How to Be a Bad Girl ✔

Chapter Nineteen - The Funhouse

~♡~Sophia's POV~♡~

"This is your idea of fun?" I turn to stare at Dylan with bewilderment.

"Yep!" He gives a small smile; yet somehow, there's something strange about his smile today, it feels a bit... forced.

There is clear sadness in his eyes, one that he tries so hard to mask by putting on a forced smile — not his usual, carefree and overconfident smile — whenever I glance at him. It makes me wonder what happened to him.

Hmm? Did I actually care about someone else's feelings?

I shake the strange thought away and shift my gaze to the old building in front of me. The three-story building has a large cross perched on the gable-wall. The building is not exactly wide; there are only four windows on each floor seen from outside. Excessive exposure to sunlight causes parts of the brown paint that covers the first floor to change color over time. Some of the yellow paint on the upper part of the building is peeling, revealing the grey-ish concrete underneath them. On the wall between the second floor and the third floor is a large, wooden sign. The black paint is fading, but the words can still be read from afar.

St. Mary's Orphanage.

A few days ago, when Dylan said we should do something fun, it never crossed my mind that he meant visiting an orphanage. Where's the fun in that?

"Come on," Dylan says before stepping up the small stairs leading to the front door.

With a small shrug, I follow him. He rings the bell next to the wooden door a couple of times and a woman answers from inside, "Just a second!"

When the front door opens, the smell of roasted turkey wavers in the air. A middle-aged woman wearing a flowery apron is now standing before us. Her short blonde hair is styled in a classic blow-dry that makes her look graceful.

"Oh, Dylan! How nice to see you!" The tall lady leans forward to give Dylan a quick hug.

"It's nice to see you too, Mrs. O'Malley," Dylan replies with a smile.

"Come in!"

As Dylan and I step into the house, her gaze is drawn to me, a welcoming smile hanging on the corner of her lips. Dylan quickly introduces me, "This is my friend, Sophia Wilde. She's going to help me with the kids today."

His... friend? A sudden, strange feeling flickers in my mind. I guess it's not so bad having someone call you a friend, for once.

"Ah! It's so nice to meet you!" The tall woman offers her hand. Shaking her hand, I reply the gesture with a polite smile. "I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have youngsters like you two to volunteer here! We definitely need more helpful hands around here."

I reply, "It's nice to meet you t—"

"Dylan!" Out of nowhere, a girl about eight or nine years old is running towards the boy standing next to me. Stopping abruptly in front of him, she jumps up and gives him a tight hug. "Long time no see!"

"Long time no see?" Dylan snaps his head back as he hugs her back, an exaggerated surprised look on his face. "I just dropped by last week!"

Straightening herself, she rests her hands on her hips and throws him a judging look. The dark-skinned girl has her curly, black hair tied into two buns on each side of her head. Even though she's thin, she has plump cheeks and a round face that makes her look chubbier than she really is.

"Well, a week is a long time, you know?" she retorts. "Now, where's that thing you promised me, huh?"

"Cheryl! Where is your manner?" Mrs. O'Malley scolds and the little girl pushes her plump lips forward into a cute pout.