susan asked.

“No, they’re fine. We were doing our own thing, mostly.” I placed each plate down while the boys came in.

“Hey, guys.” They sat down, all sweaty.

“‘Hey, guys’? That’s all?” Susan put her hands on her hips.

They groaned, standing back up and going up to them with hugs and kisses on the cheek.

We all sat down. As always, I pretended to hold the brothers’ hands in prayer— in this case, it was Tommy and Harry— before their parents closed their eyes. I then joined my hands by myself. After praying, we started to eat.

“Kyle, everything in Greenfield is ready, right? You don’t have to send in anything anymore?” Susan asked, beginning today’s dinner conversation.

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, on my phone, I saw an email.”

He nodded. “That’s an ad.” He took a bite of his spaghetti. “It’s just to remind parents-” He stopped short, his eyes widening slightly. He chewed slowly and swallowed.

Everyone else seemed to have the same reaction as they tasted my spaghetti. I smiled and ate a bit more myself.

“Diana…” Susan swallowed, wiping her mouth. “This is incredible.”

“Beautiful,” her husband added, eating faster.

I giggled modestly. “Thank you.”

The boys were silent, but they were also eating pretty quickly. I smirked mischievously and turned to them. “What do you guys think? I’d love your opinion.”

They stopped. Jack had spaghetti hanging from his lips.

“Did you thank Diana for cooking for you?” Davis said, his mouth full.

Tommy shrugged. “It was her turn, anyway,” he muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He cleared his throat. “Uh, thanks, Diana. It’s good.” The others murmured their ‘thank you’s’, as well.

“I’m glad you like it.” I grinned even wider. “You do like it, right? Give me your honest opinion.”

Kyle gave me a look. I raised my brows, unable to suppress my smile.

He sighed. “It’s delicious. There, you happy?”

“Kyle.” Susan glanced at him sternly as she ate. “She deserves a compliment.”

“And I gave her one.” He rolled his eyes. “Thank you, Diana. We…” His eye twitched, his fingers twisting his fork around. “We really appreciate… your cooking.”

I resisted my laughter. “You are all so very welcome. It’s a pleasure. After all, I owe you for being so kind and welcoming to me!”

They glared at me while I smiled gleefully, twisting my spaghetti around my fork. Davis gave his sons a look while Susan shook her head with a barely audible sigh of disappointment.

“Especially you,” I told their parents sincerely. “Really, you guys have been so nice, and I really appreciate it. To tell you the truth, I don’t get to be with many families this kind.”

“Of course, Diana. As long as you’re here, this is your home.” I could hear a bit of emphasis in her voice as she glanced at her sons.

The boys all reacted, either twitching, shifting in their seats, or shuddering. It was subtle, but they couldn’t escape my eye. I pushed down my laughter again.

This was gold.

~~~

I went into my room to dress into my PJ’s after brushing my teeth. A tone rang from my new phone— which Susan and Davis gave me last Friday— and I went over to check it as I took off my shirt.

(208) 345-3482: Hello, Diana. This is Mr. Brian. Mrs. Field gave me your new number.

How are you doing so far?

Some of my other caseworkers had texted me as well. I smiled, adding them to my contacts before replying to Mr. Brian first.

Hi, Mr. Brian. I’m actually doing pretty good.

Do you feel comfortable where you are? At home? he asked.

Yeah, pretty comfortable. I got a nice room, and clean clothes. That’s a huge plus. I put on my PJ shirt, which was a little loose on me, but it fit well enough. I cooked today, too. The guys take turns cooking every day before their parents get home from work.

I imagine they fell in love with your cooking.

I snickered, thinking of the boys’ reactions. I think so, too.

Are you sure everything’s alright there? You’re not having any trouble getting along with your foster brothers?

I hesitated, biting my lip. I wasn’t sure if I should tell him the truth.

It seemed like every time I was with a demonic, sadistic family that did nothing but make me suffer, it would take a near-death experience to get me out of there. But if I made one little mistake with a decent family, that was the end of my stay with them.

I knew my caseworkers cared about me and my welfare— at least most of them did. But this system…

They’re a little… distant, I guess, I wrote. But not that bad. They don’t hit me, they don’t destroy my things, they don’t tie me to chairs… you know. I suppose they just need some getting used to. Over time, maybe they’ll open up.

There was a pause before he wrote again.

I see. Well, it’s pretty normal. They’ve never fostered anyone before, so they may feel like their privacy is being invaded, or feel a little uncomfortable with someone they don’t know in their home. They should adapt to you in due time.

That’s what I’m hoping, I replied.

But they’re not treating you too badly, right?

No, they’re alright. Like you said, they need to warm up to me. I’m sure they will.

I hesitated again. Maybe he knew something about those looks I was getting… I shook my head. I needed to get to the bottom of it myself.

Well, I’m glad you’re doing alright, Diana. If anything, you let me know, Mr. Brian said.

Thank you, Mr. Brian. I’ll see you in a couple months, then. I sent a smiley. I put my phone down and continued changing. The phone pinged a couple times as I dressed, but I finished before checking it again.

Mr. Brian: That’s something I wanted to talk to you about…

I won’t be visiting you this October, Diana.

I frowned, rapidly texting back. What do you mean? Why not?

You’ll be reviewed by Ms. Bredlong instead.

I groaned with dread, my heart sinking into my stomach. NO. No way. Are you kidding me?! I hate her!

I’m sorry, Diana. I might be able to visit you next time, but there are a few new foster children I was assigned to and I need to take care of them in the meanwhile.

What about everyone else?

They’re also unavailable, I’m afraid.

Ms. Juno? I inquired.

She’s dealing the same new cases as I am, he replied.

Mr. Pierce?

On family leave until his wife delivers.

I sighed anxiously. Bredlong is the worst, please don’t send her… I pleaded.

It’s out of my hands, Diana. I’m sorry. I promise I’ll keep checking in on you through texts or calls as often as I can.

He almost never did! And if he was working new cases, I wouldn’t see him for a long time.

Janet Bredlong was literally the cruelest of my caseworkers. I didn’t know what kind of personal vendetta she had against me, but it was like her goal was to make me suffer until I aged out of the system. She always screwed everything up for me, always convinced the others to follow along.

But nothing I could say or do could stop her from coming here, so there was no use arguing.

Okay, I finally replied. Good night, Mr. Brian.