Know Her Name

♤ TWO;

The rain feels good pounding onto Harper's shoulders and back as she walks down the sidewalk in the city. It's still pretty early in the day so not many people are walking around. The city feels different with the grey sky above and the neon lights off. The home is quite close to the heart of the city so it still feels like she lives in the city rather than the outskirts. It's easy enough for Harper to get up on the roof of the home around sunset and watch all the lights in Reno turn on one by one until the whole city is covered with the neon glow of the strip mall attractions. During the day, Harper is indoors and at night she's either able to see the lights or is again indoors of the bar. Harper has been used to the colorful lights of all the buildings at night and is unnerved by the dreariness and stillness of the morning.

She's walking outside at this time rather than staying at the home helping with some odd job because she needed to get away. She needed to clear her unease from the visitor earlier. There was a lot off about the encounter and for once in her life, Harper felt unsafe at the home. Despite the home being horrible, smelly, and in general neglected, Harper never doubted that she'd be put in a worse and life threatening situation while at the home. If she were to find herself in danger, it'd be of her own accord, not because she was at the home. But this visitor erased all that safety.

The visitor stood about an inch or so taller than Harper wearing a long sleeved silky blouse even though it was quite warm outside, a pencil skirt and braided hair in a ponytail. Her dark tan skin was covered in makeup and it made her look quite stiff.

The visitor continued to walk through the home, tapping on her phone and the sound of her nails clicking on her phone were strangely in tune with the sound of her heels clicking on the distressed linoleum. Her dusty rose painted lips were pursed a little as she concentrated on what was on her phone. She barely looked where she was going before she reached the Headmistress's desk. The Headmistress wasn't watching her walk in after she noted that someone had entered the room, but everyone else in the nearby vicinity was watching awestruck. No one like this lady ever came into the home. Any visitors were of the maintenance variety, rarely well dressed, and never women. All the kids have already given up on someone coming to take them to their own home. The little ones still look up every time the buzzer sounds and get dismayed once they realize it's the maintenance staff once again. So now, even the littler ones who didn't understand no one was going to pick them up from this wretched day care looked like they were terrified this lady was going to take them away.

When this lady came in that morning, Harper was sitting in the armchair in the hallway, helping the little ones with their homework. No one asked her to do this but she was one of the only ones who finished high school and she didn't want to waste that. It was simply not an option for her to go to university right after graduating. She barely made anything working at the bar and it wasn't like Headmistress would fund for her higher education. Nonetheless, she excelled academically.

"Miss Esme?" Headmistress asked, not looking up. Her voice was able to break Harper momentarily from her trance, staring at the back of the visitor. Harper knew that Headmistress was very no nonsense but she was scared for her as she completely gave no extra attention to the clearly sophisticated lady before her. Headmistress kept her composure unlike Harper would have been able to in that situation.

"Mhhmm," Esme hummed as she finished typing something on her phone screen and pocketed the phone.

"Have a look around," Headmistress said as she pointed in some general direction.

Esme folded her hands behind her back and took a step away from the desk. Her eyes surveyed the entry room of the home. The entry room is set up like the lobby of a hotel and there are four hallways lining the walls. Headmistress's desk is in the middle and is the starting point to get anywhere in the home. Harper was in the hallway to Esme's left so Esme would have just had to turn a little bit in order to get a glimpse of Harper sitting in the chair, arms wrapped around her, with three wide eyed elementary grade kids holding books in their hands. Harper, age 19, is terrified just like them.