Algid (#TronnorAU)

Chapter 36: The old building on Genevieve Street

The first impression he got of the large building they arrived at was that it was old. It looked filthy and ancient, the painting of the outer walls was peeling off, with cracks all over them. The small garden that displayed itself on the front porch was mostly dead and full of bad grass. It looked like in a past lifetime it had been a school of sorts. He thought the entrance would be there in the front door leading to the street, but the man with the shiny shoes instructed him to get down of the car, and walked him along the other passengers to the alley to the left of the building. It was damp and dark, there were some trash bins lying around, and if one raised their gaze they would see clothes hanging from wires going from one building to the next, probably drying off after being washed. It seemed stupid with all the snowing it had been doing lately, though. They reached the tiniest, green door, on the wall to their right, that led into the same old building Connor hadn't liked—and that's when Connor saw the sign hanging on it that read "Genevieve Street Public Orphanage". The man rang the doorbell and then knocked three times. Connor wondered why he did both, but once again he couldn't find it in him to speak.

The door opened and an edgy, stressed-looking mean lady with cat shaped glasses received them. She took a minute to speak with the man of the shiny shoes, and then she passed her eyes through the rest of the company. The other two people who had been in the car, a boy and a girl who were rather older than Connor, introduced themselves by name, but Connor ignored them. The mean lady then looked at him with sharp and judging eyes, but he didn't say anything. Displeased, she turned to the man and demanded an explanation on what was wrong with him.

-"He's had it rough."—the man answered—"Hasn't spoken a word on the way here."

The mean lady received the three of them with a shaking head and a look of despise, inviting the man of the shiny shoes inside, but he denied, saying he had to be on his way, something about more cases to attend and having to head to Wisconsin next, and so he said his goodbye, turned on his heels and left. That was the last Connor ever saw of him.

The old building on Genevieve Street looked even older from the inside. There were several lights and chandeliers that didn't lit up much, and the dirty carpets that were sprawled all across the floors of the house lifted a cloud of dust every time you stepped on them, and the doors all made loud squeaky noises whenever they opened, and everyone could hear them all over the four story building. The first floor had a large living room and dining rooms, with many tables and chairs, and a kitchen. On the second floor there were four different classrooms, holding up the capacity for only elementary level education. On the third floor were the bedrooms, one for boys and one for girls, as the mean lady explained, and on the fourth were all the offices and bedrooms of the people who stayed there, including herself, who was headmistress.

Connor was shown into the boy's dormitory. It was full of bunk-beds, with many several children running around and playing without a care in the world, and piles of clothes which all looked exactly the same lying out and about. But the second the mean lady entered with him, all of the children stood still. She gave one loud clap, and they all ran next to a set of bunk beds, two for each, and they stood still in a firm position as if in a marching band Connor had seen in school. The mean lady introduced Connor, explaining he would be staying with them for a while.

Since he was new and this was unexpected, Connor was given a bunk bed all for his own. He was told that his luggage would arrive from Minnesota soon, and to get installed and ready for dinner at six. The minute the lady left, he got mobbed by the questioning orphans who wanted to meet him. But Connor didn't care for the curious eyes surrounding him; they all seemed very foreign to him. Some looked friendly, some others looked hostile, and then there were those that just seemed unimpressed. They could all drop dead for all Connor cared.