Connor x Reader Lemon || A Different Kind of Deviancy

Side Story: Sing for Hope

So as you may have read, I stated that I would be writing another official novel called "Sing for Hope." The novel is about an orphaned girl named Carly who is in a choir program for orphans. The goal of the program is to show the children's talents of singing to get adopted. Carly is 12 years old, and she has lived in the orphanage her whole life. In the orphanage, she met all of her closest friends and as well as some rivals. But one of course, stands out the most. That one, a boy, is named John Strayer. He has been Carly's best friend for as close as 10 years. So one day, Carly wakes up late and realizes John is gone. She frantically looks for him up and down both floors of the orphanage, talks to students and teachers, but does not find him. She talks to her choir director, Ms. Schlem, and she hints at her to go to her bed. She turns frantic, racing up the stairs. And on her bed, she finds a note by John.

He was sadly adopted while she was sound asleep.

Sing for Hope is about Carly's emotional journey to find John again and to rejoice.

I have written a prologue that introduces the main plot of the story.

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    Soft beams of line shone through my thin curtains. I looked to the windows, and threw my thick, patchy blanket to the side and lazily stood by my bed. As I opened the curtains, light stabbed my eyes sharply. I recoiled and covered my eyes with my small, cold hands. It must have been around noon. The kids in my room had already left. It caught me off guard that Ms. Schlem didn’t wake me up for practice. Nonetheless, I slipped on my oversized slippers and skidded out of the room to downstairs.

    Kids were sitting at lunch tables loudly chatting and eating food. It was lunch time. Abby of course, was crowded by all of her snobby friends, noticeably judging others. Sally was sitting with a few of her friends, rarely talking. One thing I noticed threw me off.

John was gone.

I looked around desperately, trying to see if he was hiding behind crowds of kids or talking to teachers. Finally, I found Ms. Schlem talking with my math teacher. I rushed to her.

“Miss!” I ran out of breath as I caught up to her. “Ms. Schlem, please, where’s John?”

Ms. Schlem looked at me with a solemn face.

“You know, John Strayer, my best friend? John?”

She looked at the teacher, then back at me. She kneeled down. “Carly, I’m so sorry. You should look in your room.”

“He’s not in my room!” I weeped. She cut me off.

“No, Carly. Just look. There’s something in there. I promise.”

    I saw no reason to distrust her. I nodded and trotted back to my room upstairs. My bed was just how I left it, with my bag at its side and my blanket thrown about. I looked under the metal bed frame, nothing. Behind my backpack, nothing. I lifted the sheets, and finally found a slightly crumpled sheet of paper. I knew at an instant that it was John’s. It read,

“Dear Carly,

I’m sorry I left. While you were sleeping, someone came to adopt me. I wanted to say goodbye to you. So my only option was to write this letter for you to remember me. I would change the whole world just to have you with me right now. I love you little sis.

                            Signed, John.”

    My soul tore. I covered my mouth in both shock, disbelief, and sadness. Endless streams of tears rolled down my small face. I slowly set the paper back down on my bed and froze. I fell back, falling as slowly as a feather and feeling as heavy as a thousand pound weight. Curling up into a little ball in my blanket, I blankly stared at the wall, sobbing quietly.

I heard my door open. Ms. Schlem filled the doorway. She watched over me silently. I didn’t have to look at her to know what she was thinking. She didn’t say anything, and neither did I. I broke the silence with a deep sigh.

    “Why didn’t he wake me up? Why did he have to go?”

Ms. Schlem sighed and walked to my bed. She sat beside my small, curled up body and patted my back gently.

“People come and go, Carly. I'm sorry.”

I snapped back at her. “But he was my best friend! Why did you let him go away?”

“Carly, that's what an orphanage is. You have to get taken away. You can't stay here forever.” She attempted to comfort me. “Someone wanted him. They'll take good care of them Carly, don't worry.”

I stayed silent afterward. I sighed again and scooted closer to the wall. Ms. Schlem paused to look at me. She pat my back one more time before leaving.

Once I heard the door close, I threw my blanket back off and gathered my things. I put them in a sloppy pile at the side of my bed. With my blanket, and a few of my peers’, I tied them in knots into one large, firm rope. The window creaked open as I pushed it. The blankets got heavier the more I held in my tiny, small arms. But alas, I threw them out the window and prayed it was long enough to reach the bottom. I tied one end to my bed and threw my bag over my shoulder.

“I'm coming, John.” I whispered to the door. I slid out of the window with no regrets.