Its late 11:45 P.M. and Jodaven is sprinting down Dever and Maple street. Police sirens are getting closer and  following behind him.

“Oh man!” Jodaven says, breathing heavily. “Life sucks,” frowning in sadness.
Thinking to himself… How? Why? Did this have to happen to him?

(FREEZE! PUT YOUR HANDS UP NOW! AND GET DOWN! GET DOWN ON THE GROUND NOW! The officer yells, As he is pointing the gun at the boy)

Jodaven stops and start putting his hands up and putting his knees down to the ground. (He’s remembering how cold it was from the last time he slept on it)The officer puts handcuffs on him and put him in the police car. They get to the police station; they uncuff him and tell him he has one phone call. Jodaven picks up the phone and look at the officers. The officer are discussing what just happened.

“What this one do?” Police Officer 1 asks.
“He ran away or something,” Police Officer 2 replies.
“Another black person always doing trouble” Police Officer 3 says, shaking his head.
“What? Get back to work!” Police Officer 2 shouts to the other police officers while he walking over to the boy.
“Call your parent’s, son,” Police Officer 2 says to Jodaven.
“No!,” (The boy yells at the officer)
“Can you please call them...”
“No!”
“I’m trying to work with you boy”, Police Officer 2 says calmly taking a deep breath.
“I can’t,” boy replies with this look on his face like he wants to cry.
“Why?”
“I have no family…,” The boy announces, looking to the ground fidgeting with the strings on his ripped pants while holding the phone.
“I don’t know what to tell you boy,” Police Officer 2 says.
“What’s your name son?”
“Nothing! because that’s all I'm telling you” Putting the phone back on the hook.
“I don’t have time to play games with you boy” Police officer shaking his head.
“Fine! Jodaven Emilo Smith,” Jodaven replies angrily.
“How old are you?,” The Officer asks.
“11”
“Okay, I can check your records to see wheres your family at, but thats all I can do son.”
“Whatever,” Jodaven replies.
(Police Officer steps away to go to the front desk to check the boys record)
“Oh… Sorry son, your parents died,” Police Officer 2 says slowly to him.
“Obviously, I told you I have no family”
“Do you have any grandparents, aunts or uncles?,” Police Officer 2 asks.
“No, they’re dead too.” Jodaven says with a straight face.
“Okay, Umm...,” Police Officer 2 says.
“What you going to do with me?” Jodaven asks with a worried look in his eyes.
“We would have to take you back to foster care where you came from last.”
“No don’t send me back there, I hate it there!,”
“I can’t do nothing much to do about it.”
They took him to “Give A Child A Home” a foster care where they send kids there to be adopted into a new family. Jodaven and many other children been there since they were 6. Theres not always a place for everyone but always a chance for someone. Jodaven notice baby’s and little kids get adopted everyday but not him. He blames himself for his mother deaf if he wasn’t crying wanting a toy. She slipped off the road, it was raining really bad; I remember her yelling at me “Can you please stop crying!”. Yeah, you’re thinking to yourself, “how can a kid at his age think like that?” That was seven years ago. Yeah hes not stupid at all pretty smart for his age.
His dad, where’s he at? no where to be found like some dads but thats what he thought. Jodaven tried to look for him but the foster care didn’t want to him to know he died the day of his birthday after his mother died. That’s why he didn’t come back that one day when he was waiting to be picked up. His dad was trying to get him a present that Monday a drunk driver hit and crashed into him causing him to have a severe head injury. The doctors couldn’t do anything about because he was dead at the scene of the accident. Jodaven promise to himself that he would never drink when he gets older because losing his dad was the worst thing that happened to him before his mother.
