Pearl's P.O.V.
It was a humid morning in Uganda. The kind where you just want to stay in bed all day in the cool of the house. But with babies crying and children running around outside there was no chance of that. As I flung off the sheets and threw on a t-shirt and sweat cutoffs, I grabbed my phone and checked for any new messages. Then I remembered that there was no cell coverage. I was roughing it.
See, I'm an American girl and my best friend Audrey and I are volunteering in a Ugandan orphanage. We both just graduated from high school. Before diving in to the world of colleges and universities, we were taking a gap year together, volunteering and interning, which is why we're here. But I'm sure by now you're dying to know more about us, right?
Well, my name is Pearl Julia Smith and I'm 18 years old. I have curly brown hair to my shoulders, blue eyes, freckles, and what I'm told is a nice smile. I am a Christian so one reason I'm here is to minister to others. I've loved One Direction ever since Audrey got me hooked on them 4 years ago. I played high school volleyball as a setter since I'm 5'10". Aside from One Direction I love musicals, Disney, The Hunger Games, and my family. I've been best friends with Audrey since kindergarten, even after she moved away.
Audrey Elise Young is one of the sweetest people I've ever met. She loves singing, dancing, and performing of any kind. She's been a Directioner since Day 1 on the X-Factor. She has ombréd hair to her shoulders, tan skin, and big brown eyes. She's 5'6" and the same age as me. Audrey loves Audrey Hepburn (who she was named after), music, her cats, her family, and her One Direction posters.
As I was pulling my hair back into a ponytail, Grace, one of the little girls in the orphanage ran into my room. She was probably 6 and the cutest thing ever.
"C'mon, c'mon!" she said, tugging me out the door.
"Grace, what is it? I've already seen how big the cockroaches are!"
She dragged me down the stairs, through the kitchen, and outside I began to distinguish the sound of laughter, and then boys' voices with accents. Hold on! BRITISH accents! Well I was contemplating this, I tripped over the front steps and landed in a mud puddle with Grace. At the feet of 5 guys. Five really cute guys. Five really cute guys with British accents. Which could only mean they were One Direction! And I had just landed at their feet. On my butt. Hard. Could it get any more embarrassing? I realized it absolutely could when they began laughing at me. I'm pretty sure my face turned as red as Louis's suspenders. A hand reached down to help me up and I gratefully grasped it, only to be pulled up and find myself staring right into Liam Payne's eyes. He didn't let go of my hand, and for what felt like forever we gazed into each other's eyes. Louis finally coughed really loud, breaking us out of our trance.
"Are you all right, love?" Liam asked me with genuine concern in his eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said as I brushed myself off.
"Well, um, I'm Liam, the Irish blond one's Niall, the curly one's Harry, the one in the Superman shirt is Louis, and the one with the hat is Zayn."
"Obviously she already knows. Can't you see she's a fan?" said Harry as he rolled his eyes.
"Well, er, um, I, just, um," Liam stuttered out.
"Is Daddy nervous?! Daddy never gets nervous around girls!" Louis said.
"Seriously guys, just leave Liam alone," said Niall. Though they were all joking around, there was some actual tension in the air until Martha, the lady who ran the orphanage, came out.
"Oh! You're here! And I see you've already met one of my other volunteers!" she exclaimed.
"There's more?" questioned Niall.
"If they're all as pretty as this one then I hope there's more!" said Harry with a wink at me as I blushed.
"Bring your bags in. We're out of extra rooms so you'll have to sleep on the floor in the main hall," said Martha. I looked to see if the idea of sleeping on the floor would phase them, but if it did their faces didn't show it.
They had just begun to lay out their sleeping bags and things when suddenly Audrey came running into the room.
"I think one of the babies stopped breathing!" she panted.
Martha jumped up and ran, following Audrey to the "nursery" with the boys and I close behind. When we went in, there was not a single sound in the room. Not one baby was wailing. In one of the cribs though, a tiny one lay stock still with its eyes wide. Martha gently lifted it and listened for a heartbeat. After a moment she shook her head, layed the babe down, and shut its eyes forever. Audrey ran out of the room crying and Niall followed her. Martha quietly stole out of the room, probably to go get a box to put the body in and the boys followed her out. I knew I should go help them but I couldn't bring myself to leave.
I had rocked this little one to sleep last night. Yes, he was very premature, and I had known that, but it hadn't really hit me that he could die. Tears began to fall as I turned away. Right into Liam's arms. He held me tightly and I buried my face in his chest. He rubbed my back and stroked my hair. I knew I would be embarrassed by this late, but right now I didn't even care. I marveled at how strong his arms felt, how right they felt around me. Liam Payne was holding me and I didn't feel the least bit uncomfortable.
