Adoption Adjustment chapter 6 and 7

Kennedy took an indirect route to the picnic tables; he wanted to stay out of Miss Miah’s view so she wouldn’t see the shoes he was now wearing. As Kennedy got closer to the cooler labeled ‘Drinks’ he overheard a conversation he was very much interested in.

“I’m sorry Mr. Matthews, I do appreciate your intentions, but I do believe giving the children chocolate milk on a warm day such as this would be… ill advised.” The person talking was a taller man, almost a foot taller than himself and much older. Kennedy figured he was in his fifties with his wrinkles and gray hair and beard. The most striking thing about the man was the eyepatch over his left eye like he was pretending to be some sort of pirate. He wasn’t dressed up like one, in fact he wasn’t even really dressed for the park like most of the adults. He wore brown slacks, a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a brown vest. It seemed like he thought not wearing a tie and coat meant he was dressed down for the day, making him seem like a rather uptight person. Especially with him telling the other adult that that people couldn’t have chocolate milk.

“Yeah I get it, Mr. Bishop. Suppose I wasn’t thinking.”

“We all have slips in judgment from time to time, feel free to put it in the cooler and take it home with you at the end of the day. No harm, no foul and all that.” Standing behind the parent that brought the gallon of chocolate milk, Kennedy couldn’t get a good look at him, but his focus was more on the object in his hand as he put it away than the person anyhow.

With the lid of the cooler snapped shut Kennedy licked his bottom lip and tried to look nonchalant as he made his way over to it. Inside the blue and white container was ice, various flavors of juice and bottles of water and then crammed off to the side was the treasure he was after. The gallon of chocolate milk that no one was supposed to have, the taboo of it making it much more enticing. Taking a look over one shoulder and then another he didn’t think anyone was paying particular attention. Picking it up he tucked it under his shirt, well the borrowed shirt and slowly started to walk away, doing his best to keep his back to the picnic area. When Kenndy was a good thirty feet from them he took off running to the park's bathrooms.

Darting inside the boys room he went into one of the stalls slamming it shut as he looked at his prize. His mouth watering with what he had claimed as his own. Chocolate milk had been one of those cheap treats foster homes had, they could get milk from the government assistance card things and adding a little chocolate syrup made it a treat. One place he stayed they bought it like this and it was his favorite. The chocolate milk was always thick and delicious, of course the people who ran the home would water it down when it was given out to make it go further, but he had never been caught when he snuck a drink or two in order to have it in the pure, perfect form. Some of the older kids he encountered would brag about a beer or a bottle of alcohol they drank or swiped. That stuff tasted awful, for Kennedy this was the thing to take and brag about… not that he did. Not after the first time where the kids around his age told him he was a baby, some even asking him if he was still drawn from a bottle. He couldn’t help it if they were stupid, why drink something that tasted like mouthwash when this was an option.

Removing the cap Kennedy took a small swallow, as it went down his throat a big smile came to his face. He didn’t need to go out and play with the kids, that had been bad enough, now he had this and could hide away actually enjoying the day. So there he sat drinking directly from the gallon, wishing he had his headphones to make this perfect. He had one encounter where someone was saying girls should use the other bathroom, it made him look at his feet and frown. After that he just picked up his feet whenever someone came in, ignoring them if they tried the door to the stall. The feeling of bliss hadn’t subsided as he got down to half the gallon, but his stomach did feel incredibly full. Holding the chocolate milk up to face level he let out a sigh, tipping it back one last time.

Kennedy knew he couldn’t drink anymore and tried to think how he could hide it away so none of the snot nosed kits could have his treasure. Leaving the stall he looked around the bathroom, not coming up with any real good ideas and ended up moving the large trash can up against the sink counter to hide the half drunk gallon in its shadow. He took a few shuffling steps from side to side to check how well hidden it was, deciding it wasn’t the best, but if no one was looking for it, then probably no one would find it. Taking the time to wash his face Kennedy noticed a few spots where his beverage dripped onto the shirt. Serves the girls right for making him wear a girly shirt like this anyhow he figured, smirking a bit before he left the relative privacy of the bathroom.

