"This is the dining room and kitchen," Karen explained, waving into the room. It all looked expensive.

Iggy was ignoring her speeches and explanations during the house tour. Instead, he was focused on more practical things. Would they notice if that trinket was missing? How much could he get for it?

"There are five other foster kids. You'll be sharing kitchen duty with your roommate..."

That looked like a pretty expensive wall piece. That would sell for a decent price.

"Iggy, this is going to be your room," Karen stopped and knocked lightly on the door. "Darren?" she called in.

Iggy kept to the side, out of the way. He stared his social worker down, hating her for bringing him here. This was suburbia, land of the rich and stuck-up people. The house was huge, even counting that it was a foster home.

Maybe it would be better that way. Here, the adults already had plenty of money... maybe they would be responsible about taking care of kids. Or maybe they wouldn't mind if something went missing if he had a good reason for it.

"Iggy, come on," Karen beckoned for him into the room.

Iggy huffed and slid his thin frame between her and the door on his way in. He and his new roommate, Darren, had a stare down.

Darren was tall and lean. He had muscle. Blond hair, and just... he belonged in suburbia. He was stretched out on his bed, some magazine spread out over his strong, jean-clad thighs.

Iggy measured him up. Darren had to have near a hundred pounds on him. It was mostly muscle, which probably meant he would use brute strength in a fight. Iggy was underweight but small and fast. He swam in oversized clothes from a thrift store. His boney hands knew plenty of dirty tricks for a fight.

"I'm going to talk with Jessie for a few minutes down stairs," Karen said, smiling. "Why don't you get settled in."

Karen and the social worker left. Iggy dropped his near-empty tattered backpack at the foot of the single bed closest to the door. Darren sat up on his bed, swinging his legs over the side and setting them on the floor.

"Listen, kid," Darren snarled. "You keep your shit to your side of the room. You don't ask about me, I don't ask about you."

Iggy scowled and turned away, glaring down at the welcoming bed, not saying a word. There was a small trunk at the foot of the bed, and Iggy sat on it. He bent over and put his head between his knees, letting out a shaky breath.

His stomach hurt from breakfast. He was tempted to puke on his new jackass roommate.

Karen returned and stuck her head in the door. "Iggy... are you feeling okay?"

Iggy stood up quickly and nodded.

"Well... you don't have much clothes," Karen paused. "Let's go to the mall. You start school in a week."

Iggy shot one last look over his shoulder at Darren and left. Karen drove a Mommy van. She chatted the whole way to the mall, going on and on about the others in the house.

"Darren, your roommate, he's seventeen. You'll be going to school with him. There's Leslie, and she's in middle school. She and Max are roommates. Max is in the fifth grade. Then, Josh and Wesley are in sixth and fourth grade."

Iggy tuned her out, unless she got down to the details. Really, he was curious what put Darren into foster care. He seemed to high and mighty to be there.

Once they got to the mall, Karen led Iggy around the shops. Most were too far out of his price range, and too plain looking. He tried on clothes in two stores, but didn't like any of them. They bought a few packs of underwear before moving on. Iggy wandered into a darker looking store, immediately liking it. The clothes were either black, or bright, neon colors with patterns. He went for a straight shot at the neon pants while Karen followed in unsurely.

"Iggy, I think those are girl pants…" Karen pointed out carefully.

"Pants are unisex," Iggy said. And the boys section didn't have the neon colors. "It's not like I'm trying to get a skirt." He held up a pair of neon yellow and black checkered pants. "What's waist size 28 in girl's sizes?"

Karen groaned and gave in. She helped him figure out the right size of pants, complaining about how skinny he was. Iggy tried to sneak a peek at the price tags, but Karen batted his hand away. "Don't worry about the price," she told him. This was the only store he had shown any interest in, she didn't want him worrying over money.

With six pairs of neon pants, a pair of sweatpants, six black band t-shirts and a tank top, Iggy was satisfied. Karen made him pick out a light jacket and a pair of better shoes. Iggy threw in a black knit beanie at the end.

The triple-digit charge made Iggy panic. "I can put some back—"

"Its fine, Iggy. The state gives us a monthly budget to provide for you. This is more than I thought, but it's okay." Karen smiled warmly.

Iggy sulked around while she paid. He carried out the bags to the Mommy van and peeked inside. He was excited, though he wouldn't admit it. They drove back to the house, and Iggy went to change in the shared bathroom. He put on a pair of neon green pants and a black band t-shirt. He was about to put on his black beanie when he spied the hair straightener, sitting on the counter.

