A loud ringing broke the silence in the care home. Dawn was just approaching on the horizon and the shrill beeping of the doorbell roused the kids and staff from their slumber. The angry ringing continued on, as a young woman descended the stairs to approach the door.
"Alright, I'm coming!" The woman said in an irritated tone.
She turned the lock on the wooden door and pulled it open. Immediately, a short, tanned boy was shoved through the entryway, carrying a rubbish bag. He looked peeved as he stumbled into the wall.
"In there!" A gruff voice ordered.
The child threw down his bag and glowered at the elder male who followed him into the home. It was obvious they didn't like each other in the slightest.
"Hey!" The woman protested at the treatment of the child. "Leave him alone!"
Four more children walked through the doorway. Three girls and another boy. One girl was blonde, whilst another was brunette. The boy had a brown mop of hair atop his head and the last girl had her hood covering her head and face. She was attached to the boy's side, who held her in his embrace as the door was closed behind them.
"You!" A tanned female stormed up to the smallest boy and gripped onto his shirt.
"Carmen!" The woman screeched, trying to separate the two squabbling children.
"He's the boy who stole all my stuff at Burneywood!" Carmen yelled, being wrenched away from the boy. "And he's the care worker who did nothing about it!"
Whilst the four kids stared dumbfoundedly at the angry girl, the elder care worker noticed that one of his care home intakes had a hood covering her face.
"Oi." The male growled, gripping the girl's hood and pulling it down.
The children gasped as they took in the girl's appearance. Her hair was a bright shade of green! She shuffled uncomfortably and buried her face into the taller boy's chest, who pressed his hand to the back of her head.
The five new kids were sat in a quiet room, all piled onto one couch. Mike Milligan, the head care worker, sat in front of them, smiling warmly.
"So, what are your names?" Mike questioned.
"Lizanne." The blonde spoke first.
"Tyler." The small boy went next.
"Rick." The boy with the brown mop said.
"Nomi." The green-haired girl said quietly.
"And that's Kitty." Rick pointed at the brunette girl.
"So, uh, what happened at Burneywood?" Mike asked.
"Fire." Tyler said shortly. "Everyone's okay but we're supposed to be staying here for some time."
"That's fine with us." Mike grinned. "Uh, Nomi, why is your hair green?"
"Some kids at Burneywood ambushed me a couple days ago. Shoved green hair dye on my head and now it's like this." Nomi sighed, fiddling with the strands.
"Well, once you're settled here, we can get you back to a normal hair colour." Mike shrugged.
"Thanks." Nomi smiled at the man, feeling safe in the establishment.
"Well, it's just gone 9am, and our kids have had breakfast, so how about we whip you guys up some cereal?" Mike offered.
"That sounds great." Lizanne grinned. "I'm starving."
Rick, Nomi, and Kitty sat at the dining table, scarfing down cereal like they hadn't eaten in weeks. Nomi's hood had gone back up once again and she had one hand linked with Rick's, which was a sign of comfort to her. Almost like a coping mechanism.
"We only have two spare rooms." Mike informed Dennis. "Some of yours will have to share."
"She has to be on her own." Dennis pointed at Kitty, who glared back.
"Well, wouldn't she prefer some company?" Tracy asked, pouring herself a cup of orange squash.
"Not if I say she has to be on her own." Dennis sassed.
"Well, yeah, but..." Tracy breathily laughed before dropping her sentence after looking at the men's faces.
"So, that leaves Rick, Tyler, Lizanne and Nomi." Mike sighed. "You wanna mix 'em with our lot or you wanna keep 'em separate?"
"Rick and Nomi have to share a room." Dennis pursed his lips.
"We don't really have a boy/girl sharing rooms thing going on here." Tracy interrupted.
"They prefer not to stay away from each other." Dennis sighed. "She has panic attacks if they're separated for too long. He's like a security blanket to her."
"What, so they're siblings?" Tracy raised an eyebrow.
"Twins." Dennis nodded his head. "Came together, stay together. That's the way it's been for them ever since they arrived at Burneywood."
