Orphans // c.h

0.3

Beth

"Are you sure Alice, I mean, I wouldn't want to intrude." I tell Alice. "It's fine, trust me." She informs me. I sigh, sitting down on the couch. Alice just found out that her auntie lives here in Sydney.

"She said it's fine if you wanted to live there with us. It's better than this dump." She throws her hands in the air. I cringe at the word dump. Sure this place needed work, but it's where I grew up. "I wouldn't be able to hang out with Matt and Chase and Lia as much. I want to be by their side all the time." I reason. I really didn't want to leave.

"C'mon Beth, it'll be so fun. We could finally live our own lives without having to worry about babysitting these kids 24/7." She continues packing her clothes in her suitcase.

"You don't get it Alice, I like hanging out with them." I look down into my lap, playing with my fingers. "Bethany, you have to come. You need to get out of this place every once and a while. We can live at my aunt's, then come to work." She shrugs, zipping up her huge bag.

"Fine, I'll just ask Ms Rossi if I could have extra hours." I stand up, beginning to walk over to Alice. "Thanks Beth, besides, you will still be able to see them." She smile, bringing me into a hug.

"Yeah, let's check out this place."

~~~~

Alice's aunt's house was nice I guess. It was a decent ten minute walk to the orphanage, so there's nothing to complain about really. Her aunt is nice too, she told us she was on the search for Alice for three years. Personally, I didn't believe that, I mean, how long does it take to look for orphans?

"Alice, I'm going to the orphanage, I should be back after dinner." I call out to Alice. She quit work, considering her aunt was loaded with money. Ms Rossi was upset at first, but got over it once I told her I would drag Alice to work sometimes.

"OK, my boyfriend is coming over tonight, so don't look all gross." She laughs. "So I shouldn't try to look like you?" It was a pretty lame comeback, but it worked. She sticks out her tongue at me whilst I close the door.

Bye time I can see the orphanage, I spot a boy sitting down next to the door. As I get closer, I realise it's Calum.

"Um, what are you doing Calum?" I ask, kicking his knee with my foot. He looks up, a big smile on his face. "I was waiting for you, I thought you were coming out of the store, not into it." He furrows his eyebrows.

"I moved out yesterday with my friend, but I thankfully still work here. I'm not working today though, just wanted to check it out." I ramble, sitting on the side walk with him. He slowly nods, as if he's processing what he should say next.

"You know Luke, the antisocial guy from the other night?" He asks. I think for a moment, until I remember. "Oh yeah, the blondie?" He nods again.

"He's going somewhere tonight and invited me and the lads. Wanna come?" He looks me dead in the eyes. I lose my train of thought for a minute, "uh, yeah. My friend has her boyfriend coming over so I'm up for anything." I smile. He shoots me a wink.

"Cool. So, wanna go for a walk?" He questions. I smile and nod, happy I finally get to talk to Calum. I had always wondered about him when we were little. If his voice was high pitched, or if his teeth were crooked. Even about what he liked to do, he was just always so secretive.

Calum stands up, hovering over me. He sticks out his hand, waiting for me to grab it. A smile forms on my lips as my hand slides into his hand, helping me up from the ground. "Thanks." I blush.

"Why do you blush at every little thing?" I hear him ask. I shoot my head in his direction, revealing another goofy smile on his face.

"Dunno Squishy, why do you always smile?" I reply, laughing at his reaction. I guess he didn't expect me to avoid the question. 

"I always smile because you always blush." He states simply. I frown at his answer. "Cal, I don't see how that makes sense." He sits down at a bench, patting the seat next to him.

"Little miss Violet. Some people smile at funny things, or nice things, some even smile at evil things. I, Sir Squishy, like to smile at beautiful things." He has a straight face. I feel my cheeks go rose red after realising what he meant. Another smile forms on his lips.

"Now, you understand young student." He gets up and begins walking. I stand up, running to catch up with him. "Calum, can we sit down and have a conversation?" It was a weird question, but to be honest, I was getting tired. "Sure." He shrugs.

Before I know it, Calum picks me up and begins running through the park. "Calum! Where are we going!" I say in between laughter. I hear him giggle, and that's when I felt my heart stop.

"Sorry, what?" I say. I only heard mumbling due to me being distracted. "I said, we're just going to sit on the grass." He repeats after stopping on a flat green patch of grass. He sets me down, sitting next to me.

"So, why do you like working at the orphanage so much?" Calum randomly asks out of nowhere. "Because they're like me. All those kids were given up, left behind, forgotten. I just want them to be happy." I say, noticing Calum's eyes were getting a bit watery. I guess he still wasn't over the fact that he was once one of us.

"What about you Calum, why were you so secluded?" It was a question I had been wondering for years. He always seemed cooped away, as if he never wanted to be put on the Earth.

"Well, honestly, I just couldn't stand how I had been given up, forgotten, left behind as you said. I was just fed up with the world and decided to leave everyone and everything alone, therefore I couldn't hurt anything or anyone. But when I got adopted, I guess I changed. I felt as though I was wanted. As if I could catch up."

"Catch up? Catch up to what?" I ask, not understanding what he meant. "Catch up to everyone else. They all have their lives figured out, what they want to be and who they are, but I spent my childhood hating everything. You need someone to help you catch up though, someone who is like you. Someone I guess, who understands who you are and what you went through." He takes a long breath. 

"Someone like me?" I ask him. He nods, a small but thoughtful smile on his face. "Yeah, we could help each other catch up Violet."

- Molly