Mistakes

One

Dale

"ALRIGHT, LADIES! GET UP!" Ms. Broomingsfield yelled, clanging the morning bell loudly.

I groaned, my eyes stuck together with the tears from last night. I opened them, half of my eyelashes ripped off, and squinted because of the bright light. I sat up, taking in my surroundings like I did every morning.

There's nothing really new, other than the new girl that came yesterday. She was still in bed, her pillow on her face. I noticed a bit of her red hair sticking out of the blankets she hid herself in. I yawned, stretching my arms out. The room buzzed, girls waking up around me. They started chattering, and giggling, the noise in the room getting louder. As if the bell wasn't enough.

I stood up out of bed, slipping on my black, furry slippers. They were cold, which woke me up. I yawned once again as I walked past all the beds, and past Ms. Broomingsfield. The morning bell was the loudest of all the bells, and even though I've lived with it for the past 3 years of my life, it still annoys me so much.

I was about to open the door when I remembered. I stepped away from the door, my back pressed against the wall as I watched the crowd of girls run up to the door in a rush to be the first to get to the showers. I already made the mistake of being the first to open the door once, and I knew not to do it ever again. Once the crowd was out, the rest of us sane people walked calmly out the bedroom, following the crowd of girls run down the wide hallway.

"HEY! SLOW DOWN! NO RUNNING IN THE HALLS!" Ms. Broomingfield's voice boomed down the hall, slowing down the crowd.

I stopped, and waited for everyone to go ahead of me. I wanted to look at the new map of the orphanage they put up yesterday. Once everyone, including Ms. Broomingfield, was down the hall, I turned back to the other end of the hall, where the map was.

It sure was new, it shinned in the light. The window was wide open, crisp spring air blew in the hall, pushing some of my fringe in my face. I pushed it behind my ear and stared at the map in awe. They must have took a long time making it because it was really detailed.

Addison Orphanege is the biggest in all of Brighton. It used to be a mansion, but the owner turned it into an orphanage after his wife died, or someone in his family died. I don't know, I wasn't paying attention in history.

Each floor has it's own bedroom- a gigantic room filled with the beds the children sleep in every night- the cafeteria- because they don't want the approximately 2,000 children in this orphanage mixing- the showers, the bathrooms, the activity rooms, and all the other stuff.

The first floor is for the little ones and the place where people go to adopt, the offices. The second is for the girls 10-16 years old. They don't allow boys on this floor, which really makes no sense because I shouldn't be here then. The third was for the boys who are 10-16 years old, otherwise known as where I should be.

After acknowledging every last detail of the map, I finally walked down the hall and to the shower, where all the other girls were. Well, they weren't there anymore since I took so long, but that's even better.

Showers are always hard for me, because I hate what I look like. I am fat, and female on the outside. I am a boy at heart, but everyone sees me as the girl dressing as a boy. I hate it when they bully me, on and on about how I'm ridiculous for dressing like a boy and for thinking I am one. They'd beat me up with their words and very painful fists.

I sighed as I slipped off my clothes and turned the shower on, making sure that the stall door was locked. I looked down at my chubby arms and legs, fading bruises covering them from all the times I tried to explain who I really was. They never listened.