Caroline Danielle Voss's Story

God… why did she ever ask to do this? With every second that passed Cara became even surer that she was wrong in her deciding to volunteer at the center. This had been a terrible mistake. She should just go back home and enjoy her summer hanging out with her friends, not spending her time around a bunch of gay kids who wouldn’t even appreciate her company.

She knew that they needed her. Her parents told her all the time that she was essential to this community because they would empathize with her. And she could empathize with them. She knew she was doing the right thing. And the more she said it in her mind, she was doing the right thing for people who mattered, the more it stuck in her mind and the better she felt about this whole thing.

As she walked into the center, Cara took a deep breath and smiled. It was like going to the dentist, it was scary at first, but then the nervousness went away and it got better. That morning she had been a wreak. Her parents had tried to calm her down, tell her that this year was just like the rest, but it hadn’t really worked. She tended to get neurotic when nervous.

That explained her appearance, hair in a messy ponytail, clothing still wrinkled and a bit damp (She had forgotten to do laundry the night before), and her nails were only half painted. It wasn’t an ugly look, just a bit silly.

Cara recognized a few faces from last year. Some new ones too. At this point, the facility housed almost 50 kids, all different from the last. Yes, it was a good thing, but it got really hard to pray for all of them. And gosh, wouldn’t it be horrible if God didn’t get to help some kid because she had forgotten about them.




“Fine.” That was the last word that Nadia uttered as she walked into her bedroom and closed (slammed) the door behind her. Her brother “fell in love” and now she was being forced to share a bedroom. Normally she was really good about this kind of thing. She understood that parents and their kids had falling outs. She understood that some parents sucked and getting out was necessary. She understood that people were people and they made mistakes. She got it. But why did this have to be her brother’s mistake. Why did this have to be his girlfriend? Why did it have to affect her family?

And what the fuck were her mom and Jon thinking. Letting this girl live with three little kids in the house. She at least hoped that AJ had been background checked first. Not that she didn't trust her, but being kicked out really wasn't something that seemed redeeming.

Once she got past this, she actually liked AJ; quiet, sweet, kind of cute. She was a sweet girl. And under any other circumstances, she would have been the proper roommate. But two days’ notice and nowhere to put her stuff, of course Nadia was a bit edgy.

He really didn't want to be here. Kris currently felt like he wanted to just turn invisible, or curl up into a little ball and die. This was the first time he had ever been here, and already it was horrifying. Everyone had been telling him how this 'would be good for him', and how it would 'stop him from thinking in such a delusional way'. He knew that he should listen to other people, but starting from the minute he had stepped into such a place, he was wondering if the deluded one really was himself.

The thin boy nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he walked into the center. There were so many people there. He wondered how many of the kids there had come here of their own free will, and how many had been forced, like he had been. As he surveyed the faces, wondering if there was anyone her who he recognized, his eyes fell upon a tall, thin girl with long, dark blonde hair. She seemed to friendly, albeit a bit stressed, so Kris hesitantly walked over to her.

"Hi, I'm Kris..." he said quietly, introducing himself for no reason in particular. "You look rather stressed. Are you okay?" Kris was a very caring sort of guy, so this wasn't a particularly unusual thing for him to ask, even though he was talking to a complete stranger.

Cara Voss

Cara had been standing in the middle of the center, looking around for her mom (and scratching the polish off of her nails, a nervous habit of hers that really ruined her nails), when her attention was drawn to a boy a bit taller than herself with black hair and a complexion darker than her own. She wondered if he was here of his own accord. She hoped so, as she always did, but she also knew that if probably want true. She was always happy to see another person when she was this nervous, but here, here it didn’t help at all. It just made her sad. Except now. She had never had someone just come up to her and ask if she was okay. A smile spread across Cara’s face, and it was actually genuine.

“Yea, I’m okay. I probably just look stressed because I am.” She grinned nervously, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Uhm, do you have any idea where Mrs. Voss is?” She paused, a thought coming to her. “Unless you don’t know who she is. Are you new? I don’t think I recognize you from last year.” Her mom was Mrs. Voss here, no exceptions. It was actually her dad’s rule. It was a silly rule, like most or her dad’s rules, but she actually accepted this one. It helped her seem normal to the other kids. He said that it kept her safer, away from the anger of the kids who thought that they were okay.



Nadia Smith

Nadia sat on her bed and leaned back next to her window. It was a tiny window, due to the fact that it was on the second floor and it could get a bit drafty up here, but it showed a beautiful view of outside where the colors of the trees were just beginning to change. It was getting colder and everything was getting ready to die, but it was still her favorite time of the year. Right outside the window was a huge maple tree, one that was already a vibrant orange. Inside the room it had begun to change as well. She had been rejected from the only schools that she had applied to, and was forced to go to the community college down the road. So her carefully packed boxes had been emptied and her room was a room again; lavender bed sheets, silly motivational posters, and pictures of her favorite actresses re-inhabited her walls.

She looked over towards AJ and shook her head, a tiny smile appearing on her face. “Really?” She asked her voice calm and oddly soft, “That’s a shame; Theo told me that you’d be staying a while.” And he had. Her brother had told her in no uncertain terms, that Nadia was going to have a roommate for at least six months and she should learn to deal with it. He mother had told her, in even more certain terms that she was going to treat her roommate, who had just been through hell (it was a fairly safe assumption. Mrs. Smith had left home when she was only 16 due to her own mother’s lack of care for her.), as if she were her own sister. AJ was to feel at home no matter what.

“Honestly, I’m happy to share a room with you.” It was a lie, she was happy to share a room, but not really with AJ. She had been expecting to be sharing a room with her new college roommate, and that hope had just been smashed to the ground.