a. evans
"Only five dollars?"
"Please leave me alone, Sage." I plead, tears welling up in my eyes. I didn't want to look into his antagonizing gaze because then he would see me cry and that would make my situation so much worse. He hated it when I cried.
"Shut the fuck up. God you're such a cry baby. What? You gonna go tell your mommy? Oh wait, I forgot. She's dead." My heart stopped. I knew I wouldn't be able to hold back my tears now. As the first one slid down my cheek Sage immediately noticed and started laughing hysterically.
"What's going on here?"
Sage and his friends immediately stop laughing and everyone in the hallway watching starts clearing the room.
"Oh hey Mr. Hale. I was just asking Ainsley if I could borrow some money for lunch." Sage says, holding up the money to show the teacher. One of his friends looks back at me and glares.
"I see. Is this true Ainsley?" Mr. Hale asks, his gaze turning to me. My head was looking down so he couldn't see my face. I knew better than to snitch. Sage would get me later for it.
I quietly sniffled and brought my hand up to my face as if I was scratching it before turning to my teacher and giving him a bright smile.
"Yes Sir. Sage was very sweet about it." I say, lying straight through my fake smile. Mr. Hale looks at me with question in his eyes before nodding his head.
"Well you kids should head down to the lunchroom now. Your break is almost over."
With that he leaves the hall and steps into his classroom. As soon as he closes the door, Sage is right by my side clutching my wrist tight enough to form a bruise.
"Next time, orphan, bring me more than a measly five dollar bill." He says. He than forcefully drops my wrist and just as I turn to head to my locker, I feel a tug at my hair. Then my foot catches on something and I fall face first to the ground. One of his friends had tripped me.
I hear quiet snickers and then footsteps walking away. I couldn't see anything though because my hair was all over the place. Sage had stolen my hair elastic which was holding back my thick hair. Now it was loose and probably looking a mess.
I cleared the mop of hair currently resting on my head out of my face and then looked up to see that my books had been dropped and now I had papers everywhere.
I sighed. I mean it's not like I have a lunch to eat now. At least I still have some time before the bell rings to pick up my papers.
Just as I finished picking up all of my books and loose papers the bell had rung. I quickly but still neatly shoved my things into my backpack and threw it over my shoulder. Last class.
Time for English.
•••
"Miss Evans could you stay back and chat with me for a second." My teacher, Mrs. Montgomery asks sweetly. I was one of the last people to leave the class. I always was. If I went first I had a higher chance of being tripped or shoved.
"Of course." I say. I finished organizing my assignment and then I walked up to her desk, stapled it together, and put it neatly in the turn-in box.
"Thank you sweetheart. I just want to talk to you." She says, smiling at me when I handed in my work.
Mrs. Montgomery was by far my favourite teacher at this school. Not only was she super sweet and kind but she also happened to teach my favourite subject. She always showed up to class with a bright smile on her face and was very patient and understanding.
I've showed up late to her class because of Sage at least a million times and not once has she ever gotten me in trouble.
"How was your day, Ainsley?" She asks, looking genuinely interested in how my day could've been.
"It was good, thank you. I got my math test back and I passed with flying colours!" I say happily. She claps her hands. "That's wonderful, dear." She says nicely.
"Now I won't beat around the bush Ainsley. You're far too shy." She says. I blush and look down. I was not expecting that.
"Now, now sweetheart, there's nothing to be ashamed of. I too used to be just like you." She says. This makes me look up.
"Really?" I ask.
"Well sure. I had 1 close friend who I could speak to but I never was a social butterfly." She says. I giggle a little at the thought of Mrs. Montgomery being shy. She was one of the most outgoing people I had ever met. Though I hadn't met many people to begin with.
"Now I was told to talk to a few students in my classes about this. Don't think I'm singling you out. The high school division of our school is hosting a Big Brothers and Big Sisters event. I considered you for this because I think you could really use someone to help get you out of your shell." She says. Her face showed nothing but sincerity.
I struggled with an answer.
She obviously was hoping I was going to agree. I just don't know if I want to.
"You have the weekend to think about it, Darling. I don't want you to feel pressured into anything. I only asked because I have your best interest at heart and I really think you could benefit greatly from this. You're a special girl, Ainsley." She spoke softly when she noticed the look of confliction in my eyes.
I sighed in relief as I was unable to give an actual answer at the moment.
"Thank you Miss." I say, grateful for her even caring about me in the first place. Nobody ever has.
"I'll give you the pamphlet and I'd really like for you to take it home and read it over. I know this might not seem like something you'd want to do, but I think you could really end up liking it." She said, ruffling through her dozens of paper stacks scattered across her desk. As well put together as she looked, Mrs. Montgomery was a complete train wreck.
She finally found the pamphlet and handed it to me with a hopeful look on her face.
"I hope you'll consider it. Have a good night, Ainsley." She said.
