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went into a crouch stance, eyes darting around wildly in search of the best route of escape.
    “Young man, you best close your mouth right now, ’cause you not gonna be usin’ that kind of language in this house!”
    A very tall and heavy black lady in a long red wrap dress stood at the front door, both hands on her hips and a glare on her face that froze me in my tracks.
    “Now you bring yourself on in here, and don’t you let me hear that foul mouth again.”
    “Alex, this is Ms. Loretta,” Suzie said gently, and suddenly I didn’t want her to go anywhere. Ms. Loretta looked a lot scarier than a chubby white woman in a gray suit. “Now, let’s get you settled in.”
    Ms. Loretta was still staring me down, so I very meekly followed Suzie inside.
    “Alex doesn’t have a change of clothing. If he ends up having to stay the night, do you have something in his size?” Suzie asked her.
    “Oh, yes, we got. Don’t you worry, Ms. Suzie. He’ll be fine, won’t he.”
    Another glare had me nodding fearfully.
    “All right.” Suzie stretched out her arm for a moment, like she wanted to squeeze my shoulder again, but then thought better of it. She tucked her hands at her sides and just gave me a smile. “Alex, would you like to talk some more about the DCFS process right now, or would you prefer some time to rest?”
    I said nothing.
    After a moment of staring, Suzie sighed. “I think we can talk some more later, and I’ll let Ms. Loretta take it from here.” She walked away and closed the door behind her, leaving me alone in the foyer with Ms. Loretta.
    The giant of a woman sized me up with a long, hard look, her expression daring me to back-talk her, or make some sort of complaint about where I’d found myself. I scanned my surroundings warily. A clean but bizarrely decorated kitchen lay just beyond the hallway, covered in wallpaper of golds and yellows and reds. That was really all I could make out from where I stood, except for Ms. Loretta herself.
    I tried to look at her without actually making eye contact, still afraid to be caught by her stare. She was a lot like her kitchen—large and gaudy, with gold hoop earrings standing out against her dark skin and bright dress.
    “Lights out at 9:30,” she announced without further introduction. “Since we don’t know how long you gonna be with us, I won’t assign you chores, but dinner’s at 7 o’clock, and you’ll be expected to clean your own dishes.”
    The back door of the house swung open.
    “Wipe your feet!” Ms. Loretta yelled, and a few seconds later a boy appeared.
    He was about my height, and probably around my age, with short, dark curly hair and light brown skin. Of mixed-race, obviously…and a good mixture at that.
    “A new kid?” he asked, eyeing me carefully.
    “This is Alex.” Ms. Loretta said. “He might only be here for the night. Take him outta my hair…I gotta start on dinner.”
    The boy cocked his head toward the back of the house, and I followed, still clutching my backpack strap with both hands against my shoulder.
    “I’m Brandon. Dwayne’s out back, Ryan and Andrew are at after-school care…you wanna drop your stuff upstairs first?”
    I shrugged.
    “Well you’re talkative.” He rolled his eyes.
    I was no blabbermouth, but here in this foreign setting, I’d apparently lost my voice entirely.
    He led me through a family room that lived up to more of Ms. Loretta’s taste in bright colors, then up to a large bedroom filled with bunk beds and tiny desks. The walls were bare and the sheets a dingy gray…but the place was fairly clean, and I had to admit it was a step up from my usual sleeping space.
    Brandon pointed to an empty bed, and I finally parted with my bag there. I wouldn’t have, if I’d had anything valuable in it—I wasn’t stupid enough to leave my stuff unattended like that.
    Something shifted under a mass of blankets beside me, and I jumped back, hitting my bare ankle against the bed frame.
    Brandon