Hideaway

Chapter 3: Plans to run away

Chapter 3: Plans to run away

I woke up pretty early compared to the time I used to get up to go to school. Surprisingly, most of the other children were already up and about. Bruce was still asleep, but the orange haired girl was sitting on her bed reading a book. I decided I should go to say hi to her. After all, what better thing was there to do. I approached her and sat next to her."Hi i'm Sylvia," I said. She didn't reply at first being to consumed in her book, but eventually replied. "I'm Christina." "Well hi there. What time do people usually get up around here?" "Six o' clock." "We get up at six?!" "That's what time she usually wakes us up, but sometimes she sleeps in. We're obviously very lucky today." Christina got up and walked to another girl and brought her over to me. She had black hair that mostly covered her eyes. "This is Hannah. She's kind of a loner. She never talks to anyone she doesn't know." Hannah stared at the ground. Chistina put her arm around her and said, " I think of her as a sister. I know her very well." Turning my attention away from them, I focused on the area around me. I hadn't gotten a chance to because of last night. It was just to busy.The area had a creaky floor and torn up wallpaper. The color on it was so distorted I couldn't even make out what it might have  looked like before all these children were put in here. The beds were arranged in a disorderley fashion and bed sheets were spread all over the floor. Obviously this place was very old. I just couldn't shake the feeling that a child had died here before.

Christina spoke to me again, "Yeah, it's pretty overwhelming at first, but you get used to it. Trust me." My brain was begging me to ask her more questions. "Um, what happens to children that act up?" "You get tossed out of the orphanage. Plain and simple as that. Children that act up are never heard from again." I didn't even want to think about the horrors that lurk out in the wild. Christina most likely didn't like it, but she talked casually about it. As if she was used to it. We heard creaking coming up the stairs leading to the room we were in. Everyone hopped back into bed and I followed. The owner crept into the room as if she didn't want us to jump into bed. She wanted to catch us and get us into trouble. She boomed in a loud voice, " Rise and shine. You've got a lot of work to do today." She led all of us downstairs including poor Bruce, who woke with a start when she yelled at us. We were taken to machines and put to work, weaving and printing on shirts. By the time lunch came, we were all starving. We gobbled down the food like we had never eaten our entire lives. Even though the food was putrid smelling. "What is this," I asked Bruce. "It's oatmeal. Well, at least that's what they told us. To be honest, we all have no idea what the darn food is." I sniffed at it.  It didn't smell like anything I had smelt before. After lunch, we were put directly back to work. I knew this was child abuse. I was just to afraid to speak up.

At the end of the day we were set free I grabbed my suitcase which had some money in it from my parent's death. "I'm going to the store," I told everyone. At the store, after walking what seemed like a million miles, I bought a stack of paper. I nearly fainted on the way back, but kept my composition untill I got to the orphanage. Waiting for me there was an angry orphanage owner. She grabbed me by my collar and brought me into the building, me thrashing the whole time. She seemed to angry to speak. All I got was a dehumanitizing stare and a kick, I was then pushed to bed where dozens of other children were already asleep. Except for two. Christina and Bruce. They were worried about me. It warmed my heart, but at the same time I was filled with fear from being caught. I was to petrified to speak to anyone. Luckily, they just gave me welcome back grins and we all climbed into bed.

A familiar shouting woke me up. It was the master, waking us from our sleep. She shoke everyone untill she got to me. "Long night eh'," She said. "Well the days gonna be even longer. Cuz, your not working with them today." She gestured towards Christina, Bruce, and Hannah. "What do you mean," I replied. "Well, I figured that the punishment should fit the crime. So it will. You'll be working outside. Sweating in the heat and painting the orphanage." "You're not at all afraid anyone will see me and speak up?" To that remark, she laughed hysterically."Honey, it's New York. People see that all the time. No lunch. No friends. Hard labor day and night."

She must have been right. I sat out there painting and painting and painting without any sort of rest or lunch at all. Many pedestrians passed by, but they didn't seem to notice a thing and I didn't dare to speak to them. They all thought I was possibly a worker. Hired to do this job. What they didn't know, is that I am a worker, but an illegal one. After 3:00 she told me I was done. Exhausted, I crumpled to the ground. I walked around enjoying the scenery.  Suddenly, there was a cry for help. I followed it to a dark alley where a kid from the orphanage was being ganged up on by older kids from the orphanage.I couldn't let them see me. My quick thinking helped me come up with a plan fast.

