Just Friends [ m. arguello ]

2) Be More Careful Next Time, Ok?

ii : Be More Careful Next Time, Ok?

The girl was 10, a solemn look on her face as she sat in the back of a car. The social worker was discussing how she should be out of the orphanage within weeks and how she was "just so cute anyone would be lucky to adopt her!" But Avery didn't want to be adopted. She wanted her mom and dad. She wanted her brother and she wanted everything to be normal again. 

Avery wanted to go home.

As the car came to a stop the girl was escorted out of the car and towards the large home in front of her. "Ms. Faith's Home For Girls," the large sign out front read. Avery frowned. 

The whole place was bleak. From its pale blue walls to its gray tiled flooring. Even the children looked depressed, all of them sitting in a dining area and moving gray sludge around on a plate. Avery grimaced. Would she have to eat gray sludge as well?

The blonde social worker, Vivian Jones if Avery remembered correctly, happily guided the girl down the halls and towards an equally bleak office. Behind a desk sat a woman with graying hair and sharp glasses. Avery wondered if the woman ever considered being a movie villain. She would easily fit the role, Avery believed.

As Vivian left, the new woman instructed Avery to take a seat. As soon as the girl did a list of rules were stated. "No lights on after 7:30. No running in the halls. No yelling at any time of day no matter the circumstances. No leaving the premises without a worker."

The woman went on to recite some more rules before ending with, "Any questions?" Avery bit her tongue to stop herself from asking what she was allowed to do. Instead she smiled and shook her head no.

From there Avery was guided to the cafeteria, which is where Avery's horror week started. 

To start the girl was doing fine, resisting the urge to curl into a ball and cry while she messed with what she was informed was "oatmeal" before a girl sat down across from her. 

The girl was two years older than Avery, something the strawberry blonde pressed on about as she explained how the "two were going to be best friends! Just remember you're the younger by two years!" Avery nodded along to everything she was told, happy to have some distraction from the current circumstances. And, even better yet, she had gained a new friend!

She even ignored when her new friend kept smiling at something behind Avery. She assumed she was smiling at the clock that kept making obnoxious ticking noises every second. Until something wet slid down the girl's body, cold oatmeal sitting upon her head while some of it dripped from off her nose. "What–" Avery sat there in shock, sputtering and gasping as the girls around her giggled and screeched like hyenas. 

Their laughter rose tenfold when Avery ran off, rushing out of the cafeteria and towards the showers. Until somebody gripped onto the girl's shoulder and glared down at her. "There's to be no running," Ms. Faith glared. Avery froze in her spot. "But-" The girl wasn't given a moment to explain, instead she was dragged towards a closet and pushed inside. 

With a huff Avery slid to the ground. She sat there staring into the darkness for about half an hour until she finally broke and started sobbing. She wanted to go home! She didn't want to be there anymore! She didn't want to deal with the homes stupid, exact rules or their idiotic hyenas that they called children or anything in that hideous building. 

With a clenched fist Avery punched the wall, tears pouring down her face as she beat up the old closet. She didn't stop until her knuckles were drenched in blood and splinters made it hurt to straighten out her hand. Yet after a while she unclenched her fists and slid back down the wall with heavy breaths. 

"Everythings fine," she whispered to herself. If she imagined hard enough she could hear her mother saying it. "Just take a deep breath and count to ten." 

"One.." Her mothers birthday was on the first..

"Two.." Her father usually bought flowers and attempted to cook dinner on those nights.

"Three.." Zachariah would always take Avery upstairs and play video games with her while their parents stayed downstairs.

"Four.." Avery sucked at video games, yet Zachariah always insisted she was the greatest player he'd ever met.

"Five.." Zachariah used to say he would get Avery her own game system for her 11th birthday. He just had to get enough money.

"Six.." Avery was finding it hard to breathe. Was there not enough ventilation in the closet?

"Seven.." It felt like someone was sitting on her chest. 

"Eight.." Avery started gasping for air, hands frantically pulling her to a stand as she pounded on the door.

"Nine.." Dots were starting to swarm her vision as she resorted to panicky yells for help.

"Ten.." The door opened to reveal a 14 year old girl.

"Are you ok? Was it Priscilla?" The dark skinned girl shook her head in disappointment, "I told the little bitch to stop." She waved her hand in a signal for Avery to follow her, "Come on." The girl turned and started down the hall before stopping once realizing Avery was just standing there in wide eyed shocked. The girl laughed, "You look like you've just met your idol! I'm Elara." She outstretched her hand and Avery slowly shook it. 

Elara frowned at the girl's knuckles. "What happened there?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out some bandaids. With a chuckle she started patching up the girl. "You're lucky I'm so clumsy. Otherwise you'd be all out of luck." Avery thickly swallowed before whispering a "thank you." Elara shrugged it off. "It's what anyone would do." 

The 14 year old made sure the bandages were on properly before taking a step back. "Be more careful next time, ok?"

Sometimes Avery missed Elara more days than others. Especially on those days she found herself covered in scrapes and in need of a bandage. 

"Here," Avery sighed as she looked at Marcus's scraped knuckles. He had picked a fight and was trying to ignore his bloodied hands. The girl handed him one of the bandaids she kept in her pockets. 

"Be more careful next time, ok?"