"No!" Nate said. "You're not going to Rabbit Island." He wasn't saying this like Leon had, like it was a vow or a promise. He was saying it like it was a fact.
"What?" I said, confused. "What are you talking about? Where am I going?"
"Leon wanted to be the one to tell you. He made me promise I'd wait." Nate grinned sheepishly. "But what the hell? I think you've waited long enough." And then he told me where I was going to live next.
I could hardly believe my ears.
• • •
I stared at the house in front of me. It was a lot smaller than Kindle Home. It was newer too, but definitely not new. The truth was, it was only slightly less of a dump than Kindle Home, and it didn't have any of the group home's interesting parts.
"This is it?" I said to Leon, who was standing right next to me.
"This is it," he said.
I didn't move, just kept staring at what would be my new home. A foster home. A foster home with Ben and Gina as my foster parents, and with Damon as the other foster kid.
Unlike the house in Heidi, it wasn't a mountain cabin, and it probably didn't have a sleeping loft or a big stone fireplace. It definitely wasn't perched on a rocky cliff overlooking jagged, snow-covered peaks and fields of goats and wildflowers. But it was still perfect.
"Let's go inside," Leon said.
I wasn't ready to go inside yet. I'd been out of the hospital for a few weeks. And I'd had all that time to adjust to the idea of this new living arrangement. But part of me was still afraid that if I took a step toward the house, it would fade, and I'd see that it had all been just another daydream.
"It was you," I said to Leon. "You talked Ben and Gina into this."
He laughed. "If you think that, then you don't know Gina very well. I can't imagine talking her into anything."
"But why? Why would they do this?"
"Because they're tired of group homes. Always too many kids and never enough money. But they love kids, and they can't have any of their own. So they decided to get other jobs and do the foster-parent thing for a while. Left Mrs. Morgan and me to work the trenches alone and to keep fighting Emil."
"But how'd they get me out of The System? I mean, I'm a high-risk kid!"
He laughed again. "Are you kidding? It's the high-risk kids that The System is trying hardest to get rid of. Someone volunteers to foster you and they can't get the papers signed fast enough. Your little heroics with Yolanda didn't hurt either."
"I still think you had something to do with this," I said.
Leon coughed. "Well, I may have put in a good word here and there."
"Thanks," I said, and I couldn't believe I was starting to cry. Had I turned into a wimp or what? But I couldn't help it. Leon had promised me that I wouldn't end up at Eat-Their-Young Island, and I hadn't. But I'd never expected things to end up this good.
"Come on," he said, nodding toward the house.
"Let's go inside and wait for Ben and Gina."
Together, we walked up to the front door, and I grabbed the knob and tried to push it open.
It didn't budge.
"I don't believe it!" I said. "This door sticks too."
"No," Leon said. "It's locked. But Ben and Gina asked me to give you this." He dug into his pocket and held up a single gold key.
I was trembling when I took the key from his hand and slipped it into the lock. I heard it click open. Then I turned the knob, pushed the door again, and stepped inside.
Also by Brent Hartinger:
The Russel Middlebrook Series
*Geography Club (Book 1)
*The Order of the Poison Oak (Book 2)
* Double Feature: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies (Book 3)
* The Elephant of Surprise (Book 4, coming in 2012)
Others Books
*The Last Chance Texaco
*Grand & Humble
* Project Sweet Life
* Shadow Walkers
* Three Truths and a Lie (Coming in 2013)
About the Author
Brent Hartinger is the author of many award-winning plays, screenplays, and novels, most of which are written for teenagers. Read more by and about Brent, or contact him at www.brenthartinger.com.
Acknowledgements
If a book is anything like a house, this one had a very strong foundation. The following groups and individuals have been essential in the construction of this book and of my entire writing career.
All thanks must begin with my partner since 1992, Michael Jensen. By deciding to spend his life with me, and by enthusiastically supporting my decision to be a writer of fiction, Michael has made countless sacrifices. A writer himself, he has also generously given me invaluable feedback on almost every aspect of this book. If we'd never met, this book would be less impressive than it is. For that matter, so would my life.
Much credit must also go to Jennifer DeChiara and everyone at the Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency. In addition to being possibly the world's best literary agent, Jennifer is my mentor, my champion, my friend, and my mom (don't ask). I don't know how you thank a person for making your dreams come true, except to say, Thanks again, Jennifer.
So many of my writer friends complain about the shabby treatment they have received from their editors and publishers; I can't relate. I have only praise for the advice and support of my gifted and generous editor, Stephen Fraser. I suppose Steve must have some flaws, but if so, I haven't seen them. Everyone else at my publishing house, HarperCollins, has been absolutely terrific too, including Victoria Ingham, Margaret Miller, Molly Magill, Alison Donalty, Rob Hult, Janet Frick, Suzanne Daghlian, and Vanessa Amador.
If not for my friends' never-ending faith in me, I might have given up writing years ago. I am particularly indebted to Tom Baer, Tim Cathersal, Laura South-Oryshchyn, Danny Oryshchyn, Lynn Sauriol, and my parents, Harold and Mary Anne Hartinger. Plenty of other people provided emotional or professional support just when I needed it most, including Robin Fisher, Jay Gladstein, Nina Cathersal, Tina Smallbeck, Judy Blume, Dave Hanson, John McMurria, Linda Wood, Megan Matthew, Chris Jensen, Christy Wood, Michael Cart, Susan Schulman, Lisa Hake, Troy Johnson, Dennis Hensley, JoAnn Jett, Alex Sanchez, Peter Rubie, Brian Malloy, Lois Lowry; my godmother, Michelle Doran; my website collaborator, Greg Glick; and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).
Finally, I want to acknowledge the former staff and residents of Bacon Home in Bellingham, Washington, where I worked over a decade ago and which has since been closed down. My stint as a group home counselor was short, but long enough for me to come to profoundly respect the dedication and the great sacrifices of the adults who make careers in foster care, and the amazing strength and courage of the kids they oversee.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
The Last Chance Texaco Page 15