Joey lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. It's not fair, he thought. The others had all left without him. He wiped at his nose with his sleeve and tried to think of why they all hated him.
He couldn't remember having done anything to them, but then again he couldn't remember anything at all. He remembered waking up in a mud house, on a bed with the redheaded twins. What is this place? Who are these people? he wondered.
A fat girl with dark hair leaned over his bed. "Mommy?"
She smiled and then patted him on the cheek. "No, Joey, I'm not Mommy. I'm Veronica. I'm going to take care of you."
"Where am I?" he asked.
"You're on Eternity. You're safe here."
"Where is Mommy?"
"She's had to go away for a while. She asked me to take care of you until she comes back."
"When will that be?"
"I'm not sure." She took his hand and then helped him out of bed. "We had better get you cleaned up before you meet your new friends."
He pointed to the twins on the bed. "Are they my friends?"
"Yes. And there's a little girl named Samantha. Today's her birthday and we're going to give her a big surprise." Veronica took him outside to bathe him and comb his hair. As she did, he tried to figure out why Mommy had left. Didn't she love him anymore? He asked Veronica, but she only said, "Mommy had some very important things to do."
What could be so important that she had to leave him behind? He dressed and then followed Veronica back inside to find the twins arguing. "You peed on me!" the girl screamed.
"I didn't mean to," the boy said, his lip trembling as though on the verge of crying.
"I'm all wet and stinky now," the girl said. "It's your fault. You stupid baby."
"Children, children, let's not get upset," Veronica said. She helped the redheaded boy from the bed and pressed him close. "It's no one's fault. We'll go outside and get you both cleaned up, good as new."
The girl climbed out of bed and glared at Joey. "Who are you?" she said.
"This is Joey. Joey, this is Prudence and Wendell. You're all going to be the best of friends, I'm sure."
"I don't like him," Prudence said. "He's a snotface."
Joey wiped at his nose with his sleeve. "Prudence, you shouldn't say things like that. It's not very nice."
"I don't care. He is a snotface."
"I want to go home," Wendell said.
"You are home, at least for now," Veronica said. "Joey, you stay here while I take care of these two." She took Prudence's hand and then led the twins outside.