Jaden Baker Read Online Free PDF Page B

wallpaper to blur into a jumble of colors. Oh how he hated it here.
    After seven minutes of waiting, the office door opened, and Anita emerged with a decaffeinated smile on her faded red lips. Her hair was curled today; dark brown ringlets with streaks of natural gray brushed the tops of her shoulders. Jaden assumed she was in her early fifties or late forties. Anita reminded Jaden of a peacock, maybe because her face was thin and small. Jaden slid off his chair and stomped into her office.
    Anita’s office had yellow walls, shelves stuffed with toys, a red and yellow striped rug on a wood floor, and two chairs in the center of the office. Bean bags were stashed in a corner for the little kids to sit on. He assumed all child therapists must arrange their offices similarly; Originality was not something they prescribed.
    Jaden took the arm chair Anita pointed out, and she sat opposite, crossing her legs and smiling again.
    “Well,” she said, in a throaty voice, “it’s been one week.”
    “So says the calendar,” said Jaden.
    “How has it been with the Kauffmans?”
    “Fine.”
    She raised her eyebrows. “Would you like to elaborate? What have you three done?”
    Jaden shrugged. “I don’t know. The first few days we didn’t say much, just kinda stared at each other. They’ve never had a foster kid before. They’re new. Then we played basketball on Saturday.”
    Anita folded her hands over her lap and nodded again. She was a nodder. “That sounds nice.”
    “I asked them why they couldn’t have a baby,” he offered.
    “Did they tell you?”
    “Sort of. I didn’t want to hurt Jenny by asking too much.”
    Jaden’s main goal in therapy was to keep the conversation away from his past. He didn’t mind telling Anita things he had said or done recently, but he avoided talking about the “traumas of his childhood.” Jaden assumed this must have frustrated Anita, as the issues he didn’t want to discuss were the reasons he was forced to attend therapy.
    “That was nice of you.”
    “I guess. She said she wanted me to be part of her family, or whatever.”
    “They’re nice people.” She said it almost like a question.
    “I think so.”
    “But you’re not sure?” Anita asked, leaning forward.
    Jaden leaned farther back into his chair and brought his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. “It’s only been a week,” he said.
    She nodded. “Have you been sleeping all night?”
    Jaden swallowed, but did not answer.
    Anita nodded again. “Why aren’t you sleeping well?”
    “I don’t know,” he said. He found a spot on the chair to pick at.
    “You’re staying awake at night on purpose?” she said, and when he looked up at her, she continued. “You have shadows under your eyes. The Kauffmans bought you a new bed and you have your own room, right?”
    “Yes,” he said. “It’s weird being in a room alone.”
    “That’s not why you’re keeping yourself awake.”
    She circled him like a shark, coming closer to deeper issues. He’d already thrown too much chum. “Derek likes basketball, too. He’s a Lakers fan, but I think we can make it work.”
    “You two have something in common? That’s good. What do you like best about Jenny?”
    “She makes great French toast. She puts cinnamon and vanilla in the eggs. That’s what we had this morning for breakfast. They took this week off work, too, like last week.”
    “To get to know you better.”
    He shrugged, but knew it was the correct answer.
    “Why are you afraid of that?” she asked.
    His bottom lip seemed to be swelling. “I’m not,” he said.
    “No?”
    “No...”
    She cocked an eyebrow. “Jaden, I’m not going to tell them what you say. You can tell me what’s worrying you. It’s between us.”
    “I’m a minor, I don’t have the rights of an adult.”
    “I’m not going to tell your new parents what you tell me. I promise.”
    It stung again. She had stung him on purpose for a reaction, to watch him