"Even so, is it smart to let them share?" Mike questioned.
"They're brother and sister, not lovers." Dennis laughed wheezily. "They'll be fine. They only need to share a room, not a bed."
"Well, that's sorted then." Tracy smiled.
Nomi sighed, now pushing around the cereal bits in her bowl. She'd lost her appetite when Dennis had started talking about her. At least Tracy hadn't asked about why she had panic attacks without Rick by her side. She would probably have to explain soon.
"Wherever you stick 'em, care kids are trouble." Dennis spoke up again.
"Oh, check out the room." Tyler grinned in awe as he entered the kitchen. "No padlocks."
"Yeah?" Dennis glared. "They'll be getting some now you're here."
"Uh, we prefer to trust our young kids, Dennis." Tracy held up a tray of crumpets. "Here, Tyler, help yourself."
"Cheers." Tyler nodded as he took a crumpet and went to join his friends at the table.
"I wouldn't tell him to help himself." Dennis laughed mockingly. "There speaks a voice of an experience."
Tracy slammed down her cup. "I've got plenty of experience with the care system."
"Ah, ex care kid." Dennis nodded.
"Yeah, and proud of it." Tracy glowered.
"Well, I wouldn't risk employing her, but good for you for giving her a chance." Dennis said sarcastically to Mike.
Dennis got up from his seat and tapped Mike on the shoulder, gesturing for him to follow, which the older man did.
"Welcome to the world of pain that is Dennisville." Rick deadpanned.
This statement made Nomi snigger and she looked up to meet Tracy's gaze. The look on the care worker's face changed from annoyed to concerned as she looked at the green-haired misfit. Nomi's smile dropped and she shifted in her seat, tightening her grip on Rick's hand.
"You'll be fine." Rick whispered. "I'm here to protect you."
Rick, Tyler and Nomi had gotten situated in the lounge with the other kids. Whilst Rick and Tyler were playing pool, Nomi was laying on one of the couches, untying and retying her shoelaces. It kept her calm as she still had to adjust to the new place.
The green-haired girl looked up to see Lizanne enter the room, smirking flirtily at the new boys. Nomi rolled her eyes, going back to her shoelaces.
"Can I play?" Lizanne said sweetly.
"I have Tyler, Rick, Nomi, and Kitty's name." A small boy with curly black hair stood in front of the blonde girl. "I need to know yours."
"Why?" Lizanne furrowed her eyebrows.
"I want to add you to my list in my notebook." The boy explained.
"What if I don't want you to?" Lizanne inquired.
"Why wouldn't you want me to?" The boy asked in confusion.
"Maybe I'm a spy." Lizanne fiddled with her necklace.
"You'd still have a name." The boy sighed.
"What's your name?" Lizanne pursed her lips.
"Gus Carmichael." The boy introduced. "What's yours?"
"He won't give up until he's got it." Another boy spoke up, giving heart eyes to Lizanne.
"It's Lizanne. With an L-I-Z, two Ns and an E." Lizanne told him.
"And what's your last name?" Gus said after writing it down.
"Right!" Carmen cut Lizanne off from replying. "Which one of you skanky Burneywoodies has stolen half of my shampoo?"
Everyone looked at her in confusion, even Nomi looked up from her shoelaces to stare at the infuriated girl.
"It was you, wasn't it?" Carmen accused, pointing at Tyler.
"Catch me smelling like a girl." Tyler scowled.
"Nothing wrong with wanting to smell like flowers, Ty." Nomi teased, a small smile on her face.
"Calm down, Carmen." A tall boy with cerebral palsy pushed her back.
"Uh, you don't know what it was like." Carmen yelled. "You weren't there!"
"Starting to feel like I was, the way you keep going on about it." A boy in a polo shirt snarked.
"Try living there for six years, honey." Nomi quipped, making the girl turn to her. "Then come and complain to us."
Carmen glowered at the green-haired girl before huffing and turning on her heel, stomping out of the lounge shouting for a care worker.
