The morning brought the last day for them in the hospital, and made everyone nervous. The hospital had taken long enough to get used to, and the people had been strange until they got used to them too.

But now they were leaving the little bit of comfort and familiarity that they had managed to find. They were leaving it behind to live in a strange house with a strange person and they were all nervous and scared, despite their meeting the previous night.

All of the kids had been given backpacks, all brand new and all different colors, and they had been told to pack up all their things. They didn’t have very much, only the things that the social workers and the hospital had given them, like clothes and cards and some other things. Dr. Kendall had given them each a list of what medicines to take at what time and made sure that they were in their backpacks, and then had taken all 6 of the kids downstairs to pick up the prescriptions. Each of them had at least 2 different bottles. Derek and Naomi only had two, and Claire had the most, at 6.

Amelia and Sam had been given more papers, which had phone numbers on them for the doctors and the hospital and all of the social workers. Dr. Kendall and the head social worker had at some point decided that the two of them were in charge, because they were the oldest. But the papers were pointless, as neither Sam nor Amelia could actually read, and so the papers were handed onto Derek, who seemed to know everything.

Derek pocketed them, and then Dr. Kendall and the social worker took them down to the lobby. They looked strange and out of place, six skinny teenagers with a rainbow of backpacks, all looking confused and standing a little too close together. They all looked a bit ragged, as none of their outfits were for looks; they were all convenience and comfort. Sam stood in the front of the group, taller than the rest of them and his strange yellow eyes making him look intimidating, as well as the angry resting face he had acquired over the years.

This was because all of the kids did see Sam as the leader, and the fact that he was the oldest and the strongest only made that more so. Derek was the brains in the group, because he could read and write and was good at math and science, while none of the rest of them, with the exception of Savvy, could even read.

And if Derek was the brains, then Savvy was the talker, because she liked to talk and she was good at it. Naomi was the peacekeeper. Amelia was the strong one. Claire was the quick one, and she was small enough to sneak around if needed. They all fit together well as a team, despite how awkward their group worked.

Of course, that set of roles wasn’t very relevant to where they were going. A house with a woman, where they would be learning how to do things and once again, changing their life. But they didn’t need someone who could knock a man to the ground or sneak around or talk their way out of situations. Their lives had changed, and the hospital had just been a long turn around point.

“Amber is going to meeting you all here.” Dr. Kendall said to the group with a smile. “I have to go for an appointment, but I will see you all again, I’m sure. Stay safe, and stay healthy, alright?” There were mumbled sounds of agreement to the doctor, who just smiled and waved as she turned and walked away, leaving the group alone with the social worker, waiting for Amber Donovan.

It wasn’t very long of a wait, as a woman appeared shortly after Dr. Kendall had left. She looked confused for a moment as she entered the waiting room of the hospital, but as she saw the group of kids, she smiled and approached them. “Hi. I’m Amber Donovan. You can all call me Amber. I’ll be taking care of you six for the future.” She said, all in a cheerful, chipper tone. None of the kids really knew how to respond, and so just stood in silence. She nodded and then looked to the social worker, who whispered something to Amber and then handed her a stack of papers, then walked away.

“Alrighty.” Amber said, still chipper. “I know you probably aren’t really looking forward to going to another new place. But I’ve heard about what happened to you, so you won’t have to explain or anything. The house is great, it has 3 bedrooms, so you will all have to share.”

“That’s fine.” Savvy replied, shrugging. “We’ve been closer.” She wasn’t sure that any of them would want to be alone anyway, not after so long of all of them being together. Amber smiled and nodded.

“I figured.” The woman said, and then looked at all of the kids. “Alright, I know that you all know each other, and now you all know who I am, but honestly, I don’t know you. I know about what happened to you, but I don’t know your names and faces or what kind of things you like. So, we’re gonna get to know each other, alright?”

Sam shrugged, and Savvy mumbled something. Amber took it as a good thing and smiled, leading all six of them out of the hospital and to a van, and driving them all away to their new home.