He ran a self-conscious hand over his black hair, chin length and cut somewhat unevenly. The last hair cut he had gotten was from himself with a slightly-dulled knife. He hated doing it, so he let it grow out. He felt the waves from having slept with wet hair the night before. He plugged in the straightener and took to his hair with it.

When he was done, he unplugged the straightener and admired himself in the mirror. He liked this new look. He took the rest of the clothes across the hall and into the bedroom. Darren was sprawled out on the bed, bored, and listening to an iPod.

Darren glanced up and squinted. "Those pants give me a headache."

Iggy rolled his eyes and tucked away his new clothes. He wouldn't let Darren put him down. These were the nicest clothes Iggy had ever had. They were his, not some second-hand outfit purchased for two dollars. These were his. They fit, they weren't oversized. He felt good about himself for once.

Karen stopped in yet again, leading Iggy downstairs into a small office. "Here's this," she handed him with the picture of an iPod on it. Iggy had never had one before. How much could he pawn this for? No—this was his. He didn't want to pawn it. "And we'll get you a pay-as-you-go cell phone soon. Here's a gift card for your iPod, and there's iTunes on this computer," she pointed behind her. "This is a shared computer but feel free to use it."

Iggy tried to price the computer in his head, before deciding there was no way to move it.

"Are you okay?" Karen asked cautiously. "If you don't want to share a room with Darren, we're furnishing the basement…"

"Its fine," Iggy protested. He wasn't some special case, he didn't need special treatment. He would be gone in a day.

Karen sighed and nodded. "Well, school shopping will happen this weekend. Monday you'll go to school with Darren and take a placement test before starting."

Iggy nodded stiffly and left. Placement test? He hadn't been to school in two years. Technically, he would be an up-coming eleventh grader… But what if he got in all freshman classes? The dread of embarrassment overwhelmed him. He almost asked Darren about it, but it only took one hateful glare to deter Iggy. Darren would just laugh at him.

The only thing Iggy had ever kept up with reading. It filled the empty hours while he had stowed away in public libraries. But math? Science? History? He'd barely passed his middle school classes. He needed to leave this house and the system.

He didn't try to run away at first. The house was nice, and he had a bed. He didn't get yelled at or beaten. He listened to his new iPod so much that he had to charge it every night. He had downloaded everyone else's music from the computer and was saving the gift card. He had more than one change of clothes, and food in his belly.

The girls of the house were nice. It was Leslie's hair straightener he had used in the bathroom, he later found out. He'd almost thought he would get in trouble for it, but she said he looked cute and could use it whenever.

Darren seemed to hate it even more, though. So Iggy kept doing it.

Sunday night, Iggy realized what was coming in the morning. School. He would be so stupid. All of these privileged kids would laugh at him. He'd be put into lower grade classes, and he was already sixteen. Iggy went to sleep in his clothes. He stuffed his new, larger backpack with the rest of his clothes and everything else he'd received.

A few decorative trinkets from around the house were in there, too.

Once he was sure Darren was asleep, Iggy crawled out of bed. He grabbed his bag and headed for the window. He gauged the drop. Bushes were below, that would either break his fall or land wrong on a branch. The second floor seemed to be a drop down.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Darren snarled from his bed, making Iggy jump.

Darren sat up and rubbed his eyes before sending a glare. "Get the fuck back in bed, dumbass. Running away only makes things worse. It's better here."

Iggy wanted to think that Darren was talking mean, but maybe he just cussed a lot. Darren was telling him to stay.

"School," Iggy choked out awkwardly. "I don't want to go."

"No one does," Darren snapped.

"But I'm… behind," Iggy admitted. "I haven't been since middle school, and I…" he stopped, not wanting to show weakness in front of his roommate.

Darren groaned in frustration and threw himself back onto the bed. "They have remedial classes, and there are a few upperclassmen that take lower math. Besides, Karen and Mark have the house wired. You open that window and an alarm goes off. They aren't stupid. They expectyou to try running away."

Iggy didn't say anything, but he didn't move from the window. He could probably be out the window and running before Karen and Mark registered what was going on. And he was good at hiding.

Darren sat up again, looking even more agitated. "I swear to fucking god if you don't get in bed right now I will physically put you there."

Iggy backed away from the window, setting his backpack down. Darren still stared at him, waiting with a frown. Iggy unpacked the bag and put his clothes away. It wasn't until he was changed into sleep clothes and back under the covers that Darren left him alone.

