So Good To Be Bad [Donatello]

Chapter 14

Momo crept through the second level of the orphanage, earning an odd look from Maggie upon turning a corner. The young woman held up a finger to her lips and pointed towards a curtain behind the teen. Two pairs of small feet peeked out underneath the fabric at the bottom. Now the teenager understood and smiled. Without any further questions, Maggie continued with her basket of dirty laundry down the hall.

"Hmm, I could have sworn I heard something this way?" the young woman spoke aloud.

A quiet giggle came from behind the curtain, followed by a shush, who tried to cover their own snicker.

"Where on earth could they have gone?" Momo peeled to the left of the hallway to pretend to pass. Then she backtracked quietly. Having lived here for eighteen years she knew where all the creaky floorboards were.

"We totally fooled her," the boy behind the fabric whispered.

"Yeah," Izzy giggled.

A grin stretched across Momo's lips before she pulled back the fabric. "Ah!" The children screamed in shock and delight at being discovered. Both of them took off down the hall in a run for the stairs.

"I'm going to catch you!"

"Run faster, Izzy!" Darren shouted. The seven-year-old ran ahead of her and reached the stairs first. His brown hair was buzz cut like his skateboarding idol, Paul Rodriguez, green eyes going wide when he realized that the young woman was catching up to them.

"Wait for me!" Izzy squealed.

They tried very hard to keep their distance. Granted, Momo gave them a head start and didn't catch them right away to drag out the chase longer, but in the end, it was futile. Even when they ducked under the table to try and throw her off. She caught them around the waist to hoist them off the ground. Their feet kicked out in a last-ditch effort to wiggle free.

"How are you so quiet," Darren whined. He really thought that the young woman had disappeared down the hall.

"Years of practice," Momo grinned.

"Darren, do I have your laundry?" Ms. Dunn questioned.

"Nooooo," he dragged out.

"Upstairs, now. Otherwise you won't have anything to wear next week."

Momo put him down for the child to scurry upstairs. She then set Izzy on the floor, who took her hands wanting to dance. There was music playing in the living room as everyone pitched in for the daily chores. The young woman allowed the six-year-old to stand on her feet for them to sway back and forth.

"Do you need any help?" Momo wondered.

"You keeping the kids busy while we do laundry and clean-up is a great help," the woman stated.

"If you insist, but I see a pile of dishes in the sink."

"... All right, if you want to tackle that, I'd appreciate it."

Momo looked down at the girl. "Izzy, go get your coloring book and I'll fill a few pages with you after I wash the dishes." The orphan ran upstairs in excitement.

The young woman was elbow deep in suds by the time Izzy returned. She waited patiently at the table and started to color a page of her own in the meantime.

"What have you been learning in school lately?" Momo wondered.

"Addition," the children answered. "It's a lot of fun. But I like art class the most."