Upside Down

before

fifty-three days before

"Order up!" Melanie yells from behind the counter while sliding a tray over the counter for me to pick up. Melanie is a sixteen year old, high school dropout who works at Hallie's Burgers with me.

Hallie's is a burger joint that is located in what used to be a skating rink. The employees rollerblade everywhere and some of the restaurant has been left empty as a dance floor. I make my way through the Saturday crowd while balancing the black tray with four plates crammed onto it, on my arms and hold two glasses of iced tea in each of my hands. I work at Hallie's to help Miss Vi afford 'normal' activities for the girls. Like Christmas dinners and birthday parties—although no one truly knows when anyone at the orphanage was born.

I was the third little girl to ever be dropped off at Miss Vi's Orphanage For Girls. I was only six pounds and fresh out of the hospital, it seemed. My mother had placed me in a laundry basket, padded with blankets and a sticky note that was safety pinned to one of the blankets. The note read, Baby Girl, 6 lbs.

Miss Vi had been in the habit of naming each girl that showed up at her door after one of the fifty states. She did it in alphabetical order. When I arrived there was already an Alabama and an Alaska, making me Arizona Roselyn Reign. Ari for short.

Alabama, or Aly, has light, chocolate colored skin and glossy, dark hair. Her eyes are hazel and inviting. She is always excited about something and she can make you smile no matter what.

Alaska on the other hand is a Hispanic girl with dyed blue hair. She wears black on a daily basis and only smiles around Aly and I. Alaska has a bit of a split personality. Around the girls at the orphanage, she is pretty much normal but at school, she doesn't talk to anyone and has been deemed 'a freak' since day one.

Miss Vi is the owner of the Home. She has bright red hair and green eyes. She is thirty eight years old and started the orphanage when she was twenty years old. Without Miss Vi, the girls and I would probably be in a state owned home that barely has running water. Needless to say, Miss Vi is a mother to those who's own mother didn't want them.

"Table five needs to be cleaned!" Ava, the manager yells. I sigh and skate over to the table with a messy toddler who doesn't seem to understand the concept of keeping your food on your plate.

"ORDER UP!"

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Author's Note

Hey guys! Here's the first chapter. Sorry, it's kinda short but I tried my best. I know that it's going kind of slow but I just wanted to start off by introducing the characters and the setting. Vote, comment, and most importantly, read!

XOXO,
Abby