literature

(OLD VERSION) Atonement: Chapter One

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The harsh slamming of the judge’s gavel would echo throughout the courtroom, and in Joyce’s ears for years to come. “Guilty,” they pronounced her. “Guilty.” This certainly wasn’t her first time through this song and dance. Joyce was pretty sure this was...what, her seventh time here? Her seventh time hearing her freedom being taken from her, her seventh time being marched out the door in handcuffs and shoved into a police car to be taken to the jail.

Only that didn’t seem to be happening in this case. She looked curiously at the officers surrounding her, expecting them to drag her away, expecting the judge to give her something like 4 years this time? The problem was that it just wasn’t happening. The judge didn’t hand out a jail sentence. He seemed to be forming some other set of words with his lips, and it was different enough that Joyce quickly tuned back in.

“Miss Carson. You’ve been through here far too many times, and it’s obvious that our standard methods are not having any sort of positive effect. With that said, I’d like to offer you a chance. By law, your minimum possible sentence after this many strikes is life with no possibility of parole. I’d prefer to avoid doing that to a girl before she even turns 18. So, I’d like to offer you another option.” He paused, seeming to invite a response from Joyce.

So she responded, trying desperately to keep her shock and horror at the sentence off of her face. “What do you mean? Isn’t there only one option at this point? I mean, if you can’t fix me, throw me in a cell and leave me to die, right?”

“No, Miss Carson. I’d rather not. We have a new program here that you may not have heard of, judging by your reaction. We will match you with a family and place you into a foster home, where you will be required to follow all of the rules given to you. If you can do that, you’ll be free to go, all of your past sins wiped from your record. If not...well, I won’t have an alternative at that point.”

Joyce involuntarily swallowed at that, nodding slowly in response. “Yes...sir.”

The smile that appeared on the judge’s face looked genuinely kind, something Joyce wasn’t sure she had seen in a very long while. “Very good. Please, head into the next room. We have some paperwork you’ll need to look over and sign.”

Joyce nodded again in response. “Of course, sir.” The handcuffs she was expecting momentarily never came, though an officer did show up to escort her to another room. As she took a seat, she was presented with a stack of paperwork, legal documents, and assorted contracts to sign. Skimming through the legal jargon, she was pretty sure these were exactly what the judge said - she’d be placed in a foster home, given a set of rules, and hopefully, “reformed,” whatever that really meant.

She signed them without even thinking twice.

Honestly, Joyce wasn’t certain that she could survive much longer in prison. She didn’t want to keep stealing from others to live, but she wasn’t generally given much of a choice. Maybe this foster family thing would give her a bit of a chance to start over. Starting over...that definitely sounded good. Maybe it would give her a bit of a chance to make up for what she had to do.

A flicker in the corner of Joyce’s eye caused her to look up, spotting the older, well-dressed woman who casually strolled in and took a seat opposite her. “Who are you?” asked Joyce, half expecting not to get an answer.

“My name is Abyzou. I’m just here to help.” The woman pulled out another few sheets of paper, attached to a clipboard, and set them in front of Joyce. “If you truly wish to start over, you’ll need to sign this as well.”

Joyce signed without a word.

Abyzou smiled and bowed slightly, grabbing the clipboard and exiting the room without a trace. Joyce wasn’t certain she even heard the door open and shut, but she focused on finishing the paperwork anyways. Another suit walked through the door, gathering the finished paperwork and stacking it into a file before exiting the room. And then someone Joyce was pretty sure was not a cop entered the room.

“Hello. Are you Joyce?”

Another smile. She could get used to this. Joyce scanned the new woman, registering the details in her mind. Plain t-shirt, plain jeans, brown hair in a ponytail - this may be the most boring woman she’d ever laid eyes on. Yet the look on her face transfixed Joyce for a second. The slight kindness in the judge’s eyes was entirely blown away by the warm, welcoming look in the woman’s eyes, and that was before even looking at the rest of her face.

Words escaped Joyce as she struggled to come up with an answer. “Uh...um...yeah, I’m Joyce. Are you…?”

“I’m going to be your foster mother. Feel free to call me Connie if you don’t want to call me mom.”

Again, Joyce could find no words to match the situation. “Um...okay,” was what she finally stammered out, though it didn’t really fit her emotions at all. She settled with just staring directly at Connie, awaiting whatever came next.

Connie walked over towards the side of the table that Joyce was sitting on. “I have a room for you at home. I do have a daughter, though she’s quite a bit younger than you. Do you think you’re ready to head out? Do you need anything from here?”

Joyce shook her head dumbly as she slowly got to her feet. She tried to think back to what she should do in this type of situation, but nothing came to mind, so she just followed behind Connie as Connie led her to a minivan sitting outside. As she climbed into the car, she did remember two words, words she couldn’t remember using like this. “...thank you.”

And yet another smile. “Don’t you mention it. I’m glad to have you. Hopefully I can help you and you can help me a bit as well. I know I’ll be happy to have someone around to help out with chores at the very least.” Even Connie’s jokes felt alien to Joyce, but as she sat down and strapped herself into the passenger seat, she felt welcomed for the first time in a long while.
Based on a request from :iconoakthecrusedlciehog:

Age regression incoming! I really like the idea for this story, so I hope it works out well.
© 2016 - 2024 TheBabyBunch
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Darkpally0's avatar
a good start I can't wait to see what happens next