"Rick." Nomi called over to her brother, who raised an eyebrow. "I need to grab a book."
"Oh, okay." Rick nodded, placing the pool cue on the table and making his way over to his sister.
"Hey, why you leaving?" The polo shirt boy asked.
"She needs to get something from her room." Rick told him.
"So, you need to go with her?" The boy in the blue shirt questioned.
"Uh, yeah." Rick chuckled.
"What are you, her boyfriend?" The boy with cerebral palsy furrowed his eyebrows.
"No!" The twins exclaimed at the same time, grossed out expressions displayed on their faces.
"We're twins." Rick explained.
"Oh yeah." Nomi spoke up. "What are your names?"
"Johnny." The boy in the blue tee raised his hand.
"Liam." Polo shirt boy nodded.
"Frank." The boy who pushed back Carmen ended.
"Thanks." Nomi smiled kindly. "Come on, Rick."
"I'll be five minutes, guys." Rick waved to the boys before following his sister out of the room.
The siblings made their way up the stairs and through the hallways that housed multiple rooms. They came to a stop outside their shared room and entered. Nomi skipped over to her bag and retrieved two thick books that were well-worn and torn in some places. She smiled at her brother before they exited the room and made their way through the hallway once again.
"You feeling okay?" Rick asked cautiously.
"I think so." Nomi sighed, an uneasy feeling in her stomach. "I'm sorry that I'm still attached to your side after so long."
"Don't worry about it, Nomi." Rick sighed, pulling his sister into his side. "I'm protecting you. I really don't mind accompanying you, even if it is just to our room or even the kitchen."
"Thanks." Nomi smiled warmly, separating from her twin as they re-entered the lounge.
The green-haired girl fell backwards on the couch, eager to open up a book and start reading. Her brother returned to his game of pool, ignoring the questioning looks from the males around the table.
After becoming bored from sitting in the lounge, Nomi had gone to Kitty's room to sit with her. The two never engaged in much conversation but they were comfortable around each other after living together for 4 years. Rick was sat outside the door to reassure Nomi who had insisted he sit outside, since Kitty shook her head when the boy tried to enter.
The other girl in the room, who was called Tee, had treated Nomi in a friendly manner. Nomi warmed up to girls easily, since she trusted them a lot more than boys. The only boys she really trusted were Rick and Tyler. The latter would get on her nerves sometimes, but he was a good friend to her.
The three girls looked to the door as they heard loud banging and shouting. An angry girl was at the other end of the hall, shouting out Tyler's name. The door opened, revealing Rick in the doorway.
"Nomi, I'm gonna go check it out." Rick said calmly.
"Wait, let me." Nomi rose from the bed, gently grazing her fingers along Kitty's shoulder. "She's a girl. I'll try my hardest."
"Are you sure?" Rick raised an eyebrow.
"Positive." Nomi said uneasily as she walked through the threshold and down the hallway.
The green-haired girl jogged past multiple doors until she stopped just a few feet away from one that had a tall girl with blue streaks in her hair, stood in front of it. She was banging repeatedly on the door, still yelling Tyler's name.
"Hey!" Nomi shouted, trying to grab the girl's attention.
"What?" The girl snapped, turning to Nomi.
"Will you stop that?" Nomi glowered. "Kitty's down the hall and she's about to have a nervous breakdown if you continue to do that."
"Does it look like I care?" The girl rolled her eyes. "Your little Burneywood friend covered me in foam and he isn't walking away alive."
"Listen, if you don't stop, I'm going to be forced to get Dennis, and I don't think you want to deal with him." Nomi sighed.
"You think I'm scared of your little Burneywood worker?" The girl laughed mockingly.
"You will be." Nomi pursed her lips before turning away from the blue-haired girl.
After the prank, Carmen and Elektra devised a plan to get their own back on Tyler. They opened the door to the shared bedroom and looked around at the scattered items that cluttered the room.
"You go over there." Carmen pointed to a bed. "I'll go over here."
The two girls kneeled next to the amount of bags and immediately began rifling through the clutter.
