Behind the red door | ONC 2022

Chapter 5:

“Yes Julia, I have on many occasions but I was too scared to go and explore it. I’m over it at this point so it doesn’t really bother me but I still sometimes wonder what it is in the back of my mind. Anyway, I had to listen to Ms. Benson and obey the rules of the orphanage for various reasons. Before you attack me, the main reason for that is I was nearly adopted twice and I didn’t want to be seen as a problem or misbehaved child. It’s not exactly a good record for you to have but now I’ve given up hope of being adopted because I only have about 2 years left here but that’s not important. Let me stop with my rambling and let’s go to meet your friend Angie.” Roxy responded in excitement and a big smile formed on her face at the idea they were going to meet Angie.

Julia took her hand and as soon as she turned around, she bumped straight into Angie. She had a look of worry on her face.

“Guys we need to go to the bathrooms now because we have a big problem,” Angie said in a panic. Before Julia could say anything, Angie grabs her hand and drags her as well as Roxy with her towards the door of the dormitory. Then they head straight towards the girl’s bathroom and find a quiet place to talk.
“Angie, you need to calm down and relax first of all. Second of all, define what big problem we have and what’s wrong. Third of all, I would like you to meet Roxy who’s standing here next to me. I just told her that she could be friends with us, I hope that you’re alright with it.”

“Yeah, I’m alright with her being friends with us but that’s the least of my worries at the moment. Who knows, maybe she can help us with our plan…” Angie says in a panic.

“What plan?” Roxy interrupts Angie in confusion.

“Angie, how can you even think of that? I believe that she’ll help us only if she wants to.  For the record, I never told her about this because I didn’t want her to think that we are just using her for our plan. I initially went to ask if she hears the petrifying noises at night but we ended up hitting it off as friends…”
“You guys do know that I can hear your conversation from where I’m standing.” Roxy interrupted them.

“Yes Roxy, we know that you’re there. You just need to wait for a moment until we sort things out.” Julia reassured her.
“Angie instead of fighting and thinking of involving innocent Roxy in this plan of ours, I think it’s about time you tell me what’s going on. Why do we need Roxy in our plan? I thought the plan only involved you and me.” Julia demanded in a hushed voice.

“I don’t know how the hell Bethany found out about what we’re planning on doing today. I don’t know maybe someone told her or maybe she overheard us talking yesterday at dinner. Anyway, that’s beside the point right now. Shortly after you went to meet Roxy, Bethany approached me with a smirk on her face. Bethany is honestly starting to get on my nerves and I’m beginning to hate her so much. Every time I see her face and the smirk on it; I wish that I could bitch slap that smirk right off her face. The worst of it all is that we've barely been here for two days, I don't know how much more of it I can handle. Anyway, she then told me that we can forget about doing anything or going anywhere today because she’s going to be watching and monitoring us. She also said that the activities for us who have been suspended will be under strict supervision. So that means that we won’t be able to leave the room without someone escorting us to where we need or want to go. We need Roxy in our plan because there’s been a slight change of plan.” Angie explained while pacing up and down in the area where they were standing.

“Angie, you need to relax. I know that it’s easier said than done. I know that Bethany winds you up like a toy but you need to not let it get to you too much. If you do that then you're giving her the pleasure and she'll continue to do it to you over and over. Just think about it this way, I highly doubt that they'll be doing that today. I'm sure that everyone will want to enjoy the fun day today, I don't think anyone would want to miss that. I do agree that we do need a backup plan, just in case. Knowing her, she’s probably pulling your leg and she knows that it will get on your nerves and upset you. Bethany is nothing but a big bully who likes to pick on everyone who gets in her way." Julia assured her.

"What part of the plan do you need my help with? I don’t mind helping you guys out since you’re my new friends. Bethany has always been a bully for as long as I can remember and I’ve been here since I was a little girl. I don't know how she got into authority, to begin with, let alone the head of the girl’s dormitory. When that happened, she just got a whole lot worse. I sometimes wish that Ms. Jackson had never resigned. If she were here things would have been a lot different and probably a lot better. Ms. Benson also uses Bethany as her sidekick which is also bad. I feel sorry for you guys for coming at such a bad time. It’s not a bad orphanage if the right people are in authority, it’s just sad how much it’s gone down the drain. I was just lucky that I wasn't a target of Bethany’s but that could have been because one of my friends put her in her place a long time ago.” Roxy explained to them.

“If you’re so eager to help us then this is what you need to do. Your role in this plan is small but necessary. You need to keep your cellphone with you at all times today and we need you to answer it. If needed we’ll contact you and you’ll need to create a distraction of some sort to get rid of either Bethany or Ms. Benson or anyone for that matter. That will allow us to either go to the attic or the janitor’s office whichever place, we need to go to.” Julia instructed her.

“Alright guys, I’ve got the plan and I’ll strictly stick to it. Let me get going before anyone starts getting suspicious of us just standing here. I’ll see you guys shortly downstairs in the dining room for breakfast. I’ll give you my phone number and social media handles over breakfast since I don’t have my phone with me.” Roxy called from over her shoulder. She made her way back to the dormitory to get herself some appropriate clothes for the day.

Julia and Angie followed shortly after her to also get themselves ready for the day. Julia had to find her private stash of painkillers for her blinding headache.