(Its the morning about 10:26 A.M.) They take Jodaven to the foster care. They knock on the door about a couple times before someone answered.
“Hello, can I help you,” Jamie one of the workers that work there answered.
“Yes, Is this one of your foster kid kids” Police Officer 2 asks.
“What’s is the name of the child?”
“His name is Jodaven Emilo Smith”
“Yes, let him in”
They let him in the house. He goes running up stairs to his room, jumps and lays down on the bed.
“Thank you for bringing him back,” Jamie says with a great smile with on her face.
“You’re welcome Ma'am, have a good day now,” Police Officer 2 says.
“You too”
Jodaven doesn’t like the other kids because they single him out all the time. Its either them making fun of how he dresses or how he has a scar on his left side of his face below his eyes; a line going halfway down his cheek. He’s is slightly tall for a eleven year old, standing at 5 feet. He has sandy blonde hair, tan skin, and his eyes are light brown. He has a semi big nose. His teeth is messed up because he got into several fights with kids at his school on the first day. His ears are slightly big for his head but he’ll grow into them. He wears baggy blue ripped jeans and a black T-shirt and plain tennis shoes he found on the street.
He don’t like sixth grade because he thinks its way too easy to him. Also he hates his birthday, he never get to do anything but sit in the room every day. His birthday being on August 27 its hot outside and the last time he remembers going swimming is never because he have never been but he wants to some day. The foster home does have funds for the kids to do outside activities, only can buy them house toys; like, toy cars, crayons, poneys, etc…
(A family of three comes in and asking to adopt a kid; they ask if there any kids at the age between 10-13; they said they do but his 11; they ask to see him)
Jamie yells for Jodaven, “Jodaven!”
“Yes Miss Jamie,” Jodaven replies
“Come down here, we have someone you have to meet!”
He takes a deep breath and go down stairs to the family. Miss Jamie introduces Jodaven to the family of three.
Jamie waves and ask Jodaven to say hi to Mrs.Taleigh Daniel Buddy, Mr.Simonik Don Buddy and their daughter Keirney Skyler Buddy. Jodaven waves and says, “Hi”. Jamie asks Jodaven to introduce himself to the family.
“Go ahead” Jamie asks of Jodaven.
“Hello, my name is Jodaven Emilo Smith. I’m 11 years old and I like the color blue.”
“Thank you Jodaven, thats was good”
Mrs and Mr.Buddy whispering to each other looking at the little boy as they discuss if they should adopt him.
“He’ll make a perfect brother to Keirney, Don’t you think Simonik?” Mrs.Buddy says to her husband.
“Yes, a perfect brother indeed.” Mr.Buddy responding to his wife.
Mrs and Mr.Buddy saying at the same time, “We’ll adopt him!”
Jamie show the family to the foster home owner so they could adopt now, they ask how long will it take for the process will take to make him their son. She says, Not that long, it’ll take an hour or two”. After an hour or two they get him as their son and his name becomes Jodaven Emilo Buddy. They take him to their home and welcome him, show him to his room and give him a couple of new clothes to dress with.
His new mother yells up to him, “Take a shower and get dressed and come down to eat Jodaven”
“Okay,” Jodaven Replies.
He gets done taking a shower and getting dressed. He lays in his bed for a moment before he goes downstairs. He looks at his clock Its about 5:45 P.M. They’re just staring at him when he gets down stairs and walks into the kitchen.