Iggy didn't go to sleep. His stomach felt like stone now. He didn't know what would happen in the morning, with school and with… people.

At least he was warm, he tried to tell himself. At least he wasn't sleeping on a sidewalk in downtown anymore. Right?

Iggy hardly slept. He heard an alarm go off somewhere in the far reaches of the house and crept out of bed. He stole the bathroom first, changing into his neon green pants. He decided that they were his favorite. He washed his face, brushed his teeth, and straightened his hair. Darren was complaining outside the door by then, and Iggy abandoned the bathroom.

Darren shot him another nasty look before slamming the door shut. Downstairs, Karen was making breakfast. She didn't work until eight, while her husband was already out of the house. She took Darren and Iggy to school before returning to the house. Leslie and Max went to school next, and then Josh and Wesley got dropped off at another house for carpool.

Karen had everyone set on transportation. She might as well have been transporting the president as seriously as she took it.

"Now I can't pick you up from school," she informed Iggy and Darren on the way. "You'll have to take the bus home. But tell me how school goes, okay?"

She parked in the school lot and walked in with them. Darren took off instantly, wanting no association with Karen or Iggy. Karen took Iggy into the office and got him set up to take his placement test before she left for work. Iggy sat in a conference room for a few hours, straining and trying his best. Most of it was foreign to him, though.

He would be with the freshman. He wanted to run. But Darren would probably kill him. Well, he could kill Darren back.

Iggy spent the next hour in the vice-principal's office, waiting on the results from his test. Finally the answers were back, and the man named Mr. Gomez looked over the paper. "Alright, well your highest score was in reading comprehension..." he turned to his computer and pulled up class lists. "There's AP Literature and Composition, or do you want a regular class?"

It took Iggy a moment to process that. AP? Advanced Placement, he realized. And at grade level. All that time he had spent in the public library had helped. "I'll take AP," Iggy answered.

Gomez nodded and set up the class. "Next…" He looked over the results again. "Your history seems fine. We can put you into World History."

Iggy just nodded again, feeling less panicked about his classes now.

"Your math and science… we could put you in grade-level science, but you don't have the math proficiency. We can put you in Algebra for math, and Biology for science."

Iggy fidgeted in his seat. He had taken Algebra in middle school, but they didn't know that or have his records. "Fine," he croaked out anyways, feeling sick.

"Iggy," Gomez began. "Relax. There are seniors who are in Algebra from failing it their freshman year, and you can take chemistry next year. Those aren't uncommon classes to be at different levels with."

"But I won't graduate," Iggy mumbled.

"You could. You'd have to do a lot of extra work. Maybe take seven classes, do some online classes, and summer school. Finish it all before your graduation next year and you're set… you would have to take lower grade-level classes to catch up, though," Gomez explained.

Iggy stared at him for a moment. He could still graduate? He was already two years behind, and it's not like he had ever thought he would be able to graduate high school, with his grades and problems. "I can do that," Iggy squeaked. "But what about money?"

"Since you haven't taken the classes yet, the district might be able to cover it, both the summer school and online classes," Gomez smiled. "So what do you want to do?"

"Graduate," Iggy piped up. "I can take seven classes and do some online."

"Give us a few days to set up online classes," Gomez turned to look at his computer again. "And how about we make your seventh class ninth grade English honors? Should be east for you. We can give you a regular foreign language class, and you only need two years of that to graduate. This year and next year."

Iggy nodded again and got up from his seat, shuffling over. He hovered over Gomez's shoulder as they built a schedule. Within twenty minutes he had a schedule set.

He made it to his sixth period class, which was English. And Darren was there. Iggy avoided eye contact as he handed a pass to the teacher, saying he'd been added to the class roster. Iggy took a seat towards the back, aware of the stares on him. The rest of the class seemed so normal.

The teacher introduced the class syllabus before talking about the summer reading assignment. Iggy was excused from that for a few days so he could read the book. He leaned back in his desk and listened to his new iPod.

Most of the class consisted of girls, he realized. Out of twenty-nine students, only seven were boys. Some of the girls were looking over their shoulders and giving him weird looks. Iggy decided to draw on his desk and fix his eyes there. From that class, he went straight to the freshman English class.

In the class, he felt extremely tall at only five feet and six inches. Most of them didn't even reach his shoulder. And they were all loud. He promised to punch the next boy that yelled 'penis'. Once the class started they seemed to calm down, and Iggy was given another reading assignment.

