Dolls in the Midst of Slumber

Mika: Trying New Things

I was sitting on the bench out in the garden thinking about the last few months at Jedburgh. I spent a lot of time out in the garden by myself. I hadn't made any new friends not that I tried. I really didn't speak to anyone except for Joe and Mrs. Graves but that was mostly because they required me to reply. Seraphina didn't speak much to me either she was usually too busy reading or drawing to notice me.

Today it was a little bit chilly outside, so I was wearing my fuzzy gray coat. As I was about to go inside, I noticed that there were three new figures walking around the garden. Mrs. Graves was apparently giving them a tour of the grounds. There were three sisters in this group, but the one girl in particular caught my attention. She looked like she was the oldest of the group but still around the same age as me. She stood around medium height, with long auburn hair that fell straight down her back. The look in her emerald eyes spoke of hardships and a maturity level of someone twice her age. Her posture spoke louder than anything. She stood with her back erect and chin held high as if to say 'don't mess with me or my family.'

Our eyes met dark blue with emerald green, in a silent stare down. She must have thought I was not a threat to her or her sisters because after a quick look over my outfit she looked away. Mrs. Graves led them down a pathway towards the front door.

"Mika."

I fell off the bench in surprise. I looked up to find Joe standing right next to the bench. He had a slightly amused look on his face but was kind enough to refrain from laughing.

"Mika, if you want to make friends you have to talk with them. They might find it a little scary to be watched rather than talking to them."

"I don't want to make friends. All they ever do is leave me."

"What do you mean leave you?"

"They either get adopted or find better friends later." I sigh as I look around the garden avoiding Joe's kind eyes. "I mean they are friends with me for a few weeks then I do something or say something they don't like and they get mad and never talk to me again. Either that happens or they get adopted and don't tell me they are leaving and then if they do they say they will write of call and never do. So why bother making friends if they just leave?"

Joe took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before speaking. "Mika you have seen my picture on the wall right?" I nod. "I was brought to Jedburgh orphanage when I was seven years old prior to that I had been to several other orphanages. Like you, I tried to make friends and like you said they kept moving away. Then when I was seventeen the headmaster decided that because he had no children he would adopt on of the children here at the orphanage he picked me out of the hundred other kids in this place he chose a seventeen year old unloved, friendless kid. That same year I also met my very best friend in the whole wide world her name is Angie. After college Angie and I got married and started a new life in a house not too far away. When my father died he left the orphanage in my care and so Angie and I moved here and have been here ever since."

We sat in silence for a few more minutes before I spoke. "Do you think I will ever be adopted?"

"I believe you will."

"Did you ever have children? Did they grow up here?"

"No. we never had children, but if we did they would have probably grown up here. Angie grew up here too she was also an orphan."

I got up from bench where we were sitting and was about to go inside when Joe stopped me. "Mika don't give up on making friends, I know Serafina likes you she talks about you sometimes she is just too shy to come right out and say it."

I nod and go up to my room. Once I arrived there I notice that there are some bags near my bed. I look over at Serafina, who was reading at her desk.

"Whose stuff is this?" I ask.

"A new girl's. Mrs. Graves will be bringing her up in a moment. Apparently she has some sisters though us they are younger than us so they have to stay in the younger kids' wing."

"Ok." I went over to my bed and sat down on it and picked up my book and began to read. About ten minutes later, Mrs. Graves opened the door and in walked the girl I had been observing earlier.

"Mika, Serafina, this is Katrina Jai she will be your new roommate for the rest of this year and next year, if you are all still here. You might be with your new families..." I noticed that Katrina stiffened slightly at the word 'family'. "By then. In case that doesn't happen you guys will be moved up to the eleven through fifteen year old floor in January. Ok I will leave you to get settled Katrina and meet your roommates."

She shut the door on us, and we stood there in an awkward silence. Katrina was the first one to speak. "Just so you guys know we will not be friends. We will probably never speak to each other, and I don't like you." She says all this before grabbing her suitcase and throwing it on a bed then sitting beside it unpacking.

Serafina and I looked at each other then back at Katrina. She continued to unpack completely ignoring us. I finally had to break the silence.

"Serafina, can I borrow your book?"

"Which one?"

"I don't know. What do you recommend?"

"Hmm..." she went over and scanned the bookshelf.

"Well, there's this one," she says pointing to a book, but then putting it back on the shelf. "Or this one. But this one is good too. Oh and I liked this character from this book, but the plot wasn't the best."

"SHUT UP AND PICK ONE!" Katrina angrily screamed.

I decided to take Joe's advice and be friends with her. "What do you recommend, Katrina?" this seemed to stump her for a moment. She stopped unpacking and turned to look at me. She studied me for a few moments before getting up and walking towards the bookshelf. She scanned the shelves for a few moments before selecting a book and tossing it at me.

"Here read this one I think you'll like it."

I looked at the title James and the Giant Peach. "What is it about?"

"Read it and find out." Katrina snapped.

"Do you like to read?" I asked.

"Yes"

"What do you read? I mean what kind of books? Action? Adventure? Mystery? What have you read?" Serafina asked eagerly. Her eyes lighting up with excitement and curiosity.

We spent the rest of the afternoon discussing books. We discovered we had several things in common like drawing, watching movies, and of course reading. Over the next couple of weeks Katrina Serafina and I grew to be close friends. We went to school together, sat next to each other, ate together, and played outside together. We would read books then swap then with each other.

When I wasn't hanging out with Serafina and Katrina I was talking with Joe. He and I were almost inseparable. We would walk in the woods, build things in his work shop, and do puzzles and all sorts of other activities. One day, he asked me what I wanted to do when I got older I said I wanted to be a teacher. He looked at me with a grin and said I should strive to do that. He told me stories about his childhood at the orphanage and how when he went to college he became a teacher. He said he was a teacher for a long time before coming back to the orphanage to run it.

He taught me all sort of new ideas and concepts from how to make a kite, to doing multiplication in my head. Joe also taught me to drive and was very patient with me. He never yelled when I did something wrong, he would just gently remind me how to do it the correct way. When I got into high school Joe tutored me classes that I struggled in. I ended up being in the top of my class. My senior year was the most fun out of all my other years of school. Right after graduation, Joe gave me a necklace with red and black stones around the outside, and told me he was proud of all that I had accomplished. I enjoyed spending time at Jedburgh. Those were some of my happiest days; little did I know they would end so quickly.