Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Every day in the home was like the other. Jane woke up in her tiny room, her being the oldest there at only just fifteen had permitted her to had a solo room, and she didn't mind how cramped it was.
It was the middle of May, and unusually warm for the late spring. And as the sun streamed in through her sheer curtains, Jane slipped out of bed, changing out of her pajamas and into one of those flowerly summer dresses that she was told to save for special occassions.
And when they went shopping for them and she had questioned about those special occassions, she had learnt that the woman taking her there - Eva - meant the days when possible parents came by to see her or any of the other children.
Jane had already been fostered twice, once by a young woman ruined by her own miscarriage, and the second by a couple who couldn't have their own children, but the woman had miraculously got pregnant.
Both times she had been returned to the home, and since then, she had never been fostered. But she didn't mind, not anymore. Of course at first it had upset her, not knowing at the young age why she had been taken away from her new family.
Since then, Jane never cared about visiting days, never making the effort for any of them.
Today wasn't a visiting day for potential parents, but it was visiting day for someone else. This someone else was the biggest source of funding for the home, the donations from the woman coming to visit so large that it helped them for years on end, and without them they would be nothing.
She had never visited before, not that Jane was aware of anyway. But when Eva had informed all the children, she let them know that the woman had been away travelling the world, which was why she didn't visit.
But she was a big deal, and so Jane had chosen one of the summer dresses that she saved for special occasions. She pulled on her shoes and managed to sort out her hair, she made her way down to the kitchen, where breakfast was being served.
"Now, I want you all on your best behaviour." Another one of the women who worked there, Annie, said as she wiped the mouths of some of the younger children, yogurt having been the main feature of breakfast that morning.
"You look nice, Jane." Eva smiled, handing her a bowl of yogurt, complete with various fruits scattered over the top. Thanking her, Jane sat down to eat, watching the younger ones with a smile at how excited they were.
"You ready to go and greet her?" Annie asked when she was finished, whisking away her bowl to wash it up and Eva gently tugging Jane off of her stool, brushing her hair and plaiting a thin part on one side and doing the same on the other, bringing them to the back of her head and securing it with a clear tie.
"Is she almost here?" Jane wasn't nervous, but all the careful fussing from Eva making her a little more panicked. The older woman washed her face, wiping any sleep from her eyes and walking her to the entrance.
"She should be here any minute. Now just remember, you're our oldest permanent resident at the moment, and she's going to be looking for politeness. Don't worry, all that Mr Winter asked was for you to take her bags and walk her inside, where me and Mr Winter will be ready to greet her. If he ever comes out of his office." Eva said, straightening out the slightly crumpled skirt of her dress.
"I'm coming Eva, don't you worry." The friendly, booming voice of Mr Winter appeared at the top of the stairs, the rather large man walking down the stairs. "You ready, Janey?" He asked, looking down at her. "This is the second time that I have met her, so no pressure."
"Richard!" Eva hissed, shaking her head. "You'll worry the poor child." The sound of a car on the gravel outside made Eva push Jane gently over to the door, swinging the large red doors open.
A rather handsome dark green car came to a stop outside the house, and Jane hurried out to pull the door open, moving backwards as it swung open, a little too heavy for her.
"Good morning Ma'am." Jane quickly said, as the old woman exited the car. To say she was their biggest donor was somewhat of a shock to anyone who heard it.
The old woman looked inherently eccentric, silver-white hair flying out of the rather large bun it was in, clothes consisting of various colourful pieces. However, she looked expensive in her own way, and Jane imagined that the drive in the topless car had disturbed her hair.
She looked Jane up and down, eyes glittering - and not just with the chunky silver eyeshadow that was dusted above her eyes. "Florence Adley, Just call me Flora, darling. What's your name?" The woman asked, looking down at her.
"Jane Everleigh ma.. Flora." Jane replied, a rather nervous smile on her face.
"Well, Jane Everleigh, I would like to foster you." Flora announced, and the smile instantly disappeared, replaced with Jane's dropped jaw. Flora walked away, leaving the girl stood there. "Well, Jane, don't just stand there. I would like to speak with Mr Winter."
"I... of course, he's just inside." Jane nodded, snapping her jaw closed. "I'll be right in there." She hurried round to the back of the car.
"Forget the bags, darling, just follow me." Flora called, and Jane did as she was told, rushing after Florence Adley, who was already in front of Mr Winter and Eva, who had the same reaction as Jane had.
And a few days later, Jane would leave the home for the very last time.
