The Peculiar Oddity of Curiosity

Chapter 3- Burned up

It had been a few days since Ebony’s outburst but she was still intent on ignoring Rebecca. She had tried her best to sleep off the memories of that strange day which explained why she still in bed at 2:17PM. As it was a Saturday she had to go to work, the afternoon shift starting at 3PM. Stretching and yawning, Ebony rolled off her bed and stumbled to the bathroom, she managed to open her eyes wide enough to see her refection. It was not a pretty sight. Her deep hazel eyes were all gummed up and her ebony coloured hair was a mess. She was reaching for her toothbrush when she heard loud banging on the bathroom door.

“Ebony, Bonny. Rebecca wants you downstairs”

She sighed deeply. It was Izzy at the door. What on earth did Rebecca want with her?

“Yeah, yeah I’m coming” Ebony grunted as she quickly finished up in the bathroom.

She trotted down the stairs in black jeans and a faded purple tee. She was in no mood for pleasantries and it was very evident in her face. She made her way to the main room dismissing the ‘good mornings’ from her fellow house mates.

“If she thinks I’m going to apologize...” Ebony said aloud “Then she is greatly mistaken”

As she finally entered the main room she saw Rebecca sitting comfortably on a cream sofa as she expected but she didn’t think she’d see three of her friends solemnly sitting beside her.

“What’s going on, Izzy said you needed me” Ebony pointed to her frizzy (Hence the nickname) haired friend.

“Yes, Isabella did” Rebecca calmly replied “Take a seat please, I’m afraid this is rather serious”

Ebony deliberately chose the seat furthest from Rebecca and sat down. She hadn’t an idea what was going on. Izzy was present in the room. As was Dylan and Shaun, two girls and two boys in total.

“I’m sure your all wondering why I’ve brought you all here”

“You think” Ebony remarked.

Ignoring the snide comment from Ebony, Rebecca continued.

“As you know you’re all approaching your 18th birthday, save for Dylan who had turned 18 last week. This means that sadly the orphanage will no longer be available to you, it states by law that when a lodger reaches the age of 18 they are independent and need not rely on the services of the orphanage”

At these words there was an outcry. The orphanage that these kids had spent the majority of their lives in was to be taken from them.

“What! You’re throwing us away” Shaun cried out.

“Now, I didn’t say that. We’ll try to support you as best we can until you can find save living quarters” Rebecca tried to explain.

“Sure, you’ll try to help us. You never cared about us.” Ebony wrongly remarked.

It was at this that Rebecca raised her voice.

“How dare you! Do not act as if this is the first time I’ve told you about this. I mention it several times over the past few months. I took you in when no one else would so don’t you dare have the audacity to say I never cared!” there was silence in the room.”This is not up for debate. This orphanage is already strained as it is with many children coming in everyday. I want to help you more but the only thing I can do is give you around an extra 4 months to get going. I’m sorry.

“What do we do...?” Izzy whispered. Her words mirrored the thoughts of everyone else.

“Get a job as soon as you can. If you already have one then ask your current employer for a raise. We can provide very little money for you so please, be prepared”