Yin's Story

38

Something hard hits my chest.

"More inspections Dagenhart! It's the same deal as yesterday!" says The Warden sounding annoyed.

"Yes, sir," I groan picking up the clipboard and standing up.

"Now, Dagenhart!" He shouts. I jump and say

"Yes, sir!"

I jog past him staring at the clipboard. Once I'm a clear distance away I slow down and read the brand new bright yellow sticky note. This time it says:

-Culinary Department

-Agriculture Department

-Cleaning Department

I know that Alex works in the Culinary Department, but I have no clue who works in the Agriculture or Cleaning Department. I'll go in order again just like I did the last time. Surprisingly I still remember where the kitchens are. I step inside and I'm immediately greeted with the smell of herbs and soups cooking. Alex is standing over an island in the middle of the room peeling and cutting vegetables. I walk over, climb onto a stool across from him and place my clipboard down.

"Hey, Alex," I say.

"...Hi Yin..."

"What are you doing?" I ask curiously.

"...I'm cutting up vegetables for tonight's dinner..."

I nod. It's really hard to talk to Alex. We sit in silence for a while.

"Are you doing alright Yin?" He asks suddenly with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Yeah, of course. Why do you ask?"

"You're a young child and this place will mess you up. I just want to know if you're doing okay."

"I'm doing fine Alex."

"You can talk to me if you need to, I'll always be there to listen,"

"Thanks, Alex." I smile at him.

"...whatever..."

And he's back to his normal self. I quickly scribble some things about him on my board and slip off the stool.

"...I'm guessing you have to leave now..." He mumbles still cutting vegetables.

"Yeah. I have work to complete for The Warden."

"....bye then...." He mumbles as I exit the kitchens.

"Bye, Alex!" I call back.

I actually know where the Agriculture Department is. I have to pass by it every day on my way to work. The doors to this department are wide open letting a cold draft into the hallway. The Agriculture Department is basically just a small fenced in square with many long wooden rectangles built into the ground. Of course, there's dirt everywhere.

"Yin?!" someone calls.

I look up to see Timmy smiling and waving at me frantically. I chuckle as I jog over to him.

"Yin! It's so good to see you! What are you doing here?!" He shouts excitedly.

"I've got inspections for The Warden. Why don't you tell me about what you're doing?"

"I'm planting vegetables!"

"What kind of vegetables?" I ask kneeling down.

"I've got cucumbers, carrots, peppers, and potatoes! Tammy plants fruits and I plant vegetables!" He says pointing to his sister who is halfway across the square on the other side. She smiles at me waving. I wave back before turning back to Timmy.

"This is where I got the flower I gave to you! Do you still have it!" He asks.

"Uh, yeah, it's in my cell."

"Good! I want you to keep it forever and ever!"

I chuckle.

"I'll make sure to keep it safe then! But, why did you give the flower to me?" I ask. I was rather curious about that, to be honest.

"O-Oh. I gave it to you because I really like you." He says dropping his voice to almost a whisper.

"What do you mean Timmy."

"I mean that I really really really like you! And I want to marry you!" He says quickly.

"That's sweet, Timmy."

"It is? S-so will you marry me?" He asks staring up at me hopefully.

"M-Maybe when you're older."

"Promise?" He asks.

"Promise."

I stand up smiling at him.

"I gotta get going, but I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay, bye Yin!" Timmy says waving at him. I wave back while quickly jotting notes down onto my clipboard. As I try to find my way to the Cleaning Department I bump into Leah.

"Hey, Leah," I say. She stops in her tracks. She's holding a broom in one hand and in the other she holds a blue bucket filled with cleaning supplies.

"Oh, hey sweetheart! What are you doing here?"

"Inspections. I have no idea where the Cleaning Department is though." I say. Leah smiles.

"That's my department. Just follow me, we really don't have a designated place for us." Leah says. I follow her back down the dirty hallway.

"Hey, Leah? Can you tell me about yourself?" I ask curiously. I really don't know much about my friends at all.

"Sure! So, I grew up in a manor with my mom, dad, and two brothers. My mom was very proper and very lady like. She wanted me to be always dressed in fancy clothes and fantastic very proper manners. Which isn't really my thing." She says.

"My mom was like that too! But she was a lot more understanding and would hear our opinions on everything."

"My mom was the complete opposite! She never ever cared about anything we wanted! It was always what she wanted! But, she was my mother, and I still love her. My dad was a little more laid back. He owned a company that made shoes, but he made big money! My dad wanted me to be more like him than like my mom." She explains.

"What about your brothers?"

"Oh, my two younger brothers. A year apart in age. They were a handful but they were my best friends! They used to cover for me when I snuck out. They'd be a lot older now. They would've loved you!" She says smiling and staring off into the distance.

A clock chimes somewhere from inside The ScrapYard.

"That's the dinner bell, Yin! You should get going!" Leah says.

I wrap my arms around her in a hug. She quickly returns the hug.

"Bye, mom," I say smiling.

"Bye, sweetheart,"

She releases me and I sprint down the hallway towards The Warden's office. I throw the clipboard onto his desk and sprint back towards the mess hall. Dinner is filled with laughter, talking, and Spring ranting, but it's over very soon. Once in my cell, I lay down on the cold dirt floor and let the darkness slowly take me.