Noroc || DRLAMP || Sanders Sides || discontinued

•*• Two •*•

This is where everything goes wack with the plot-

I kinda hate this chapter but have it anyways-

________

The rest of the day was relatively normal. Thomas came in at eleven, Joan and Talyn came in a little later and talked with him for a while, Emile came in at two, and Quil came in at 3:30. At four, I closed the shop, grabbing the extra pastries and placing them into a bag. I set the bag on the counter and finished cleaning. I grabbed the bag, locked up, and walked across the street. I walk into the orphanage, and get greeted by several kids.

"Vee! Vee!" Jae starts jumping up and down in front of me.

"What is it, Jae?"

"A new kid came in today!"

"Really? Can I meet them?"

"This way!" Jae grabs my hand and starts leading me to the back. Sure enough, a new person was sitting on one of the bunk beds, roughly fourteen.

"Hey.." They flinch, turning to me. "Sorry, did I spook you?" They nod slowly, tugging their sleeve down. "My name is Virgil, you can call me Vee though." They grab a piece of paper, scribbling on it.

I don't know my name.

"Hmmm... If I may ask, what pronouns do you use?" They write on the paper again. They seem hesitant to show me. "It's okay, I don't mind what pronouns you use."

It varies by the day. They show me the paper, then hunch their shoulders, as if preparing to be hit.

"Can I touch you?" They look at me, confused. They hesitate. "It won't hurt my feelings if you say no, there's a reason why I ask," They slowly shake their head. "That's okay, what are your pronouns today?"

She/her

"Okay... can I call you Erin?"

She smiles slightly at me and nods. Thank you.

"You're welcome. Now, do you want a pastry?"

Pastry?

I hold up the bag of pastries.

What are those?

"Pastries?"

She tilts her head to the side in confusion, revealing light-coloured blotches on her face, previously covered by her hair. She gasps as she realizes her hair shifted, quickly moving to cover her face again. She ducks, uttering something in a different language.

"Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything wrong."

She looks up at me, confused again.

You can speak Romanian?

I nod. "Vrei o patiserie?" She smiles. She follows me out to the main area, hiding behind me. "This," I step to the side. "Is Erin. Their gender changes by the day, so be sure to ask them what their pronouns are each day. Or..." I trail off, forming an idea. "Jae, get the pastel coloured paper ready. Anna, get the printer ready. Yumei, find me an easy-to-read font. Rei and Rona, grab me the pins, press, scissors, and glue. Hope, cover the main table with newspapers," Everyone gets to work, chattering excitedly in the process.

"Now, since you're new, you get first pick from the pastries." I turn to Erin, holding out the bag. She looks through the baked goods, eventually choosing a chocolate-filled croissant. A star-struck expression crosses her face as she takes a bite.

"Th-This is s-so g-good!" She claps her hand over her mouth as she speaks in English.

"Hey, you're alright. You have a stutter, so what? That doesn't change anything. Like how I'm an orphan, it's just a fact of life."