Clementine

Chapter 2

I open my eyes to the smell of my so called 'breakfast'. I got up and put on my outfit for today. I grabbed my jacket and walked down the hall to meet Brady. Brady is my sister's ex boyfriend. Things are kind of complicated between us. Whenever I see him, it brings back memories of Sara, my uhm..sister. Nevertheless, he's my family, blood or not. I put on my jacket and greet him with a hug. He looks depressed and worn out. I look down and say, "Brady, look I'm really sorry about last night. It was just a bad dream. I didn't mean to wake you or anything.."
He smiles vaguely and nods,
"You didn't wake me. I can't sleep, I haven't been for weeks. I was reading when I heard you yell. You scared the living daylights out of me Clem."
I laugh and bump him with my elbow. We walked down stairs and sit at the table. Miss Henry turns around with six plates of eggs, bacon, and toast. She places two down in front of Brady and I. Renee, Amber, Evan, and little snookie walk in and sit with us. They also get plates. (Renee and Amber are the only two of us who weren't separated from our families. They're sisters. Renee is eleven, and Amber is nine. Evan is the 17 year old that nobody talks to. I don't know where he came from or if he even has a family. Frankly, he scares all of us, even if we don't admit it. And, little snookie is the nickname we have to Alice. She's five, and she's been in this orphanage her whole life. She doesn't know anything about her past and neither does miss Henry.)
"I'm going to the mall" announces Renee
"Be home before noon" miss Henry glares at her for a while.
"Home? This isn't a home this is a prison. And I'll be back whenever I want you're not my mom. Not like you can stop me" Renee stands up and stalks off to her room.
"Renee! I'm your legal guardian, so you will listen to me and do as I say young lady!" Miss Henry chases after her.
(All of us just stay seated and eat. Nobody says anything and I'm pretty sure it's because we're all used to this. Even though Renee has had a decent life already she makes a huge deal over everything.) It's almost an awkward silence when snookie starts crying.
"Alice, what's the matter sweetheart?" Asks Brady. She snivels and replies,
"Renee. She's so mean to miss Henry. I don't know why she's such a baby."
Everybody laughs. Brady almost fell out of his chair laughing at how grown up snookie was talking. Brady glances at me
"Where did she learn to talk like this, Clem?"
I laugh and say, "You probably. I don't call people babies!"
We all laugh until miss Henry walks back in. Her face is red and she looks as if she's going to break down into tears. The front door slams shut and we hear Renee outside mumbling under her breath. Miss Henry doesn't say a word to us as she takes our cleared plates and puts them in the sink. She turns around, smiles, and walks straight to her room and shuts the door. Nobody wanted to even think about what happened. (It's sad to think that miss Henry and Renee don't really uhm get along. I understand where Renee is coming from. But miss Henry IS our mom. She's a mom to me...)