Chapter 1 – The Orphan That Was
"My goodness," said my caretaker to the lady who had brought me to Ms. Fields house, "why I never saw such a beautiful lass in all my days, awe she is such a wee little thing." Ms. Fields adopted me from the Selfridge Care Center for Children, when I was about nine years old. At that time, I never knew my parents, and was raised as a good little Christian girl, who never did naughty deeds. To the disappointment of the people who tried to "help" me during my childhood there, I was never up to their standards of godliness. Numerous parents tried to adopt me, but after meeting me, would burst into tears the moment I told them what was on their mind. Ms. Fields was my last hope, for children older than 10, they were doomed to never be adopted. Ms. Fields enrolled me in the local primary school across the street from her house. She worked there as the lunch lady in the third booth from the door. Every day, I would buy my lunch from her stand and she always gave me a free biscuit. I was a very curious child, who often got reprimanded by numerous teachers throughout the years for being distant and very distracted. I can say in my defense however that I was very imaginative, inventing stories of pirates fighting sirens, men who lived on clouds, and other such fantastical stories. I also had the strange habit of hurting people's feelings, including adults, by saying what was on their hearts.
One morning, Jessie Williams and his brother Simon started making fun of me because of the way I used to zone-out a lot in class. I decided to show them who was the boss by making fun of them. They ran off crying to my teacher, who soon sent me to the headmaster's office to have "a talk." I had never been to his office before, and had no idea what he looked like. As I reached the headmaster's office, I heard hushed yelling from within the room. My curiosity got the better of me as I put my ear against the door. The headmaster was talking to Ms. Fields about me. I wondered why he would even mention me. Ms. Fields said "She is still too young to know, Mr. Smith, as you very well know." Ms. Fields continued "and she could come into great peril if she was told now." The headmaster was in the middle of saying, "Amelia River's not what she-", when suddenly the door swung open, catching me off guard as I received the heavy blow. For a few seconds I was unconscious until someone threw cold water on my face. It was the headmaster. His appearance startled me. He had an enormous broad chin, wild elastic-like brown hair, and peculiar hazel eyes, eyes that felt playful and innocent. His manner was that of a 10-year old child exploring in a forest full of creepy-crawlies and various other creatures. I was carried into the headmaster's office, which was sparsely furnished with two chairs, a bookshelf behind his desk full of strange objects, and an antiquated wooden desk. The headmaster set me down like a doll in his chair behind his desk as he sat in the chair normally intended for visitors. He took one look at me and I knew that something wonderful or miraculous was about to happen.