My Prison

There’s nothing like having a married couple barge into my house acting like they know my life. Technically speaking, “they” do. I refer to them as “they” due to the fact that they never told me their names, all I knew was that my parents had hired them. I am 14 and defiant of authority, I challenge the couple to state their intentions and I’m given two options, “The hard way or the easy way,” The older-looking man told me as he brandished a pair of police-issue handcuffs. I was scared, not knowing what I had done wrong. Since I cooperated, they let my parents lead me to their average-looking four-door sedan and load the two suitcases full of my old jeans and T-shirts that my mother had packed for me into the trunk. My mother is hysterical as she attempts to explain what is happening, but I ignore her groveling. It was around 7:30p.m.; we drove through the night stopping at gas stations so I could use the restroom. Every time we stopped I was forced to walk in with handcuffs, like a criminal.
The couple was strangely nice to me, they bought me candy and drinks on the way there and treated me like I was their prisoner on death row having my last meal. It was cold everywhere, the car, outside, and my body. I felt so scared in those moments all I wanted was to see my best friend, holding his necklace tight to me and not wanting to let go. We arrived at the last gas station and they put the handcuffs on me to go into the store; Feeling everyone’s eyes locked on me, like I could kill them at any moment. It’s baffling how people think a fourteen year old girl could be capable of something like that just because I have handcuffs on; Which made going to the bathroom a struggle all in itself. Finally getting back to the car they took th...

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...ademy, until the name was changed to Magnolia Christian Academy about 6 months into my term there. I stayed a total amount of one year, until the place shut down because of CPS (Child Protective Services). I was a level four by then. All the parents were called to see whether they wanted to take their kids home or be transferred to another facility. I knew for sure I was going to get transferred, and I would have if my parents picked up their phone. They were busy vacationing in the Bahamas. They always went on trips now that I was gone. So They called my grandparents and of course my grandparents took me home. My grandparents were overjoyed to have the opportunity to come and take home their only granddaughter. We drove down to Atlanta where we stayed at one of the staff members houses till my grandparents took me home. My life was changed forever after that year.