I smiled back at her and folded the pamphlet away into my small backpack before turning on my heels and all but sprinting out of the school.
School was awful, but it was still an escape from home.
The orphanage was a corrupt place. I've been in my current centre for 3 years now and I've seen people come and go, including building inspectors and social workers.
Nobody has ever noticed the chips in the paint from young girls and boys tallying their stay at the horrid facility. Nobody saw the way the supposed caregivers would act when they were alone with us.
And most definitely has no one ever found out about the closet.
The walk to the orphanage was usually about 15 minutes, so not very long, but I liked to drag it out. The longer I spent outside, the longer I spent away from my own personal hell.
Since I didn't have a phone or iPod to listen to music on, I liked to hum and mumble the lyrics underneath my breath as I skipped along the pavement. It made me feel less alone even if it was only just my own voice.
Finally, after finishing my rendition of 'Iris' by The Goo Goo Dolls, I rounded the corner of a small abandoned building and arrived at the orphanage.
Awesome.
𒊹︎ ꕥ꧁꧂ ꕥ 𒊹︎
As I walked in the through the front door of our building my hands clenched tightly around the straps of my backpack and I held my breath as I turned the knob.
My hopes of sneaking in without drawing attention were crushed as soon as I heard the sound of children screaming near the front door.
Kids at the orphanage rarely ever made noise let alone screamed, unless something bad was going on. They would never risk a trip to the closet just to giggle with their friends about a funny joke they told.
I don't blame them.
Knowing something bad was happening I took another deep breath trying to calm myself and glued my head to the floor, shrinking into myself as I expertly navigated my way around the orphanage without making eye contact with one of the caregivers.
I had nearly reached my room when the sound of clicking heels filled my ears and I stopped in my tracks, shivers running up my back.
"Ainsley."
Miss Harrison.
Her voice was strict and menacing, the complete opposite of my English teacher. Of course, this wasn't school. This was the orphanage. Nobody here would treat me with respect. Not even the other children.
"What time is it, Ainsley?" Asked Miss Harrison.
I cursed myself in my head. How could I possibly think that I would be able to sneak past Miss Harrison? The evil woman had eyes at the back of her head.
"I'm sorry." Was all the I managed to say. My weak apology seemed to have ignited an easily lit fire within her. I watched as her eyes scrunched in distaste and her mouth dropped to a scowl.
Before I could process what was happening I felt her cold, wrinkly hand wrap tightly around my wrist as she squeezed the life out of it.
I winced loudly and cried out.
"P-please I'm sorry!" I tell her. She doesn't listen to me and instead, turns around with her grip still on my wrist, and starts walking towards the left hall.
I screamed out.
"No, no! Please! I promise, I-I'll clean the bedrooms! I can wash dishes!" I cried, offering whatever I could think of to get myself out of this situation.
Miss Harrison let my pleas fall on deaf ears as she stopped in front of the closet door and pulled out her key.
My heart was pounding and I was sobbing loudly. I can only imagine how much more that annoyed her. Just as she went to put her key in the keyhole another voice was heard.
"I can take care of Ainsley, Miss Harrison." He offers. I knew that voice. That voice terrified me. There were many people I was afraid of but I would recognize his voice anywhere.
At the sound of his voice Miss Harrison slightly loosened her grip on me and turned around.
"Oliver, dear. I can handle Ainsley tonight." She told him, declining his offer. A look of annoyance crossed his face but was gone in a second as he restated his offer.
"I just feel like you need a break. You do so much for us and all you get in return is misbehaving brats." He says, hoping to convince the old woman. I didn't know what to do at this point. Either way I was screwed.
"Oh how sweet of you. I guess I will take you up on your offer." Said Miss Harrison, letting go of my wrist completely. She strutted away down the hall but not before turning to give me a warning glare to behave for Oliver.
Now I was shaking.
Oliver turned to me with a mischievous smirk on his face and his arms crossed over his chest.
"Looks like I've finally got you alone."
He grabbed me harshly and started dragging me towards his room in the orphanage.
Oliver was seventeen and since he was one of the oldest (and the favourite) of many of the orphanage workers, he had his own room in the building. It was small, but it was way better than anything any of the other kids had. I shared a room with 5 other girls my age and all of our beds barely even fit in the room.
When we reached his door he yanked it open and pushed me up against the wall. I yelped as my head hit the wall with much force as the sound of the impact rattled my brain.
"Please leave me alone, Oliver." I plead, reaching my hand up to hold my throbbing head and using the other one to balance myself.
My eyes started to droop and Oliver scowled.
"You owe me." He whispers harshly into my ear before dropping me to the ground and leaving his bedroom.
I knew he wouldn't come back. He always goes out at night. With this thought in mind, I allowed my tired eyes to shut and the sleep to take over me.
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Hope you enjoyed this chapter! This is only the first of many so if it's a little boring now it will get better as the story progresses. Thank you so much for reading!