Ghostly, Yours

October 30th

"So, I heard about how you treated Troy the other day and—" I didn't even get to finish my sentence before Jackson stood up abruptly.

"Who—" he stopped when he hit his head on the roof of the little house.

"I think what Jackson is trying to say, is that that little runt had no business telling you anything," Colby said rudely. Even Chris seemed surprised by his response as he crossed his arms sassily.

Chris opened his mouth and started, "oh yeah, that's attractive, making fun of little kids who don't have all their limbs. I bet that makes you feel like a real macho man, your mother must be—" I tried to block him out as I focused on the boys in front of me. Jackson sat down, holding his head.

"Why did you do it? Why do you continue doing it?" I couldn't understand why someone would go out of their way to be mean to someone like that.

Colby shrugged, "why not?" Chris looked like he was about to pummel the kid, if he could, of course.

I sighed, taking another route. "Fine, if I so much as hear a whisper of you two bullying anybody in the building, staff included, I will make sure to minimize your time outside of the facility and computer time. Jackson, I know you have a lady-friend that you'd miss very much if you couldn't talk to her for a while. Colby, I've been letting you have extra time on the computers because I know you've been trying to research your parents. However, if you continue treating people the way you have been, those privileges will be revoked, am I understood?" Jackson looked remorseful, while Colby just clenched his jaw. I knew this wasn't the way to get through to him, but it was the only thing I could think of to keep Troy safe. When neither of them replied, I repeated, "am I understood?"

"Yes," Jackson muttered begrudgingly. I looked over at Colby who was glaring at me, his brown eyes trying to pierce something.

"Fine." He stood up and left the toy house with Jackson trailing behind. I sighed and looked at the floor before remembering Chris' existence. I looked back up, only to find that he was no longer there. I frowned and looked around the room, still not able to find him. I shrugged and decided that this would be a good opportunity to actually get some work done. I made my way back down the stairs and to my little office desk. I spent the next hour or two writing the application for a grant from the provincial government. I had to make sure that it was as good as it could be. With Dave under as much pressure as he was, it was the least I could do. Even though this wouldn't get me paid any more than I already did, it would help the kids have the best childhood that we could give them in this colorless, poorly-insulated building.

I spent the rest of the day playing with Steven, Jim, and Troy in the play area on the second floor, while Shayla, Jackson, and Colby did their business in the computer room upstairs. We currently have five teenagers at this institute, but only three very old computers. Thankfully, the other two - Jayden and Amanda, are fraternal twins and enjoy reading to the younger kids to practice their literacy. The smaller kids are in the nursery on the first floor where we keep all children under the age of six. It's not ideal, especially when one kid starts to cry, because then the rest of them start to cry even louder. It's like a cataclysmic chain reaction. By then, the five and six-year-olds just get grouchy and irritated by all the noise and it's almost impossible to deal with. Thankfully, I don't usually have to supervise the toddlers because Greg - one of my co-workers who specializes in working with younger children, works the same hours as me.

I enjoyed playing with the boys, but it could be a little saddening at times. I like to think that I'm helping them make good memories that they can look back on, but I worry sometimes that playing 'cars' on a ratty carpet with the faint outline of stripes that resemble poorly paved roads isn't good enough. I made another "brrrroooom" sound as I 'drifted' around a black stripe and screeched to a halt. Checking my phone, I stood up, grimacing as my knees cracked. At 28, I should not be feeling this old.

"Okay boys, it's almost seven and you know you have to be in bed by eight," I said, clapping my hands together.

"Can't we just play for another half an hour?" Steven pleaded, pouting and putting his hands into a prayer position.

"You guys still have to get ready for bed and I know you all want a story before bed," I reasoned with a smirk on my face. Knowing I was right, Steven let a sheepish smile slide onto his face as all three of them got up and put their toys away. Troy limped on his poorly constructed prosthetic leg and dropped his car into the bin before walking silently to the communal bathroom. Steven and Jim followed suit and I grabbed the vacuum from the closet, noticing quite a bit of dust pile up in the nooks and crannies of the room. It was clear no one cleaned this place often, if at all. I'm surprised the kids haven't gotten too sick yet, only the occasional common cold. By the time I finished vacuuming the room, the three boys were in their rooms. Even though Steven and Jim shared a room, they were all seated on Troy's bed, chatting animatedly in their pajamas, waiting for their nightly story.

We had run out of new books months ago so I had to rely on my memories or my imagination. As I sat down on a rickety chair, I took a moment to think of a story. A few seconds later, the boys noticed my presence and quieted down, though I was still struggling to think of something. I was trying not to make the stories repetitive, but after three months of using my imagination, I was admittedly running dry. Suddenly, Chris' head popped through the wall with a smirk on his face, giving me the perfect idea. My expression mirrored his as I turned to the boys.

"Alright guys, I'm going to tell you a ghost story."

- Author's Note -

Hi guys! I know it's been like a year... and I know this is a filler chapter... but I think I'm going to start writing again! I'm still pretty busy with life at the moment, but I'm moderately determined. It'll probably take me a while to get back into the groove of things, sorry if the next few chapters are kind of weird in the sense of my writing style. Like I said, it's been about a year, haha oops...

Hope you guys enjoy! Lots of love, Nat.