I Promise || Adopted by Peterick

_1_NEW CUSTOMERS

8 years forward

"Hi girls." Mrs. Newbury waddled between the the rows of rickety old bunk beds in the bedroom. At the head of each bed stood a small wardrobe for the girls of the stacked beds to share. At the foot two girls stood at attention as Mrs. Newbury inspected the room and their clothing. Today was Sunday after all. We need to look our best.

As I was the oldest, I was at the very back of the room. I shared bunk space with Allie, she's thirteen. One year younger than me. Well two officially because of today. September 14th. My birthday. I hated birthdays.

"Good morning Mrs. Newbury," Allie smiled brightly at the old, wide woman. She was always sour, there really was no point in trying to get on her good side.

"Hello Allison." The old witch spit out the words always doing the minimum to keep her job. She looked over our outfits. We were both in the nicest dresses we owned, which wasn't much. But on Sunday's you have to look your best. They were identical in style, folded down collar, cinched waist, just brushing our knees. The only difference was that hers was a green and white plaid and mine was all black. It wasn't much but it was all I had.

"We have three couples coming in today." Mrs. Newbury glanced down at her papers. "They're all open to all ages so be on your best behavior all day. They will come at lunch to dine with us. Remember your table manners. And Katherine, remember your mumbling. We look like ladies, let's act like it." And with that she turned on her heel, kicking up her skirt, and left. It was the same thing every week. Same talk, same lunch, same disappointment. Occasionally someone would be taken home but most of the time couples would leave deciding they didn't want a scrawny little girl.

The rest of the room slowly evolved into chatters. I sat on my bed. There was half an hour before lunch. We have thirty minutes before the hell of Sunday lunch.

Allie dug around her bed for a moment before sitting beside me. She's been here almost as long as I have. She was dropped off when she was seven as well as I was. Her parents gave her a large dose of cough syrup to knock her out and left the girl curled on the steps of the home. Now she refuses to take any medicine offered to her.

"I remembered it was your birthday," she offers and holds out her palm. "I worked in the snack booth at school for three weeks to save, I didn't even steal it." I smile at that. We've stolen a lot in the past. Whether from the candy shop or the grocery store of even Mrs. Newbury's jewelry box. She had saved quite a lot judging by the gift. It was a gold chain with a little silver square clipped on it. She pressed on the side and it popped open. It was a locket. An empty one, but a locket nonetheless.

"Thank you." I took the necklace and hugged my only friend. The only one who cared. We all need someone like that don't we.

"We've got only fifteen more minutes." Allie consulted her wrist watch. I nodded and we left my bed. We had been through this before. We knew what the couples wanted in children.

We both stared into the mirror attached to our wardrobe. Pinching out cheeks as to not look so pale and lifeless. Smoothing lip balm over our mouthes so we aren't licking the dryness away during lunch. Hair wasn't much you could control. We weren't allowed hair straighteners or curlers. We had brushes and spray bottles. I tugged at a strand and frowned. It would look good straightened. It wasn't curly or even wavy, just messy. The kind you can't fix with brushes and water. I clipped on the locket at the last second and Allie smiled at me.

"Lunch time," someone called. Definitely not Mrs. Newbury. She was far too cheerful. The girls filed out of our room to the dining hall downstairs. There were two long tables in an 'L' shape with more than enough chairs for the ten girls and six adults already sat around the tables. We found seats quickly. Allie sat across from me and we shared a knowing glance. We'd seen these kinds of couples before. They were rich and snobby, they won't want a girl from here.

"Why don't we introduce ourselves," the same cheery voice from before piped up again. I looked over to see Jenny. She was really supposed to be Ms. Carpenter but she insisted on the name Jenny. "I'm Jennifer Carpenter, but you can call me Jenny." She smiled at the couple next to her.

"Um, hello. We're the Robinsons." The couple awkwardly shifted in their seats as the girl next to them happily squeaked out her full name and age. The cycle continued all the way around the table and back to Jenny. Then she told us lunch would be served shortly and to feel free to talk amongst ourselves. Beside me a man and women, the Joseph's I think? Spoke with Allie and me.

"We just got back from Europe. It was lovely. We love to travel, how about you girls?" The man asked, looking between us.

"I want to go to Africa," Allie says.

"I don't really care. I just want to leave and never look back," I says simply hoping the conversation will direct itself elsewhere. I didn't care about these couples. I had three more years in this dump then I would be free.

The meal goes exactly as planned. We have sandwiches and salad and the adults make conversation. We tolerate them and smile and nod along. Then they say they'll get back to us and never call again. It's easier this way. We show Mrs. Newbury our manners and she seems satisfied and we know what's coming so we don't get our hopes up.

Simple as that. Just repeating the same thing ever week. Gets a bit tiresome after all these years.