unforeseen [h.p.]

STRANGER THINGS

"God, why me?"

Alex trembled in fear as the hairy, eight-legged creature stood firm on the wooden floor. She was trapped with no way to escape. If Alex could shrink any farther into the corner, she would.

Alex slowly took her shoe off and shakily held it above her head, preparing to strike.

"Come any closer and I swear I'll--" she was cut off by her own ear piercing shriek as the spider crawled daringly closer toward her.

Ms. Joy scurried into Alex's room with her broom gripped tightly in her fist. Alex swears that thing is permanently glued to her hand.

"What? What is it?" Ms. Joy asked frantically. Alex pointed out the hideous creature, close to tears. There is nothing in the world she loathes more than spiders.

Ms. Joy took her broom, turned it upside down, and squished the ugly brown bug to death with the wooden handle. Alex watched uneasily as the spider curled up its legs and died. She wanted to vomit. Using the bristled end this time, Ms. Joy swept away the dead bug.

"I do hope that aunt of yours doesn't have many spiders living in her home," she chuckled.

Alex swallowed the thick lump in her throat. "I don't know what I'm going to do without you," she laughed wholeheartedly. After almost twelve years of living in Vaughn's Orphanage, Alex had finally been "adopted," for lack of a better word.

A few weeks back, Alex received news that she had an aunt by the name of Amelia Johnson, her father's sister. Alex was completely stunned, to say the least. Like most of the children in Vaughn's Orphanage, Alex has lived here almost all her life. She was dropped off at the orphanage as a toddler, with nothing more than a few blankets, the clothing she was wearing, and a handwritten note providing her first name.

She knew nothing about herself; not her full name, not her birthday, not even who her parents are, or were. Alex hoped that her aunt would provide her all the information she wanted to know.

Alex had only ever spoken to her aunt once. Amelia had to come to the orphanage for a special meeting with Ms. Vaughn, and Alex got to see her and get a first impression while she was here. She was very beautiful. She had bright red hair which reached just below her shoulders, freckled cheeks, and a warm smile. Amelia was also very emotional while meeting Alex for the first time, hugging her a lot and crying happy tears (which made Alex kind of uncomfortable). After her meeting with Ms. Vaughn, she told Alex that she would be back to pick her up in one week, as she needed to "take care of some things."

One week later and here Alex was, cleaning out her bedroom and packing up the last of her belongings. Alex has had a room to herself for a while now, none of the other orphans wanted to share a room with her. They found her weird and intimidating.

Strange things always did happen to or around Alex, things she couldn't explain. Like how her waist-length hair would always almost immediately grow back after a trim, or how things made of glass would shatter whenever she got angry. She once got so mad when one of the staff accused her of stealing things from the other orphans, poor Jimmy couldn't see through his glasses for a week.

Nobody really favored her here, but she didn't care. Ms. Joy was all she needed. She was Alex's best friend. Alex wasn't quite sure what she would do without her.

"I'll help you bring your things downstairs," Ms. Joy said, grabbing Alex's trunk and carrying it downstairs, leaving her broom behind. Alex smiled faintly at the sight of it; Ms. Joy was usually so attached to the thing.

"Alex!" Ms. Joy called. "Your aunt is already here, hurry now!"

Alex quickly slipped her shoe back on, grabbing Ms. Joy's broom to take with her downstairs as well. She glanced around, making sure she wasn't going to forget anything, and then shut the door, leaving her old room and a dead spider in the corner of it behind her. Alex slowly made her way through the corridor. It was rather quiet, as it was Lunch Hour and all the other children were on the other side of the orphanage. When Alex got downstairs, her aunt was engrossed in conversation with Ms. Joy and another man.