Petal [h.s.]

Chapter 2

Violet.

"Morning, Josh." I breathed as I hastily entered the RSP-building. I had overslept on this fine Saturday morning and ended up coming in a few minutes later. 

"Late again, Vi." He responded. I quickly checked the watch on my wrist as my I shrugged of my coat. "Only a few minutes. It's been worse."

Josh didn't answer me as he continued typing on his computer at the front desk of the RSP. I poured myself the largest cup of coffee I could find before making my way to the social worker office. 

"I know I'm late, I'm sorry!" I apologized to Lana, my colleague for the day. She was scrolling on the computer as I saw all the kids sitting in the couches. I was just in time for breakfast.

"Morning, kids!" I chirped, plopping down on one of the couches and stealing a bit of the paper from Nellie, who was seated next to me. The 16-year old sent me a glare and I quickly remembered how bad her morning moods are. "Did you sleep well?" I asked.

"No." Her voice was nothing but a grumble and I sighed. "C'mon, Nellie, let's start the day a bit more positively."

She folded the paper and threw it down on the empty seat next to her. "You want to have a sip of my coffee? It's real coffee." I added quietly, holding my large cup in front of her.

"None of that decaf shit?" She sounded excited and I chuckled, shaking my head in confirmation. 

"None of that decaf shit."

I glanced over my shoulder to see Lana still staring at the computer, brows furrowed as she looked at today's schedule. Nellie quickly took a sip of my cup and stifled a giggle. "Thanks, Vi. I feel better. What happened to your hair?"

These kids had no filter, and I loved and hated it at the same time. Their social skills were really underdeveloped and they usually just blurted out anything they thought, even if it was inappropriate. She pointed to my head, where my usually straight chin-length hair was now put in a tiny pathetic ponytail. "Didn't have electricity this morning so couldn't use my straightener."

"No electricity? Weren't you cold?"

"Yes." I sighed, remembering how I woke up with chattering teeth. The heating had gone off somewhere during the night and nobody had bothered to call the super. And I didn't have time for it.

"So, I'm sure you all heard we have a new kid coming in today?" I spoke to the group now, most of them still half asleep in the couch as it was nearing 9 in the morning. On weekends they were allowed to sleep one hour longer than during the week. 

The 7 faces in front of me looked at me, some droopy, some more excited about the newest member joining the club. "I expect you to all be nice to him and be on your best behaviour, show him the example. And don't tempt him with any drug talk. You guys all know how difficult the first days here are."

"It's another boy?!" Nellie exclaimed before groaning and I could see her bad mood returning instantly. What a waste of a sip of good coffee. The kids were only allowed decaf since caffeine was addictive. "I'm still the only girl, it sucks." She crossed her arms in front of her and glared at me again, as if I controlled which kids got in and which didn't.

"Anyways, with that being said, let's get breakfast. It's Saturday so you know what that means: cereal." I tried to sound cheerful in order to try and wake these morons up. Lana heard me and quickly joined us at the table. 

We all ate our cereal and the kids were mostly silent, as they usually were during breakfast. They really all had the hardest time waking up at a decent hour. Mostly, they were just imagining what the new kid was going to be like. After breakfast I left Lana alone with the kids to go show the new boy around and introduce him to everyone.