The orphanage owner always wore high heels. You knew when she was coming. I knew that right now she would be at the store getting more "oatmeal". I quickly dashed to her room where I found the perfect pair of high heels to stomp away bullies. I walked downstairs towards the bullies. Startled, they turned towards each other and dropped the little kid whom was being held by the scruff of his neck."I thought she was at the store!" "Well obviously you were wrong you idiot!" "Let's get the heck outta here!" "You got it boss!" They made a beeline away from where I was. I quickly ran towards the boy. Knowing I wasn't the owner. He stopped quivering in fear. "H..hi," He said." I'm Sylvia," I told him. "Im, uh Georgie," he told me. I liked that name."Well, Georgie, I like you. I don't want you getting hurt." He gladly followed me.

I was startled by sobbing. Uncontrollable sobbing. There was a boy that looked a bit older than me up on the roof. I looked up. The roof was high up, but I shook away fear and made the treacherous climb anyways. There at the top, the boy stood at the edge. He looked ready to jump. Trust me, if you jumped from there you wouldn't make it. That's why I was tempted to leave him be at first. He made the leap, but as soon as he did, he was stopped by me grabbing him by the shirt. He said a series of unclean words and turned to me, "Who the heck are you?! How did you get up here?" "Suicide is never the answer!!"I was shocked. I was put into survival mode and I saved his life. How bad was this place. He looked wildly at me before shaking my hand and saying,"Hey, uh. Well, you just saved my life against my will so I guess I better introduce myself formally. I'm Zest. Chose my name myself. You like it." I couldn't even talk, but gave him a slight nod to let him know I was listening. Even if I wasn't, it probably wouldn't get through his thick skull. "Well," he said. "How'd you find me?" To that I replied,"You were bawling up here. How was I not supposed to find out where that was coming from?" I looked down again and realized my fear of heights."Uh.....Let's get down from here OK."

We climbed down and I decided I should bring Georgie and Zest to meet Chiristina, Hannah and Bruce. We all got together in the bedrooms."We need to get out of this place,"Christina said to start the conversation."Agreed,"added Zest. "Wait, what is this," Bruce said. "A prison break?! Its not like we are living in hell!" "So you want to stay here," argued Christina. Bruce stutered."N..no. I just think that we should consider what could be coming to us." "We have considered," I objected. "We need to leave. How about this? All in favor of running away raise your hand. Bruce eventually put his hand up so everyone agreed."Great! Now i've got a plan. We need to find some way to distract the owner long enough for us to make our escape. Anyone got ideas?" Zest answered."How about sleeping pills?" "Where in the world would we get sleeping pills since we live in an orphanage?" "I have my ways," he replied. He started to get up."Where are you going?!" "Errands. I'll be back tomorrow. I'm getting the pills." He left without saying another word. "I still don't get where a kid our age would get drugs to knock out the orphanage owner."

We all went to sleep pretty fast. Even though I was worried about Zest. When we woke up, it was by Zest shaking us awake with the sound of pills moving around in a container. He got the pills. "Hey," He said with a triumphant look."I got em'." It made me happy to see him smile like that especially since he had been sad enough to almost jump off a roof yesterday.

Later on, the owner got everyone up and working. The whole time my head was buzzing with visions of living in the wild with no stable supply of food, water, or shelter. Before I knew it, it was lunchtime and I was the only person still left at the machines. I was starving since I didn't get lunch the last. I was so hungry that the moment I took a bite of the "oatmeal" it tasted lik heaven. Zest concealed the pills in his pocket and got a glass of water. Christina, giddy to make the owner fall asleep ran over. I followed. Christina carefully, opened one of the pills and poured its powdery contents into the water. She had to stir it with a stick to make it blend in. I then told everyone that it was time to pack our suitcases. We went upstairs and packed in silence, taking anything of importance with us.

"Tonight," I said. "We get a new found freedom!" Everyone cheered.