“What…?,” He says with a confused look.
They shake their head and say, “Nothing”. They give him a plate and he starts smashing on it cause he got a limit of how much when he was at the foster home.  He was very hungry. Each one of them introduce themselves to him.
“Hello, Jodaven my name is Simonik Don Buddy but you can call me dad if you would like.”
(Jodaven thinking to himself: He had sorry look on his face; I didn’t much wanted to be here but I had no choice; I could’ve ran away again but I thought what’s the point of running away all the time, I need to try some families; Its was my fourth time running away. I ran away last time because my last foster parent boyfriend got really drunk and try to rape me, it was horrifying; I never want to go back there ever; I swear if this family does any messed up thing like that I running so far away the police would never find me)

“Jodaven? You okay?” Mrs.Buddy ask.
“Huh? Yeah, Yeah.”
“Well, my name is Taleigh Daniel Buddy, you can call mom sweety”
“Okay,” He says with a confused look.
“Lastly this is our daughter, now your sister Keirney Skyler Buddy,” Mrs.Buddy says.
She was mix child like me. She had light brown hair and green eyes. Nearly as tall as me standing at 4’11 just a inch shorter than me. She dressed like one of those superficial girls but she wasn’t at all. When I was upstairs I past her room and I seen was dark blue and purple colors than pink this and pink that. She walked and talked like she was a princess before life but I couldn’t figure it out. There was definitely something different about her.
Her mom was mixed (black and white of course) also, but her eyes was blue. So, I didn’t get how her daughter got greens eyes. It was probably family genetics, her grandma had to have blue eyes. It felt so uncommon to me because I was always surrounded by people with brown eyes. I don’t even remember how I got the color of my eyes. I never thought to think of the my fathers eye because my mom eyes was just brown. Her mom was 5’7 with blonde brown hair. She was a skinny women that look that come from the magazines. She’s a Doctor. Her dad is black and asian that had straight brown eyes and dark brown hair. He was 6’1, looked like one of those male model for fashion shows. Hes owns several businesses around the world. Both of her parent dressed like they had a business meeting to go to all time. The only person that was leaving all the time was the mother because she’s a doctor.
They made me feel at home. We would have family nights, go out to movies, or just have plain fun. I never had so much fun. I was 12 years old when it was my first time swimming it was amazing they took me for my twelfth birthday. The warm water splashing on me felt like the best feeling in the world. Yes, I was in the shallow end because I couldn’t swim but dad taught me how so by the age of 13 I was pretty good.  Now we go swimming all the time in the summer. I couldn't have ask for better parents. Me and my sister is kinda close now we talk about everything.
Three years past now and I’m 17. Life when I thought it was getting easy it starts getting harder. There’s this girl at my school and I think shes is the most beautiful person I met and seen in my whole life. I’ve knew her since the 8th grade. Her name is Zahariah Tanaya Jasiah. Oo oo oo,  oh my.  I swear my heart just stop when she talks to me. It sinks so far down in my stomach it feels like my stomach is having a party.  I stutter and sweat like crazy when I’m near her. She’s 5’7 six inches shorter than me, perfect. She has amazing long brown hair, pretty greenish/blue and yes a smile that only god can take away. She’s mixed with asian, black, white, indian, and irish. She dresses like a hipster and I love it. The best thing about me being in love with her is that she’s my bestfriend. Its makes me so happy. We do just about everything together but date. Its sooo stupid because I can’t ever tell her how I feel. She tells me everything though.
(Jodaven and Zahariah are in the hallway talking while in lunch outside)
“Hey, Jodaven!,” Zahariah says with full excitement to see him.
“Hey, Za-ha-riah,” Jodaven choking on his words to say hi to her.
I’ve always wanted to ask her out but I didn’t know how. I felt like if I did it would scare her away or she would friend zone me. Just thinking the thought of being friend zone ugh… I can’t let that happen though.
“How you been buddy,” She says wrapping her arms around to give him a hug.
Buddy that word meaning is that a red flag, thats all I am to her, her buddy? because I would hate to be.
“Hey I’ve been good buddy…,” Jodaven saying in an awkward way with a frown.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing” Shaking his head slowly.
“Are you sure?” questioning his answer.
“Yeah” Looking down.
“Buddy I’m here”
“Yeah I’m good.”
“I feel something is troubling you?”
I really wish that she stop call me her buddy…
“Nope, nothing at all”
“Okay,” She said.
We talked for a while until we had to go to class. I was mad that I didn’t have classes with her, but it was okay because she was my best friend.  It was in the afternoon around 4 or 5pm she came to my house to chill. We were in my front room talking about life and other things. My mind set was on just her. I wanted to just yell, YEAH I LOVE YOU but I know god in hell I have no balls for that. What I look like telling my bestfriend I like them, No! I love them.
Looking down bumping my shoulder in a joking way, “Okay...,” She says. A thought came to her in her mind she said to me, “Who you like?”. I wanted to say to her and you know what? That’s what exactly what I did.
“I like you Zahariah, no I LOVE YOU!. I’m not going to contemplate anymore. Yupp I said it! You and your flaws. Since 8th grade and I’m not going to hold back my feelings. Your the one I want to spend life with. I know were in 11th grade what am I talking about at the age of 17 but were going to be in 12th grade in like two weeks can we try something,”
She didn’t say anything, or do anything… but look at me.
She said with a lost look in her face, “You do?” She was so puzzled not knowing what to do.
“Yes” I said. Not know what going to happen next.
“I do like you too.”
I asked her out and she said yes. We dated until we got to our graduation. We went the same college but times got kinda worst. We went on living our life and everything was fine.