One mummy, four daddies!

o n e.

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The week flew past quickly and the day I dreaded so much arrived. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of Hope Orphanage with the rest of the class.

Princess sulked and stood akimbo. "Kids are so annoying! What if I have to wake up in the middle of the night because of their stupid cries? We could use dolls for the project instead of having to take care of a kid. This is so unfair!" she whined and stomped her foot.

I chuckled. Princess really lived up to her name. "You can always hire a nanny to take care of the kid." I suggested. She brightened up at the thought of being child-free until Mr. Cruz, who had been eavesdropping, butted in. "No cheating, or you'll fail instantly. And thank you, Ms. Arcane for that wonderful idea."

He shouted above the ruckus everyone was making. "Class! In order for you to get an A, not only do you have to make sure your kid is well-taken care of, but to ensure that you do not cheat, you will be asked to interact with the kid to prove that you did not hire anyone to take care of the child. Is that clear?"

The whole class groaned, myself included, as we answered him. "Crystal."

"Honestly?" Princess whispered to me. "I don't really care if I fail Health Class. I don't need it to get into college."

I shook my head, smiling as we made our way over to the entrance of the orphanage. The head of the orphanage, a sixty year old or so woman waved us over. She was clad in a nun uniform and white shoes.

She smiled at Mr. Cruz and said, "thank you all for coming. I am Sister Helen, the director of Hope Orphanage. We are so glad that your school has liaised with us for your project and we really hope that you will shower these children with love and attention." she gestured for us to follow her into the church.

The stained glass were what caught my attention first. I was astounded by the beauty. Sister Helen held out a hand and requested for us to stay as she brought the children out.

A line of children followed Sister Helen as she made her way towards us. They appeared to be between four to seven years old.

"Children, today we have the sisters and brothers of Halewood High who will be taking care of you for four weeks. Say hello." Sister Helen bent down and smiled at the children crowding around here.

"Hello." they chorused and the majority of the class squealed.

"I'll be attaching a child with you and your partner so when I call out your names, please step forward and stand at the side while holding your child's hand." Mr. Cruz announced. He glanced at the paper in his hands and said loudly, "Felicia and Malcolm, you'll be partnered with Lei." A cute Chinese boy with big, brown eyes and jet black hair held our his hand shyly. Felicia immediately scooped him up in her arms. Even Malcolm, who was generally quiet, started making conversation with Lei and ruffled his hair.

"Princess and Kevin, Freesia will be your charge." Princess emitted a soft groan when her name was called but ambled towards her ward with fake enthusiasm, not wanting the child to feel unloved, as she understood that feeling perfectly. Kevin stood beside her awkwardly and kept sneaking glances at Princess, who was absorbed in talking to Freesia. She had long, silky blond hair and her amber eyes twinkled with happiness when Princess and Kevin welcomed her. I stifled a grin when I saw Princess trying hard to interact with Freesia. It was so un-Princess like.

One by one, the students were paired off with a kid. The only ones remaining were us. "Natalia, Brent, Fisher, Elliot and Jordan, you'll be taking care of Gabriel." The said boy scowled and shot us a dark look, unafraid of showing us how unhappy and unwilling he was. I moved towards him and plastered on a bright and cheerful smile, noticing the striking resemblance between him and Fisher, with his emerald eyes and gold flecks, brown hair, straight nose and lips.