Shawn Perkins here.  Thought I'd write to let y'all know what's goin' down with me.

I'm not doin' very well, I'm afraid.  I haven't seen my sisters in over a month; police came and split us up after our granny died.  We are now in the foster care system, and I don't know what is going to happen to us. 

I'm scared.

What if I never see my sisters again?  What will become of them?  What will become of me????

I'm now livin' with a family in Decatur, Alabama.  Quite different from New York, where I'd lived since I was born:  compared to the City, this is country:  all green, rural flatland, with nothin' for miles!

I am not sure I like it.  The air smells like animal shit, the gnats and mosquitoes are horrible, and your closest neighbor lives like a mile or two away. 

Oh, the family I'm with now (the Greenes) are okay enough:  there's my foster mom, Peg, and her husband, David; it's their kids I'm not so sure about.  The oldest daughter, Paige, is really moody (she don't talk to nobody), and the second child, a boy named Mark, isn't much better, although, once in a while, he will acknowledge me.  Then there's the two younger ones, Corey, who is mentally retarded (why, I don't know, but he is; he's ten, but he acts more like two or three), and Gideon, who is also handicapped (he walks on a pair of crutches and wears braces on both legs).  Gid is six.

I guess one reason why I am having such a hard time is because they're white.  I'm as black as ink.  I don't know if the older kids like having a black kid for a brother, foster kid or not.  I guess that's why they're so broody, so hostile, towards me.  Well, they aren't much to me either.  Mark has a face that looks like the backend of a horse, and Paige is way too skinny; she hardly ever eats.  I personally think she has an eating disorder; I wouldn't put it past her.

I'm also not used to having handicapped kids hanging around.  Gid's crutches and braces make me nervous, and Corey can explode when you least expect it.  He throws some of the biggest temper tantrums I have ever known!  He's bad!!  He's badder'n bad:  he's horrible!!!!

While I am glad the Greenes took me in as their FK, it's not the same.  I want my sisters Quaneesha and Q'uirionka; I miss them so bad!!  I wish they were here with me; I wish we didn't get split up when our granny died!!!!

Well, ma Greene is calling me to get up, so I will go now.  I will write in here again soon.  I will have to get a hold of Goon, my bud back home in New York City, and tell him that I am okay, that I miss him.  That will make him feel better.  I will talk to you again; until then, this is Shawn Perkins signin' outta here!  Peace out!

~Shawn.  :(

*to be continued.*