Feeling so full and bloated, Kennedy slowly walked toward the picnic area, he wasn’t going to go to them, but the trees off to the side. The idea of leaning up against one and relaxing sounded like a much better idea than going out to the playground or whatever everyone else was doing. They weren’t letting him actually help like he intended and he was done with the kids. That was when he heard someone behind him raising their voice.

“Young Miss, please do not go off on your own and stay with the group.” Kennedy paid little attention, till he heard a whistle being blown. The shrill sound easily got his attention so he turned around to see the same old man with the eyepatch, his attention fully on him and not the two girls by his sides. “Young Miss, come over here and stand with your peers and wait for the other girls to be done in the restroom.”

Kennedy narrowed his eyes looking at the geezer, he stomped one of his feet on the ground as he marched towards the man, his stomach feeling like it was sloshing about with each step. Being called a girl was just too much, he didn’t want to let Miss Miah down or get in trouble when he promised her he would be good, but this had gone on too much.

“LOOK PIRATE MAN, I’M NOT SOME STUPID LITTLE GIRL! OR CAN YOU NOT TELL THAT WITH ONE EYE!?” The outburst felt good, and Kennedy was ready to tell him off more when the man ended up moving much faster than he ever would have expected. The spry older man took a few quick steps with his long legs getting only inches from him, forcing Kennedy to look up into his one brown eyes. He had a grimace on his face and an intense look that felt like someone how having only the one eye made his gaze much more powerful. The words Kennedy was about to say died on his tongue before they could reach his lips.

“I don’t recognize you, so I know you are not one of my students. Now young miss tell me your name and who your parents are so we can handle your show of disrespect properly.”

“Oooooo she made Mr. Bishop super angry!” Kennedy could hear one of the girls saying behind him.

“K…k… Ken and ahhh, I came here with Miss Miah.” Kennedy thought the man was going to belt him across his cheek like he had gotten countless times for speaking his mind. He knew upsetting some people by speaking up would cause that to happen. Kennedy rather just coast by and not be noticed, but he wasn’t some little girl.

“Your name is Ken and you are here with Miah? Miah… ah, Miah Adams. That makes you Kennedy Adams, yes?” Kennedy nodded his head and then shook it no. He only signed up with their last name because Miss Miah had said too.

“This is not a trick question made to confound you young Miss. Are you Kennedy Adams, or are you not?” He turned to give a glare to the now three girls behind him, another coming out of the bathroom, his look enough to stop their snickering.

“I am, but…”

“No.” The older man’s stern rebuttal cut Kennedy off. “There is no need for a but, it was a simple yes or no question. I would bring you to your mother and inform her of your behavior, but she has already left for the day.”

“She… she left!?” Kennedy was shocked at the news and immediately disregarded it, deciding the man was an ass and a liar.

“Indeed. She had an emergency at the office and had to leave in a hurry. Do not fret, you are in good hands. Now…” Bishop clapped his hands together twice, making sure each of the children he walked to the restroom were with him. “Let us move back as a group and then we can get started on our first game of the day before lunch.” Kennedy started following the man who was obviously in charge here, trying to scan the area ahead for Miss Miah. He would like to think if she was going to leave, she would have let him know… but he had also been in the bathroom. Glancing back at the man he wanted to try and clear things up. The man hadn’t actually introduced himself, but one of the brats at called him Bishop.

“Mr. Bishop, there is something you should know. Everyone thinks I’m some little girl, but they're wrong.” Kennedy had moved ahead of the man, turning to walk backwards and pointed off to the men’s side of the bathrooms, ready for someone to actually treat him like the adult he almost was. Bishop Chapman turned his head to the side to see off where the girl was pointing and nodded.

“Young Miss, if some of the other children are teasing you then we can talk privately, but I did see you coming out of the boys restroom. If you felt you needed to hide then you should come to an adult. Now, how about we continue the conversation when others can’t over hear.” Bishop held his one eye closed for the count of two seconds already hearing the other girls whispering about her being a tattle tail or some other such nonsense. She wasn’t doing herself any favors with fitting in coming out talking like this.

“No, no one is picking on me!” The brats were annoying him, but he was older than all of them, he wouldn’t let any of the brats bully him.

