Free Throwaway Girl by Kristine Scarrow

to see if it is Luke and Shelley. I’m focusing on the game show on TV. Adults are playing against children to see who is smarter. I’m amused by this show, how the kids are clearly smarter than the adults. Many of the answers come easily to me and I laugh when I see the adults scratching their heads, asking for help.
    At last, a pair of headlights turns into Luke and Shelley’s driveway. Mrs. Assaly breathes a sigh of relief.
    â€œThey’re home!” she says brightly. I get up from the couch and stretch, grateful to be going home now. Mrs. Assaly walks to the front door and pulls it open. She hesitates at the doorway and puts her hand over her mouth.
    â€œStay here,” she advises me. Immediately, my heart starts to beat faster. What’s going on? I wonder. I make my way towards the door but when I look outside, it’s not Luke and Shelley at all. It’s a man in a police uniform, walking towards Luke and Shelley’s doorway and he’s clutching his hat in his hands.
    I watch as Mrs. Assaly dashes down the steps towards him. I stand at the top of her front steps, watching, my feet frozen in place. The officer looks at Mrs. Assaly and then up to me before clearing his throat uncomfortably. Mrs. Assaly cups her hand over her mouth, horror in her eyes, and somehow before anything is said, I know.
    In seconds, I vaguely hear Mrs. Assaly talking to me. She is wrapping her arms around me, as though shielding me from the news. I can hear the police officer speaking in low tones, but I don’t make out what he is saying. Instead my mind is thinking of the girl in my story, the one who is very ill. I think of her lying in that hospital bed while her parents talk to the doctor.
    â€œWe’ve made our decision,” they say. “We’ve decided against the experimental treatment. It’s time for us to let her go.” The doctor nods in understanding. And with that, the parents walk hand in hand out of the hospital while their daughter gasps in horror, knowing that her fate has been sealed. There will be no miracle for her, no happy ending. She won’t be saved after all.

Chapter 11
    I am sitting in a conference room in Haywood with Betty, my new caseworker Sharon, and other officials from social services responsible for my welfare, but I’m not sure who they are exactly. They are here to discuss my upcoming departure from Haywood. I will be eighteen in April, which is just one month away and that means I can no longer stay here. I’ve known that this time would come, but I’m still quite nervous.
    I want to believe that I have the courage to face the real world and that I can make it on my own, yet I wonder how I’m going to handle it all. The caseworker has designed a plan for me, which includes securing my own apartment. Social services will pay my rent until I’m done school. They’ve asked what my future plans are. Survival , I want to say. But that’s not the answer they are looking for.
    As we move out on our own, we are supposed to have goals, dreams, and things to aspire to. I find it hard to imagine how I’m supposed to dream when I’m constantly worried about how I’m going to manage to eat, sleep, and keep a roof over my head. Our dreams are different from other kids our age. We don’t expect as much from life as other kids do because our dreams were robbed from us long ago.
    â€œYou are almost done high school, Andy. That’s a huge accomplishment.” Sharon says to me. All of the people at the table nod in agreement. “Have you thought about furthering your education? Your marks are very good.” I shrug. Sure I’ve thought about school, but how will I make it all work? At Haywood, almost everything is provided for us. We can focus on our studies. But when I get out into the world on my own, how will I do it? I’m going to have so much more to worry about.
    So many girls my age can’t wait to