Everland

Wishes- Part 1

London, 1899-  "Come on James!" cried Peter. "The show's about to end and your going to miss it!"

"Alright, alright," howled Peter's older brother James. "No need to make a fuss, they're just shooting stars."

"They're not stars James, they're fairies," Peter protested playfully.

James looked at his younger brother with a muddled look on his face. " I wish I could look at the stars and believe in fairies again." He sighed. 

Not even a moment later, the floorboards began to creak, and a light flickered on in the hallway. "Quickly, close the window, and get in bed" James whispered urgently; But it was too late. The bedroom door swung open forcefully hitting the wall, and Miss. Beckett's half awake smirk sent chills down the children's spines.

 "What in the world are you two doing up at this hour?" she squawked. "I swear, this is going to be the last time I catch you guys by that window at midnight." Grabbing both boys vigorously by the ear, she led them each to their assigned beds.

 "If this happens again," she scowled, while pointing a scrawny finger at them, "at least try not to wake the other orphans. With a good night's rest they might actually have a chance of finding a family, unlike you two." 

After Miss. Beckett retired the room, the door hammered closed behind her. Silence filled the room, except for a hushed whimper coming from young Peter. James reached across to his brother's bed and tried comforting him.

Resting his cheek on Peter's head he said, "It'll be alright Peter. We're going to be just fine."

"But what if she's right? What if we never find a family?" Peter muttered.

"That's not going to happen!" James assured. "As long as we stay together, we can accomplish anything."

"Would you two be quiet already?" Yelled an agitated voice from across the room. It was Thomas, the orphanage bully. His snobbish attitude and annoying narcissism made him the most hated of all.

 After making a sour face at Thomas, James crawled back into his bed and laid down on his side facing the window. He decided that getting a few hours of sleep was the best thing he could do. 

James awoke from a single ray of sunshine, beaming down onto his eyes. As he gradually lifted himself up from his bed, a few other boys in the room began to wake. James turned around to stare at his not yet awake brother. He grinned, imagining what their future could look like... with their parents next to a fireplace, and presents all around. Suddenly snapping back to reality, James woke Peter with a slight tap on the shoulder. 

"Did you sleep well?" James asked while rubbing some sleep sand out of his eyes.

"Yeah," replied Peter. "I had a dream that we lived in a world with fairies, mermaids, and pirates. And we could fly! Wouldn't that just be amazing?"

"Yeah, pretty amazing," agreed James. "Now hurry and get out of bed. Families only adopt children who are awake."

With a cheesy grin on his face, Peter hopped out of his bed and put on his bathrobe. James followed his younger brother to the door and lined up. Peter and James were the first two in line, before Thomas budded in front of both of them. 

"Oh, sorry." Thomas said sarcastically. "I didn't see you there." 

The rest of the orphanage boys lined up behind James, the last few fighting over who was going to be the caboose. Before they could settle their argument, they heard big, loud footsteps coming from down the hall. All the boys quickly scrambled themselves into an orderly line, not caring who was last anymore. Then, the door swung open just as it had done the night before. Before Miss. Beckett even said a word, she looked all the children in the eyes, and frightened them half to death. 

"Alright then," Miss. Becket said. "Today for breakfast is cold oatmeal. If you don't like it, you don't have to eat! Now you're dismissed." Not even a second after the last word left her mouth, the line of boys raced out the door, across the hallway, down the spiral staircase next to the washroom, and into their  assigned seats at the table. Although cold oatmeal seems like a pigs meal, it really was a treat. Usually, the orphaned children would get watered down apple sauce with a piece of fruit- usually a banana. All the boys were too busy scooping oatmeal out of the the pot, and into their bowls, to notice that Miss. Beckett had already made her way downstairs. Here voice boomed loudly, and almost made Peter drop the spoon he was using to eat his oatmeal. "Alright now, listen up you bunch of flea bitten brats, there are three families scheduled to come today, and maybe take one of you home. One of the families is even considering taking two, if they get along." 

James automatically turned around, and stared at his brother with a hopeful look on his face. "You know what this means, don't you?" Questioned James.

 Peter hastily slurped up what was left on his spoon, then replied, "we are going to get a family!" From the wide eyes, and cheshire cat grin on Peter's face, it was clear to James that he wanted this to. Shortly after the announcement, most of the children were finished with their first bowl of breakfast. While some boys reached to get another scoop of oatmeal, others where to excited about the families coming, and went upstairs to get ready for their arrival. Before sprucing up, and getting into their nice show clothes, the boys got dressed into their work clothes for their morning chores. "Come on James," cried Peter. "We're on bathroom duty!" James gave a smirk to his younger brother, wondering how he could be cleaning bathrooms, and still be so perky. Peter did always have a knack for finding the best in every situation. Scrubbing the floors with an old wash cloth, Peter engrossed his brother with stories of magical lands he had dreamt of. In the middle of one of his stories, Peter eyed Thomas coming their way after finishing cleaning the sinks. 

"Oh look," Thomas screeched in his irritating voice. " Looks like you missed a spot." While giving Peter a squalid look, he kicked the bucket full of dirty water straight onto James. "Good luck finding a family now."  

... To be continued...