“That is splendid to hear, if something were to ever happen though. Please know you can speak to me or any adult.” Kennedy’s face turned red in frustration, the man wasn’t taking him seriously. He was thinking about what exactly to say to the man so he knew where he could stuff his advice when someone ran into him hard enough for him to fall to the ground with them from the field tackle. He ended up in a tangle of limbs as Abigail held onto him giggling, like the surprise attack was a game.

“Get off of me Abby!” Kennedy pressed his palm to her shoulder prying the little leech off him, he scowled at her while she gave him a big smile.

“Miss Adams.” Bishop said in a stern voice, not appreciating the display of violence. Abigail stood up, brushing the grass from her clothes and gave the man a big smile.

“HI MR. BISHOP!” She waved her hand at him to say hi like she hadn’t seen him till just now.

“Yes, hello. Please be more careful with your sister, we do not want anyone to get injured today.” Abby nodded at him happily, it was enough that he carried on. They were close enough to the picnic tables that he didn’t feel he needed to fret.

“Why did you tackle me?” Kennedy let out a burp that made its way up his throat unbidden as his full stomach sloshed around. Covering his mouth in case another belch came out, he noticed the girl was wearing a pair of white sandals. “Wait, where are my shoes!?”

Looking down at her feet Abigail wiggled her toes before looking back to him with a small pout on her face. “They made me run fast, then, then the shoe laces broke so I threw them away. Don’t worry though because Mommy had a backup pair of shoes for me in her bag. See!?” She held up her foot to show off her sandals, not considering her actions at all.

“You threw my shoes in the trash! What am I supposed to wear now?!” Abigail looked at him confused, pointing down to her shoes that he was wearing. “You are already borrowing mine silly.”

“Abby…” Kennedy clenched his fists, knowing he shouldn’t hit her, even if she deserved it for blackmailing him to have his shoes and then throwing them away.

“Girls, it is time to come play a game with everyone, we are playing soccer.” Abigail looked over to see Joleen Chapman, the boss at her daycare at her mother’s office and wife to her vice principal. “HI MRS. JOLEEN!” The woman was walking toward the pair, close enough that Abigail didn’t need to yell, but after seeing her and hearing it was time to play a group activity she couldn’t help herself.

“Come on, it's soccer time!” She said to Kennedy who only shook his head.

“I’m not going to play soccer.”

“I’m afraid sitting out isn’t an option today Kennedy, this is a group activity and you are part of the group.”

“I said…! I’m not going to play!” He repeated his words slower and with more emphasis so the old woman he first met when he checked in would understand it wasn’t going to happen. What he wasn’t expecting was for her to grab him by the wrist and pull him forward and give him a single slap to his ass. It was hard enough that he felt a sting, but it didn’t really hurt him. The shock of it had dumb founded him though. Kennedy’s eyes went wide and his mouth hung open as the giantess pulled him along.

“While your mother does not like her children being spanked she has given me permission on those rare occasions her daughters are not doing as they are told and are talking back. Now come along nicely or I will be telling her about your bad attitude.” He wanted to say something, he wanted to pull his arm from her, though he wasn’t sure he had the strength for that. Mostly he was just having trouble forming a thought, the audacity of this woman to strike him was one thing, the other was his instincts honed over years in the system telling him to comply, look meek so he didn’t get hit anymore. Being pulled along he looked behind himself, past Abby who looked incredibly happy, as she skipped along behind him. His gaze settled on the stone building where he sat in a stall not long ago drinking the gallon of chocolate milk. “Why didn’t I stay in the bathroom, it was perfect there.” He whispered to himself, feeling the leather strap of Abby’s mary jane shoes with each step, reminding him that his only pair of shoes was now gone.

Sanding out on the soccer field, Kennedy covered his eyes as he looked up at the sun. The higher it got in the sky the warmer it was getting. He put one hand over his stomach as it gurgled unhappily with its current contents. “Stupid sun, stupid game, stupid park.” Kennedy kicked at the grass, feeling even more annoyed seeing the girls shoes he somehow ended up wearing. He was going to continue with his list of things he was unhappy with, but the next thing on the list, his current shoes only made him think of the other girly items he had on, so he stopped his list to not dwell on them.

