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00:00Hi, I'm Abina, and I live in an orphanage in Ghana.
00:03And before you start feeling sorry for me and blah, blah, blah, relax, man.
00:07Everyone is super chill here.
00:08The coffee is bomb.
00:10And I have a little brother who worships me.
00:12So I guess that's why I've never wanted to get adopted.
00:14Before I continue, please like and subscribe.
00:17Ever since I could remember, rich, stupid foreigners would come every month to take one of us home with them.
00:22But I knew they were just using us to brag about how they'd done such a noble deed by adopting a poor orphan.
00:29So whenever those snobs would drop by with their camera phones and designer clothes,
00:33I'd convince my brother Kofi to help me mess with them.
00:36Come see our room. We just got new blankets.
00:39Sweetie, I'm taking a selfie with—
00:41Our new blankets smell like lavender.
00:43Ugh! Is that pee?
00:46Silly me. I forgot. We have a bad wedding problem.
00:51A bad wedding problem!
00:55The woman ended up bursting into tears from the awful smell.
00:59So traumatic.
01:00But one day, the warden had had enough of my behavior.
01:03You're 14 years old now, and Kofi's 8.
01:05It's important for your development to have parents.
01:08So the next time a visitor arrives, you better behave yourself.
01:12I was about to refuse, but I wanted Kofi to be happy and healthy.
01:16So I gave in.
01:17Except when a couple finally decided to take us home, I immediately disliked them.
01:22Apparently, they were both philanthropists who loved doing charity work.
01:26They were just too sweet, and I had a bad feeling about these people.
01:29Just like that, they whisked us from our beloved home to some mansion in America.
01:34Who wants to see their new room?
01:37Do you want to see your big boy bed, my cutie-wootie-widdle-mouse?
01:41Ew, gross. We hate mice. And don't talk to Kofi like he's a baby.
01:44Of course, dear. I'll try again.
01:47Yo, yo, dudes.
01:48Who wants to see their billion-dollar golden baller sleep in place?
01:53You hear me, bro?
01:54There's gotta be a cliff I can jump off of.
01:56At least I had a giant bed with a mattress from heaven.
01:59But the next day, things took an awful turn.
02:02I discovered that Kofi and I were all over the news, and the paparazzi were right outside our window.
02:07Were my new parents famous?
02:09How come you didn't tell us you guys were celebrity philanthropists?
02:13I don't want to live in the public eye.
02:14And I've got an eight-year-old brother. I don't want his picture everywhere online.
02:18Oh, come on. Being a celebrity is fun.
02:21You never have to wait in line.
02:22You get free stuff? Give it a chance, Abena.
02:25It's Abena. I've told you three times.
02:28You know what? Just call me Abby, since I'm an American now.
02:31Mom looked hurt when I said that, and from that day on, things went downhill.
02:35Mom and I fought about everything imaginable.
02:38Like, she'd get mad because I hated being interviewed by reporters,
02:41or because I hated the itchy thousand-dollar clothes she bought me,
02:45or the fact that she kept feeding Kofi fancy food that he wasn't used to,
02:48even though I told her to just give us something more simple.
02:51By the time school started, I was exhausted from all the media attention.
02:56And I didn't want a bunch of kids coming up to me,
02:58since I was the famous Canadian orphan that they were fascinated with.
03:01So I decided to ditch class and hang out in the school garden.
03:04Then suddenly, I heard a voice near me.
03:07Hey, are you okay?
03:08I looked over to see a boy my age with neon hair dressed in rags.
03:12Even the clothes I wore at the orphanage were nicer than his.
03:15Uh, no? I don't know. My parents are annoying?
03:18Your biceps are gorgeous? Never mind.
03:20The guy just laughed, and suddenly,
03:22I found myself pouring my heart to a total stranger about everything that had happened.
03:26I found out his name was Carter, and we went to the same school.
03:29He apparently skipped classes regularly so he'd have enough energy to work nighttime shifts,
03:34and it was all because his parents barely had enough money to buy food.
03:37I felt bad for Carter, but I was kind of relieved to finally meet someone here who wasn't rich.
03:42He ended up walking me home, but when we arrived,
03:45Mom greeted us at the door, and she immediately asked Carter to leave.
03:48Abby, I know that boy. He lives in a trailer outside our neighborhood.
03:52I want you to stay away from him. He's a criminal.
03:55You'll be in danger, and people will think my daughter's mixed up with a crook.
03:59Because your publicity image is all you care about, right?
04:02You don't actually care about my safety?
04:04Well, guess what? You're not my real mom, which means I don't have to listen to you.
