The inside of the orphanage isn't very special. It has a foyer where we all take off our shoes and hang up our coats, and connected to that is the kitchen and dining room. If you go to the other side of the foyer, opposite the entrance to the kitchen and dining room, there is a living room where everyone can hang out and watch the very limited television channels that the orphanage gets. Opposite the door, there is a corridor that has a flight of stairs. If you were to climb the stairs, you would get to the hallway where each person's bedroom is. My bedroom just happens to be across from Lago's at the end of the hallway. Our foster mother's does not sleep here. She goes to a different apartment to sleep. This is for reasons unknown because she still has a bedroom in the orphanage. We are told never to go in there, and so we don’t.
Lago and I entered the orphanage and went straight for our rooms. Emmie, who just so happened to be the only girl in the orphanage, was in the living room. She has red hair and blue eyes. She also happened to be the youngest child in the orphanage, being just nine years old. She was, however, incredibly smart for her age,surpassing the other kids grade-wise by a landslide. The other children in the school tend to keep their distance from her, thinking that maybe she just might pull out a death ray that she invented one day and blast them to Mars, which was stupid, but people will believe anything if it is said enough times. However, she is a very polite and nice kid, always keeping good notes, keeping her bedroom clean, and staying out of trouble. But around other people she is shy. And that could be because people don't really give her a chance to express herself to them that often.
Our bedrooms are small, but are about average size for our orphanage. They are about ten feet long by ten feet wide, and have exactly one bed, one table, one lamp, and one person. We also have one mirror in each room. They both have white walls and a wood floor, and no fan or air conditioning.
I went into my room and looking in the mirror. I looked pretty much the same. My light brown hair was still in place. I have green eyes and relatively long hair. I am actually a little tall for my age, but not terribly so. Lago, on the other hand, is shorter than me, but still not horribly out of the average. He has blonde hair and cold, dark blue eyes. His hair is shorter than mine, but still not that short.
And so I finally got a chance to rest for the day. The days can be long and sometimes, but I get by. I try to make the best of things and I do pretty well, but sometimes it can be tiring. Lago tries, but most of the time he just can't. He's one year older than me at age fifteen. I'm just fourteen. Life's been rough him. He's given a hard time in school, with people attacking him for his height (even though he isn't that short), his wealth, his grades, and his athletic ability. It's been a while since this started; just about five years ago. It just makes it harder for him to enjoy life. I, amazingly, am not bothered that much. And when people do, it doesn't last as long as it has for Lago, so I can just shrug it off. Life can be hard, but I get by. I get by. But Lago needs help. And so do I. We both do. We help each other. Together.