Keeping one hand on his stomach he looked around at the kids around him. The adults had put the older kids on the goalie role and the back line, all except for him. Kennedy found himself standing next to Abby in the front while the pirate guy held the soccer ball and went on about the rules. He already knew how to play the game and already knew he hated it so he ignored the man while he made his plans for what he was going to do once the ball was put on the ground. When the ball was put down Kennedy was already moving before the sound of the whistle came to indicate it was time to start.

Looking down at his foot as it touched the ball, Kennedy grimaced seeing his foot in the thin girly socks and black mary jane shoes. He rolled the ball backwards, then kicked the ball to his left with the inner side of his right foot, moving the ball away from Abby who was on his right. The girl was trying to play soccer in sandals, white sandals with a little flower on the front and after she had blackmailed him out of his shoes and then thrown them away. He made a promise to himself that he wouldn’t be trading again, that he was going to get even with the little brat. The move with the ball threw the three others on the front line into disarray. He could hear them screeching and laughing in delight as they tried to follow him.

Kennedy did not like soccer, but it wasn’t because he couldn’t do it or do it well. Because of his build it was one of the few sports he could really play, though anyone else in his age group always towered over him. He hated it because he was good at it and all that would get him is more bruises and maybe another trip to the hospital to have another cast put on one of his limbs, he had it done twice so far in his short life. Kennedy felt often ignored and he had in turn ignored schoolwork and foster parents who really didn’t care about what he was doing. He had spent many hours in a backyard or on the sidewalk practicing how to move the ball. Being good at the sport while everyone else towered over him meant he got hurt and that meant it was just another sport he couldn’t play.  Now though he kicked the ball forward and more to the left, moving rapidly away from the younger kids. When one girl in dark brown cargo shorts and a deep green shirt with short hair and an almost neon pink cast on her arm got in his way, Kennedy popped the ball between her legs. Getting past her Kennedy had no problem getting the ball into the net, the boy guarding who looked maybe thirteen to Kennedy didn’t seem to know that he should stick more towards the middle of the net instead of coming out towards him, but at least the kid was paying attention.

Turning back around as the whistle was sounded Kennedy did a small fist pump, giving the girl he had kicked the ball through her legs a smile and a wink. “Better luck next time.” He didn’t want to play this with little kids, he wanted to play with people his own age, but also wanted to not get hurt. If they were going to make him play with the kids, then he planned to make it as one sided and boring as possible. When he got back to his starting position he rolled his eyes when Abby came up to him with her cheeks puffed out. “I want the ball this time!”

Wiping a few beads of sweat from his forehead, Kennedy put his hand back over his stomach as it protested against the running he had just done. “You can have it.”

“I can!?” Kennedy nodded to her question.

“Sure you can, Abby you can do anything you want. All you have to do is get to the ball before me, bet it would be easier if you had my running shoes on.” Abigail looked down at her feet, twisting one to the side like she was inspecting them.

“They did make me run faster, but they broke. You need to get new ones so I can run fast! He didn’t bother to ask the girl why she wasn’t wearing her own sneakers or if she even brought them here, he really didn’t want to talk to her at all.

“That is the plan.” Kennedy said, turning to look at the ball before his attention was brought back to his foster sister as she tugged on his shirt.

“Next time we can get you something pretty!” He glowered at her, but wasn’t expecting to see a similar expression on her face.

“What?”

“What did you get on my shirt!?” Looking down at the shirt he had borrowed from the girl he saw a few tiny spots from the chocolate milk and one larger one. Not wanting this to be another incident he leaned closer to her to whisper.

“I can’t tell you yet, it is a secret, but if you can promise to keep a secret I will tell you later.” He could see the warryness in her eyes, but the way she was fighting to control her smile he knew he had her.

“I can keep a secret.” She said in a whisper back as she nodded her head.