"Wait, what's Rick's and what's Tyler's?" Carmen asked.
"Who cares?" Elektra smirked. "Just take anything."
"There's bags of girl's stuff here." Carmen said in confusion.
"Must be that green-haired girl's." Elektra shrugged.
"But boys and girls aren't allowed to share rooms." Carmen stood up, holding a backpack in her hand.
"Burneywood kids get special treatment." Elektra smiled sarcastically.
The girls kept on sifting through mounds of clothes, toys, and other goods. They were making a hefty pile of things to destroy.
"Hey, Carmen, look at this." Elektra grinned, holding up a lighter.
"That's rank." Carmen scoffed. "Tyler smokes."
"Right, that should be enough." Elektra announced, tying up a bag.
"Okay." Carmen sighed, picking up another backpack.
"Let's go." Elektra opened the door.
The two girls managed to sneak downstairs, although they received a berating from Tracy, who allowed them to take the stuff. They expertly ran into the garden and through the woods, stopping at a huge tree and setting down the bags. Elektra flicked the flame on the lighter and dropped it inside one of the bags. Almost instantly, the bag started spouting off flames and the two girls ducked for cover behind bushes.
"What have you done?" Tracy reprimanded.
"No!" Tyler shrieked as he ran into Tracy, seeing the stuff on fire.
"No, it's not safe." Tracy warned.
"But my things." Tyler whined.
"How could you do this?" Tracy asked in disbelief.
"Ask Elektra, she stole the lighter." Carmen pursed her lips.
"Snitch!" Elektra growled, reaching out to hit Carmen but was stopped by Tracy.
"You're both as bad as each other." Tracy snapped.
"Says the one who let us do it." Carmen snapped back.
"You knew about this?" Mike asked in shock, running past them with a hose.
"Once a care kid, always a care kid." Dennis mocked.
Rick and Nomi finally arrived on the scene, pushing past the staff and kids to where the bags were.
"That's mine." Rick exclaimed, pointing to his stuff.
"And mine." Nomi sighed, looking at her charred bag.
"I thought Burneywood was bad." Rick snarked, looking back at the kids.
"You're grounded." Mike pointed to the two culprits. "And you will replace this out of your allowances."
Nomi picked up her bag and sifted through it, seeing blackened pieces of paper and dolls with incinerated body parts.
"My letters from Mum." Nomi said in a dejected tone.
"Nomi..." Rick sighed.
It only took a second before Nomi burst into tears, dropping the remains of her bag and burying her head into Rick's chest. He wrapped his arms around his sister, running a comforting hand through her hair.
"See what you've done?" Rick snapped at the girls, who looked ashamed.
"Oi." Dennis said gruffly, looking at Tyler. "You're grounded. No TV for a week. For having fireworks."
"Cut him some slack." Rick said calmly. "His gear just went up in smoke."
"Second time today." Dennis smirked. "He should be getting used to it."
The whole hype about the fireworks had died down and now the kids were getting a right laugh out of Carmen's bushy hair. Nomi knew she shouldn't laugh because she had been in a similar situation at Burneywood but she couldn't help it.
"It's not funny." Carmen snapped.
"Oh, it is." Elektra laughed.
The raucous laughter was deafening as people poked fun at the unfortunate girl before a loud cry cut over the laughter and everyone turned to see Gus emerge from the bathroom covered in foam. The laughter continued, but some concern was given to the poor boy, who was distressed over being covered in suds.
The calamity halted to a grind as a loud shriek echoed around the halls and all the kids watched as Tracy took a tumble down the flight of stairs. All that could be heard was the thumping of her body as it rolled and then it stopped right at the bottom. She was unconscious and lying on her front with a big gash on her forehead.
"Tracy!" Mike cried out, rushing down the stairs to come to her aid.
Only 10 minutes had passed after the incident, and all the kids were now situated on the stairs, watching as Tracy finally opened her eyes.
"What happened?" Mike asked.
"Kitty." Tracy groaned lightly.
"What did I tell you?" Dennis rolled his eyes. "You don't think I say these things-"
"Not now!" Mike cut him off in frustration.
