The Imposter Within | An Among Us Cyan x Lime Book

Chapter 1: Old Memories, New Beginnings

Josh could remember the day it happened.

~~~

"Mama? Where are we going?" A young, six year old boy asked his mother. He never knew his father, the man left long before he was born. Now, the boy was holding his mother's hand as they walked down a street that the boy had never seen before. His mother hadn't told him where they were going, like she usually did. She seemed distressed, and the boy didn't know why.

It was when they stopped in front of a large house did his mother allow tears to fall from her face. She knelt down in front of her son and gripped his shoulders. "Josh, I...I am going to go away for a very long time and...and I can't have you with me so- I'm so sorry, my baby boy- This- you're going to live in this big house until I get back, okay? I promise I'll come back for you, I...I love you"

Josh understood what was happening. His mama was leaving him.

Josh's mother wiped her tears and composed herself before they went inside the house. The next part was all a blur. Josh cried, his mother left, Josh cried some more, and then he was hit. That never happened before. Josh's mother would never do anything to harm him, but this wasn't Josh's mother. It was a man. This man was cruel, and would hit and yell at him just for crying or being too loud. He made life in the orphanage hell for all the kids there. Though, he was a little easier on the girls.

Then there was a woman. She was kind, unless you did something bad, then she would punish you depending on what you did. She was fair, and since Josh was a good kid, he never had any problems with her.

~~~

The married couple that had been taking care of the kids in the orphanage passed a few years ago. Now, a woman that barely even acknowledged the children's existence was in charge. She was 32 and bought groceries once a week, but that's about it. It was normally up to the older kids to take care of the younger.

Josh watched as Ms. Whittles, the orphanage's caretaker, left for the 3rd time that week. Every kid in the orphanage knew that she wouldn't come back until after 9pm. It was 10am.

Josh walked over to his room, which he shared with 7 other boys with varying ages. There were a little over 20 kids in the orphanage and Josh made sure to get to know each and every one of them. He was the oldest there after all. At least, by a year he was. The oldest kids there were Josh, Maddie and Madison, who were both 15 and twins, and Kyle, a 14 year old boy. Everyone else was 10 and under.

Life in the orphanage was boring. Everyday it alternated between taking care of the kids, cleaning up, and making food. Josh did get to play his ukulele every once in a while though, but that was about all the entertainment he got. He watched kids find new families and he watched new kids move into the orphanage. No one ever bothered adopting him, and he gave up on waiting for his mother to come back for him years ago. He was just awaiting the day he turned 18 and get dumped out on the streets. He had lived in the orphanage for the longest. Other kids normally got adopted within their first year there. Josh didn't question why no one wanted him when he was younger, it didn't matter. People normally look for younger children to adopt. He already lost his chance.

Or so he thought.

~~~

It was 2:45pm.

A newly wedded couple, Mr. and Mrs. Stanfold, had just stepped into the orphanage. Josh was about to go up to them, introduce himself, then introduce the couple to the rest of the kids, like he normally did, when Maddie did it for him. Josh knew that this meant she saw an opportunity for adoption. It was weird. Maddie claims that she can tell if someone would be a good parent just by looking at them. Of course, there's no proof on whether she's right or wrong so the other kids just go along with it.

Josh watched as Maddie introduced the couple to the other kids in the orphanage. They seemed to have taken a liking to Kyle, so Josh figured they would be adopting him. Then he overheard a question Mr. Stanfold asked.

"Which child has been here the longest?"

Josh was surprised. He knew that there was only one reason why that question would be asked.

"Well, Josh-" Maddie started, pointing to said person. He was sitting at the top of the stairs. "-has been here for 10 years."

The Stanfold's held a shocked expression. Josh wasn't surprised. It was rare for a kid to be in an orphanage for so long. "When will your caretaker be back?" Mrs. Stanfold asked. "Around 9pm" Maddie answered. "Alright, we'll be back by then to sign the adoption papers for Kyle and Josh" announced Mrs. Stanfold. Maddie beamed with happiness as the Stanfold's left the building. She considered herself friends with everyone in the orphanage, even if some of them didn't consider her one back. She loved seeing her friends find new homes and when she learned about how long Josh had been there, she promised to do everything she could to find him a new home.

~~~

Josh only had a few clothes and his trusty ukulele that he got as a Christmas gift from one of the other orphans a few years ago. That orphan, Liam, was recently adopted, but Josh still had no idea how he got the money for the ukulele. Liam never had a part-time job.

Kyle also didn't have that many clothes, so it didn't take long for the boys to pack.

The boys were ready to move into their new home.

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