“Good then I will tell you later and the two of us will have a big secret to keep.” When he saw the smile she was fighting back Kennedy pointed over to her starting position. He was surprised that no one had told them to get to their places yet, but looking around it seemed there had to be some child wrangling to keep the game going. He ended up standing around fidgeting, looking back up to the sun, cursing it for making stomach so unhappy. When the game started once again Kennedy wasn’t as quick to get to the ball before the one of the others, the same kid he had kicked the ball through their legs in the previous play and while he got control of the ball the little brat had kicked him firmly in the shin and he was positive they had done it on purpose. Moving the ball around instead of trying to go for a goal Kennedy popped the ball up so it hit the girl in the face before falling back to the ground where he could take control again. He had kicked the ball a little harder than he intended, but that was what the little shit got for playing with fire.

Running off down the field with the ball Kennedy was having to work a little harder to get past the girl with the cast when he had just moved past her something hit him from behind, shoving him forward and causing the ball to move away out of his control. Looking behind him the kid with the cast that he had gotten even with was there looking upset, tears in her eyes as she shoved him again. Kennedy was about to fully turn around, losing full sight of the ball as the another kid he hadn’t been worried about was trying to get around kicked the ball to try and pass it to a teammate, but with no skill at controlling the ball it whooshed through the air, landing home solidly into Kennedy’s stomach.

The impact to his belly when he wasn’t prepared, along with it already being upset caused its contents to seek freedom, up through his throat and out his mouth Kennedy’s chocolate milk came back up with a vengeance. The dark liquid covering the front of his shirt and going down his pants. Kennedy dropped to his knees, one hand over his stomach where the unexpected blow came and the other to help hold him up as he coughed and continued to empty his stomach. He suddenly felt miserable, the hit from the ball wasn’t that bad, he just wasn’t prepared for it, but his stomach revolted, having him heave his chocolate milk out onto the field left him feeling weaker and tired.

At some point while getting sick he felt hands rubbing his back and soothing words. He thought he heard Miss Miah’s voice, but it turned out to just be McKenzie he had heard. Both her and Abby were rubbing his back while other kids had loosely gathered around. “It will be okay.” came the firm voice of a man, Kennedy assumed it was the pirate.

“Joleen, dearest, can you take her to get cleaned up? I will get something to help calm her stomach.” Kennedy moved from his knees onto his ass, closing his eyes, feeling like somehow the sun had gotten brighter. He really wished they would stop talking to him like he was a girl, but when he opened his mouth he shut it quickly, when his stomach threatened another around.

“Take my hand and we will get you all cleaned up okay?” Kennedy opened his eyes just a sliver to see the dark haired woman with glasses that had given him a swat to the ass earlier. He didn’t want to take her hand, but he felt disgusting. Not just on the inside after running around in the sun after drinking half a gallon of chocolate milk, but also on the outside now that he was covered in his sick. Joleen took the hand the girl held out hesitantly and pulled her to her feet. “Just follow me and I will take care of you.”

Kennedy groaned, his stomach doing a little flip as he stood up. “I don’t feel good.”

“We can come help!” McKenzie offered.

“Noooo.” Joleen looked down at the protesting girl, giving her a lopsided smile. ‘Poor thing doesn’t want anyone to see her looking like this.’ She thought before shaking her head.

“I am sure we both appreciate your offer, girls. Right now though I have this handled. The two of you stay here.” Kennedy shuffled along with the woman, eyes downcast to avoid the overbearing glare of the sun. His stomach no longer felt bloated, but now it felt much, much worse. “I don’t feel… ahhhh.” Kennedy repeated his early statement, groaning instead of finishing the sentence. He hadn’t even noticed the man with the eyepatch, Bishop Chapman coming up to hand over a red bag with a white cross on it, and a bag Miah had brought with her to the park and to give his wife a kiss on the cheek. Kennedy only groaned that they came to a stop momentarily.

Joleen tugged the sick girl along with her into the woman’s side of the park’s bathroom. One of the fluorescent lights was out, the second gave more than enough light to see in the room, but it left it darker than she would have liked, and made her think the place was dirtier than it looked. First thing she did was put the bags on top of the closest sink and dug into the first aid bag. Pulling out a pink bottle she filled the cap with its contents and put it into the girl's hands. “Drink this dear, it will help make your tummy feel better. Kennedy was happy to take anything that was given if it kept him from puking again. He titled the cap back, drinking down the chalky substance without complaint. He then felt the older woman’s hand on his forehead.