04:08Mom grounded me after I said that, but I didn't let that stop me.
04:11Carter and I started hanging out all the time.
04:13Sometimes we'd ditch class together, and sometimes he'd sneak in through my window
04:17so we could watch MSA videos together on my TV.
04:19I'm so glad you watch these on YouTube instead of TikTok.
04:23Promise me you'll never watch MSA on TikTok and fry your brain, please?
04:27I didn't believe Mom about the criminal nonsense,
04:30until one day, I noticed Carter take off his baseball cap to reveal a clump of shiny jewelry.
04:35Please tell me he didn't steal all that.
04:37Abby, you know I have a family to support.
04:40Yeah, I feel bad for stealing, but a job washing dishes can only pay so much.
04:44Look, I get it, but you don't have to become a thief.
04:46No wonder Mom thinks you're a delinquent.
04:48Maybe I'll ask her to give you some money.
04:50She and my dad love bragging about how they give to charity.
04:53Then suddenly, Carter got this really serious look on his face,
04:56and then he told me something disturbing.
04:58My parents were known for being frauds.
05:01Kofi and I hadn't been the first kids they'd taken home.
05:03Apparently, they'd foster them for a year or two,
05:06use them to get publicity, and then they'd send them somewhere else.
05:09That makes no sense. They took me home and signed the papers.
05:12Are you sure? Because they've never adopted an actual kid before.
05:16Look, I don't know the logistics. I just don't want you getting hurt.
05:20I know it's only been a short time, but I've grown to care about you, Abby.
05:24I was about to confront Mom and Dad when I got home,
05:26but when I arrived, I was hit with awful news.
05:29Kofi was in the hospital due to food poisoning, and he was really sick.
05:33This is all your fault.
05:34I told you a million times not to feed my brother fancy food like caviar
05:38because he's not used to it.
05:39Now he's sick, and it's all because you two were too stuck up
05:42to give him something like rice and beans.
05:44Abby, it's not fair to blame us for something like this.
05:47The food poisoning could have been from anything.
05:49Plus, he'll be fine.
05:51Why are you making such a big deal about food poisoning?
05:54It's not about the freaking food poisoning.
05:56It's about you two being selfish, irresponsible jerks that don't care about us.
06:00Mom and Dad apologized and reassured me, but I didn't listen.
06:03I knew now that Carter was right.
06:05My brother and I weren't safe with these people.
06:08So as soon as Kofi was better, I crafted a plan to run away from home.
06:11Carter said Kofi and I could stay with his family in the meantime,
06:14while he would help find new parents who weren't horribly selfish.
06:18So one night at 1 a.m., I turned off the location services on my phone
06:22and helped Kofi sneak out the window.
06:24I don't want to run away.
06:25These people are nice, and they take good care of us.
06:27They seem nice, Kofi, but they don't really care about us.
06:30We'll be living in another foster home in another year.
06:33Trust me.
06:34Says who?
06:35Your new boyfriend Carter, who you've known for like five minutes
06:38and who also happens to be a thief?
06:39I know you're not actually this dumb.
06:41It's not like he wants to be a thief.
06:43He has a family to support,
06:44and I still would trust a thief over any adoptive parents who could hurt us.
06:48Carter picked us up in his car a few minutes later,
06:51but Kofi wasn't speaking to me.
06:52I felt bad, but I was doing the right thing by protecting us, right?
06:56Besides, Carter's parents were happy to let us stay with them for the time being.
06:59Yeah, they lived in a one-bedroom trailer,
07:02and Kofi and I had to sleep on a floor mattress,
07:04but it was still so much better than staying with parents who didn't care about us.
07:08The next morning, Carter told me that he had disguises
07:11in case the cops came looking for us.
07:13No, I want to go back home.
07:14You can't do this to us.
07:16You can't take us away from Mom and Dad
07:17just because you heard some rumor to live in a one-bedroom trailer with your boyfriend.
07:21It's not like I have a choice.
07:23I'm doing this for you and your safety.
07:25Mom and Dad are frauds.
07:27Why? Because they like bragging to the media about how they adopted us?
07:30Big deal.
07:31They still care about us, and they're still giving us a great life.
07:34You're just trying to find excuses to run away because of what happened six years ago.
07:38Right then, Carter asked me what my brother was talking about,
07:41but I wanted to change the subject.
07:42I didn't tell Carter about how my parents had gone missing at work one day,
07:46and no one had ever been able to find them,
07:48and that's why we'd been at the freaking orphanage in the first place.
07:51You'll do anything to avoid being hurt again.
07:53You'd even rather live with your criminal boyfriend and believe a ridiculous rumor
07:56than let another family take care of us.
