18 • Keep Going

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❝If you're going through hell, keep going.❞

-Winston Churchill

✿ 


Two months ago, you confessed to the first boy you ever liked: Shoyo Hinata. Now, you're living in an orphanage exactly 906 kilometers away from your real home, feeling numb and insignificant.

You lost your grandmother. Your only family. You lost your chance at a new start and watched as it crumbled into pieces. You lost your home. You lost Henjin to a shelter.

And you lost Shoyo.

"You lost the broom?" Tanji, another orphan, snaps, "How is that even possible?"

You shake your head, clearing your mind. "S-Sorry. I must've misplaced it."

"If you don't find it, then I can't clean," the blonde girl grumbles, "and then the headmaster will have my head. And don't you think I won't blame you, new girl."

"Find it yourself," you mutter, not intending on giving your kindness to someone like her. All she's ever been is rude to you. "And I've been here for two months, so you can stop calling me that."

"You lost it, you find it." She growls, shoving past you and storming off.

You clench your eyes shut, taking a deep breath, hoping to calm your stiff body. The air smells of dust and sweat, though, so it only makes you gag. 

The stairs of the old orphanage creak as you climb down. Should you look for the broom? It's not like you hid it; all Tanji has to do is open her eyes and put in a little effort. You probably just set it against the wall somewhere.

You walk outside, desperate for a breath of fresh air. More than thirty girls packed in one building with only two showers does not smell pleasant. 

"Hey," someone behind you says, "it's your turn to get the groceries."

You turn around, frowning when you see who it is. Tanji's sister, nicknamed Mango for her yellow-orange hair, is standing there with the keys to the headmaster's car.

She's a total suck-up, and gets all the special perks from the director of the orphanage.

"How'd you get those?" You mutter, nodding to the keys in her hand.

Mango only shrugs. "You know how the headmaster is. She has her favorites."

"But it's not even my turn," you argue, "I have dish duty next."

Mango looks up, something shining in her eyes. Her expression is blank, but there's an eagerness in her voice.

"Please. Please get me out of here."

Suddenly she's on her knees, holding the keys in front of her. Her head is turned to the ground.

"Wh—?" You stutter, "What? Why?"

"I know you're not happy here," she says, "I've seen the way you act. The way you ignore the other girls."

You look away from her, but she continues.

"Please. We can take the car."

"Why? You have everything you could want here. The headmaster loves you."

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