“Hmm. It doesn’t feel like you have a fever. I think it would be best if you come sit in the shade till after lunch. Too much excitement and an upset tummy don’t go well together in the sun, but just in case it is an allergy I would like you to take this pill.” Kennedy nodded slowly, taking the small pink pill she offered and the water bottle she had hooked to her hip when she held it out. “Good, now shall we get you out of those filthy clothes and into something more fitting?”

Looking at himself in the mirror, Kennedy saw how big of a mess he looked, it matched how he felt. Never in his life had he thrown up on himself, but today he had and it made a big mess of his shirt and jeans, he was so engrossed by the gross sight he didn’t even look at how his hair had been styled. “Off with these now.” Joleen said as she helped remove the shirt, as it pulled over Kennedy’s head the scrunchie in his hair fell to the floor. Looking down at it on the floor he frowned at it, disliking Miss Miah using that on his hair. She was right that it kept his hair out of his face, a problem he had been having since she made him shampoo and wash his hair. He went to bend down to pick it up when he was stopped by the woman unbuttoning his pants.

“Leave that there for now.” He was slow to react, not thinking anything about standing in front of this woman without a shirt, but a spike of panic ran through him as she reached down, unbuttoned his jeans and pulled down his zipper without so much as asking. Kennedy grabbed the top of his jeans to hold them up. “Dear, you need to let go so we can change your clothes. No need to be shy, I’m here to help. You don’t want to go back outside looking and smelling like that do you?” Kennedy frowned, his lip quivering. Her words were gentle, making him less obstinate and more embarrassed. Embarrassed that he was going to get undressed in front of this woman he didn’t know, embarrassed that he had made a fool out of himself in front of all those kids, embarrassed for getting sick to begin with. All of it made him feel small and his instincts honed from many years in the system kicked in, making him want to act compliant so nothing else bad would happen.  

Kennedy’s cheeks grew red as she picked him up so that he sat on the counter as she worked the jeans past his feet that were still in Abby’s shoes. The ease of picking him up reinforcing his current diminished mood. Kennedy had completely forgotten he was wearing a pair of her pink panties, his hands covering his crotch. “Everything is going to be okay dear, I promise. We are going to get you into a change of clothes and soon the medicine will make you feel better. Do you trust me?” Joleen saw how the girl narrowed her eyes before looking away. She wasn’t the first child she had interacted with that was adopted, so she knew trust was hard earned. It broke her heart that anyone had made this little girl like that. Stepping away she pulled the bag her boss had brought for changes of clothes for her daughters and pulled out a yellow cotton dress.

The nervous boy sat still where he was, only seeing her holding something yellow from the corner of his eyes, not wanting to look at the woman to draw more of her attention. “Hands in the air please.” Kennedy complied as she put a bright yellow shirt over his head. After wearing the pink panties and a shirt with pink on it had made him think of it as least favorite color when he thought very little about the subject previously, but with how bright this shirt was, yellow was next on the list. He thought she was going to bring him a pair of pants or shorts next, but instead she started to mess with his hair. The brush running through his strawberry blonde locks felt good, giving him a little peace. Closing his eyes, Kennedy tried to ignore how his stomach felt, his feelings and just focus on what she was doing.  The act was as soothing as it was when Miss Miah did while she hummed, that was incredible. That woman had the power to make him actually relax, to feel welcome. When the brushing stopped he felt something pinch around his head, opening his eyes he reached up to touch it as the woman picked up one of his legs adjusting the socks so they folded down.

He was about to ask her about what she put in his hair when she picked him up and put him down back on the floor facing her. “Do you remember my name?” It was easy for Kennedy to look into the women's light blue eyes as she squatted down to be eye level. He looked away from her, down to himself. He had felt the shirt she put him in fall lower, his eyes showing him that he wasn’t wearing a shirt at all, but a yellow dress that hung to his knees. Past that were his bare legs, the borrowed socks with frills folded down and the mary jane shoes. He quickly looked back up horrified that she had put him in one of Abby’s dresses.

“I’m Joleen Chapman, you can call me Mrs. Joleen if you like. It is okay if you do not trust me yet dear, but I want you to know I would be happy to be your friend.” He heard her speaking in that gentle voice