"The ambulance is on it's way." Gina announced, making her presence known.
"It's okay. I'm alright." Tracy reassured, trying to get up.
"No, don't try to move." Mike ordered, gently pushing Tracy back down. "Nobody is going anywhere until the paramedics get here."
"What's going on?" A tanned girl with curly hair stormed up to the staff.
"Who are you?" Dennis asked, his voice high pitched.
The girl just looked him up and down in disgust, bringing Harry into her side for a hug.
After Tracy was taken to the hospital with Gina, the kids were gathered into the lounge and now they all sat on the 2 couches, stuck in a debate.
"They'll have to get rid of her." Liam decided.
"Harsh!" Tyler complained.
"I do feel sorry for Tracy." Tee said awkwardly. "But that could have been me."
"Kitty only goes off on one when someone tries to touch her." Rick excused.
"Well, I'm not going near her." Frank shrugged.
"No, you shouldn't have to live with a headcase like that." Sapphire agreed.
"She's not a headcase." Rick snapped.
"She had a bad upbringing." Nomi sighed. "And Burneywood made it worse."
"Gina's just phoned from the hospital." Mike entered the lounge. "Tracy has a badly sprained wrist. At least it isn't broken."
The kids all breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that Tracy was on the mend.
"Now, we haven't found Johnny's money yet, so we're gonna give you all one last chance before we call the police." Mike said seriously.
"That's a waste of time with no evidence." Dennis added. "They won't do anything and we get left with a load of paperwork."
"It's only fair to Johnny." Mike reasoned.
"Well, he's lost 200 quid." Dennis hummed. "There are 10 kids here. We're taking a fiver off everyone's allowance over the next 4 months."
The kids immediately started to protest against his decision although nobody could make out what one another was saying.
"Find his money, keep yours." Dennis snapped. "And this place is closed until further notice."
After the decision was made, all the kids gathered in Liam's room to discuss what they could do to help themselves.
"So, what we gonna do about the lockout?" Liam sighed.
"We could stage a protest." Frank suggested.
"Last time, Lily fell off the roof." Gus said solemnly.
"We could barricade ourself in the basement." Carmen added.
"Nah." Sapphire hummed in disapproval. "Last time, I had to stop 'em ringing the police."
"Well, you Burneywooders know him best." Liam said. "What would you do?"
"Nothing." Rick and Nomi said simultaneously.
The Dumping Ground kids looked at the twins in disbelief, making various noises of protest.
"They're right." Lizanne spoke up. "If we fight him, it'll make things even worse. That's how he ran Burneywood."
"No wonder someone set fire to the place." Liam snorted.
"There must be a way of standing up to him." Sapphire insisted.
Their conversation was cut short by the opening of Liam's bedroom door, where Dennis was now stood in the doorway.
"Ooh, council of war, is it?" Dennis smirked. "Come on! Let's break it up."
"There's no law against them hanging out with each other." Sapphire said defiantly.
"There is if I say so." Dennis snarked. "And isn't it time you went home?"
"Not yet." Sapphire pursed her lips.
"His social worker give you permission to visit?" Dennis pointed to Harry.
"I used to live here." Sapphire sassed. "Mike said it's okay."
"Yeah, well, I'm his boss." Dennis glared. "And I say it's not."
"You're nasty." Harry spoke.
"And you're out." Dennis pointed to Sapphire before clapping his massive hands together. "And the rest. Come on!"
The kids reluctantly removed themselves from their positions in Liam's room, walking out the room and heading to their rooms.
I've had this fic in the works for around 2 years but just never got around to starting the first chapter. I originally wanted Nomi to be in the first season of Tracy Beaker Returns but decided to put her into Rick's introduction instead. This is just the first part of Episode 1 and the next one will be the second part aka Episode 2. Can I just say I hated Dennis Stockle but I kinda wanted him to stay longer to amp up the drama? Also, Tyler is my precious baby and I love him to bits. Please favourite, follow and review! Thanks for reading.