At the end of the day, Iggy followed Darren out to the bus. Darren ignored him and went to the back seats. Iggy took one look at the rowdy crowd and sat up front. It was crowded and seemed to take forever to reach their bus stop. Again he followed Darren from the bus to the house.

"Don't talk to me in class," Darren snapped on the way. "And don't you fucking mention anything about foster care."

Iggy didn't answer and just followed. Inside the house they were the first one's home. Darren disappeared into their room, leaving Iggy standing around. He sat down and worked on his math homework, breezing through it easily. He laid out the class syllabi to be signed by a parent or legal guardian. He stared at that line for a while, until Leslie came bounding in the front door.

She went off about her day, and asked about Iggy's. He told her that nothing much had happened—he'd spent the morning testing and only attended his last two classes. Max got home next, and she and Leslie ran off into the basement. Mark got home with Josh and Wesley.

"How was school?" Mark asked as Josh and Wesley made for the backyard.

Iggy shrugged and gave Mark his schedule. "And Gomez say with some seven classes and online classes, I should have enough credits to graduate."

"It's good that you want to graduate," Mark commented with a smile. "And Wednesday I'll be home after school to take you to counseling."

"Counseling?" Iggy echoed.

"Yes. The state… 'recommended' you go. Darren goes too," Mark explained carefully.

Darren had to go? Maybe he wasn't so high and mighty after all.

"I need some books for school," Iggy decided to change the subject.

"We can get them after dinner, when Karen is home," Mark smiled again and started to wander through the house. Iggy waited until Mark was outside with the two younger boys before going to the basement.

"Hey," Leslie greeted, while Max ignored him in favor of a video game. The two girls were sitting on the floor, abandoning the couch behind them.

"Do you go to counseling?" Iggy asked lowly.

"Yeah," Leslie answered easily. "Darren goes too. Max and the others don't. Do you have to go?"

"Apparently," Iggy huffed and threw himself onto the open couch behind the girls. "I don't see why. I'm not all 'fuck this, fuck that' like Darren."

Leslie laughed. "Well it depends. Darren used to have a family, I think. Going into foster care has made him angry. So he goes to counseling. My parents weren't too great, to put it nicely, so I go too. And you… they don't know anything about you, Iggy."

Iggy grabbed a throw pillow and chucked it at Leslie's head. She shrieked and threatened him with a gaming controller.

Iggy sat back and watched Leslie and Max battle it out on screen. He could hear Karen come home around five-thirty, and soon dinner was being fixed. Max went upstairs to help, and Iggy took her place in the game.

"Are you coming tomorrow?" Iggy asked.

"No, I see someone else. Darren and probably you will see a guy, and I see a girl." Leslie explained while promptly killing Iggy's character.

Iggy pursed his lips. He didn't want to go with Darren, or at all. And he would rather see a woman.

Dinner was called, so Iggy and Leslie headed upstairs. Over dinner Karen asked about everyone's day. "How are you adjusting?" she asked Darren. He shrugged moodily and poked at his food. "Iggy?" Karen turned her attention.

"I'm taking some extra classes so I'll be able to graduate," Iggy mumbled.

Karen broke out into a smile. "Good! Mark told me about that."

Leslie went on to describe her science teacher's semblance to a cat. Max told of how she'd played goalie in field soccer during recess, and no one had scored. Josh and Wesley chattered on about their classes, trying to outdo everyone else at the table.

After dinner, it was Leslie and Max's turn to help clean up. Mark put on his shoes and took Iggy out to the Mommy van. They left for a bookstore.

"So Iggy," Mark started awkwardly. "How are things going? Are you uncomfortable around me or Darren?"

"Only when you try to have this conversation," Iggy scoffed.

Mark chuckled shortly. "I'm just trying to make sure things are comfortable for you here."

Iggy didn't answer, and the bookstore was in sight. There they got the books for his English classes, and a free-read book after some convincing on Iggy's part.

"You should read for school first. I don't want you getting your priorities mixed up."

"I won't. I can read them easily. The book has sentimental value," Iggy pleaded. At that, Mark gave in and bought the third book. Iggy flipped through it on the way home, eyes scanning familiar words. It was one of the books he had read again and again when spending his days in the public libraries.

When they got back, Iggy went up to the room and stretched out on the bed. Darren was zoned out to his iPod while Iggy cracked open the first of his English books.