Ask to stay with her
"All right all right," Sheila says. "Sorry I
asked."
"I don't know what to do," you say. "I don't know
where to go." You look at her. Sheila stares right back at you
like she knows exactly what you're up to.
"You want me to take care of you, I guess. Like I don't have
enough to do taking care of Mom," she says. She sighs. "Do
you mind sleeping on the couch?" she says.
"No," you say.
"Okay, then welcome home," Sheila says. "It's not the
Ritz, but you'll get fed and all that."
As it turns out, you are much more than "fed and all that."
Sheila was gruff with you when she first saw you, but she becomes like
a real mother to you over the next few weeks, enrolling you in the
local school, helping you with your homework, and doing her best to
keep you entertained. She's reluctant to leave the house, though,
because she worries what might happen to her mother with no one
around, and she's too embarrassed to take her mother anywhere in
public. That's why she drives so fast--she wants to get back home to
her mom as soon as possible once she's done with work.
But you don't care about all that. You didn't beg to stay with Sheila
because you liked her, or even because you needed a place to stay.
Your real motive is to find out more about her mother. SHE KNEW YOU
WERE A BOY! And over the next few weeks, despite Sheila's reminders,
she frequently confuses your gender. Is this just her craziness
talking, or does she really hold the key to finding out who you are
again?
"I don't know where my family is," you say. "I don't
even know WHO my family is." You put on your best Orphan Annie
expression and start to cry. And then your fake tears turn into real
tears as you realize how bad your situation really is. "I don't
even know my NAME--"