07:59I knew Kofi was right, and maybe staying with Carter wasn't the best option,
08:03especially because as days passed, I learned that he wasn't just poor,
08:06and he didn't just steal to support his family.
08:09I was drifting off to sleep one night when I heard laughing outside
08:12and I opened the door to find him sitting with a bunch of guys and unwrapping towels filled with money.
08:17No, do not tell me you're in a gang.
08:19Well, we all have families to feed, and now that you and Kofi are staying with us,
08:23I want to make sure I can support you guys.
08:26I don't want all of us to have to live in a one-bedroom trailer.
08:28Here, babe, I stole $50,000 just for you and your brother.
08:32Carter, I can't accept this.
08:34You can't keep stealing. It's wrong, and I don't think we should be together either.
08:38I appreciate what you're doing for me, but I think it's best if Kofi and I leave.
08:42No, please, don't leave me. You're the only thing that makes me happy.
08:46Nobody at school wants to be friends with me because I'm a poor loser,
08:49and no one in the neighborhood wants to associate with me because I'm a thief. I—
08:53Before Carter could finish his sentence, I heard police cars,
08:56and that's when Mom and Dad came running over and crying.
08:59I guess they did care about us after all, and Kofi seemed overjoyed to see them.
09:04I started to warm up and apologize to my parents for running away.
09:07Then suddenly, a policeman handcuffed Carter and said he was taking him to juvie for three years.
09:12It's thanks to you two that we've been able to do an investigation
09:16and track down how much money this guy's stolen.
09:18And he dated my daughter and put both her and her brother at risk.
09:22My heart suddenly stopped as I saw Carter's parents beg and cry and apologize.
09:27I knew it was wrong what Carter had done, but did he really need to be away from his family for three years?
09:32I tried not to think about it as Mom and Dad drove us home and said we could do whatever we wanted.
09:37Watch movies, order in, go to Disneyland.
09:39They were good people, and I had been wrong all along.
09:42Instead, I put my brother in danger and got a boy taken away from his starving family.
09:47All because I was too traumatized to trust anyone to adopt me.
09:51I felt practically ill with guilt.
09:53The next day, I finally went to school for the first time without ditching class,
09:57and everyone was interested in being my friend since I'd been all over the news,
10:01and I'd dated a known delinquent.
10:03So what's it like dating a real thief?
10:05Have you dated thieves before in Ghana? Is it true?
10:08All of them have rock-hard abs.
10:11I... I don't know. Why would I know that?
10:14By the time I got home, I felt like I was literally gonna die of guilt.
10:17And then things got even crazier.
10:20Mom and Dad called Kofi and I into their study because our old warden had called.
10:24She wanted to check in and see how things were going.
10:26We told her we loved fostering you two, and the truth is, we want to adopt you.
10:32What do you mean? I thought you already adopted us.
10:35Oh, no. Usually, we foster children for a few years, and then we find them a home.
10:40Your warden sent you off with us because you'd have better living conditions.
10:44But we love you two so much that we want to keep you.
10:47So Carter had been right about the whole fostering thing,
10:50but he'd been wrong about them trying to hurt us.
10:52He'd just been looking out for Kofi and me.
10:54He was a good guy. I couldn't let him sit in juvie for three years.
10:58You guys can adopt us, but on one condition.
11:00You have to help out Carter's family.
11:02They don't have any money or food.
11:04That's the only reason why Carter formed a gang and became a crook in the first place.
11:08Yeah, he committed some bad crimes, and I won't date him anymore.
11:11But he's a good person and shouldn't have to stay in juvie for three years.
11:15To my surprise, my parents actually agreed,
11:18and the four of us went together to talk to the police about Carter's situation.
11:21My new mom even insisted on buying his family a new house.
11:25Thanks, Mom. That means a lot.
11:27Did you just call me Mom?
11:29Well, you did agree to adopt me, and I've kind of been a jerk to you.
11:33We hugged at that moment, and it made me feel warm inside.
11:36But there was one more person I needed to talk to.
11:38I'm really sorry I got you into this mess.
11:41You might still have to go to a disciplinary school,
11:43but you won't have to stay here for three years.
11:45Don't apologize. That's what you get for forming a freaking gang.
11:49Thanks for looking out for me, Abby.
11:50I know we need to break up, but I'm glad we're still friends.
11:53Actually, my real name is Abina.
11:55Why don't you call me that from now on?
11:57And yeah, of course we're friends.
11:59I've never had anyone look out for me the way you did.
12:02So, will I see you again soon, Abina?
12:04You sure will.