Annabel

Chapter Two

     I made my way to the sitting room where I met Mr Charles, his wife and Rose. It seemed like they were waiting for me.

“Ann, Come sit beside me” Rose called out. I smiled and sat with her.

“I want to thank you all for this. For accepting me into your home, for your kindness, thank you so much” I said, full of gratitude.

“We thank God. No need to thank us dear, I've known you for a long time now and I know you deserve this, you deserve even more” Mr Charles said.

“By the way, how did you end up on the streets” Mrs Charles said.
Her husband gave her a warning look that said "Not the right time"

“From what I was told, I was found by the roadside one morning as a baby, Some people said that they had seen a woman dropping something in the middle of the night and when they checked in the morning, they found a baby. I wasn't taken to an orphanage or anything. Instead, the people living on the streets took me as theirs ever since. It's being fun living with them, they're good people” I narrated.

“That's some story” Mrs Charles whispered.

“Yes, they're good people. Well, the past is in the past. Now, there's a bright future ahead of you. I know you attend school, what class are you in?” Mr Charles asked.

“I just finished SS1 -Senior Secondary One -so I'm entering SS2 as the new school session begins”.

“Oh wow! Me too. Lucas is going to be in SS3 though, after which he'll go to the university” Rose said. “Dad, will Ann be coming to our school?”

“That's what I was about to ask her. Annabel, would you like to attend the same school as Rose and Lucas? It's a boarding school, so I needed to ask you first”.

“Wow, I would love to, sir” I answered.

Rose squeezed my arm out of excitement.

“I don't think that's a good idea” Mrs Charles said, the smile on my face was fading.
“And why do you think so?” Mr Charles questioned her.
“I mean, look at it this way. She attended public school all her life, what makes you think she'll fit into a private school? What If the standards are to high for her?”

Mr Charles laughed.
“If that's the case, then don't worry. There's no problem there. If I recall, Annabel was given an award for being her school's best student. Isn't that right Annabel?” Mr Charles asked, turning to face me. I nodded my head in agreement.
“How did you manage that?” Rose asked me.

“Um, I was attentive in class I guess. I wasn't able to afford textbooks but some of my classmates helped me with theirs. I also made use of materials from the library” I answered.

Mr Charles turned to face his wife. “Dear, since Annabel is very intelligent, I don't see how she wouldn't fit in. She'll do just fine in her new school” he said to her. Mrs Charles looked like she wanted to say something, but she kept quiet instead.

“I guess it's settled then” Mr Charles continued. “Annabel, you will attend the same school as Rose and Lucas when school resumes”
“Yay!” Rose exclaimed.
“Thank you” I said to Mr and Mrs Charles.
Rose wanted to show me around the house but Mr Charles told her that I needed to rest. So, I spent the rest of my day in my room.

***

     I opened my eyes the next morning, wondering where I was. It took me a minute to finally realize. I sat up, digesting the fact that everything that happened yesterday wasn't a dream. Checking the time, I jumped from the bed. The clock read 10:05am.

“OMG! I slept for too long” I said to myself. And I knew why. I could hardly sleep the previous night because I was reliving my entire day, which was still unbelievable.