As Elaine pulled her bags into the train station, her heart was heavy. She was being sent away from her home and everything she knew to go live with complete strangers. She knew that it was because everyone wanted to keep the children safe from the raging war around them, but she would much rather stay with her mother.
"Do you have everything, darling?" her mother asked her, checking her daughter over one last time.
"I think so," Elaine responded, trying to be strong.
"I'm sure there will be other people where you're staying. A lot of people usually take in more than one child. I know that you'll make friends with them because you're a beautiful and wonderful girl."
"I'm going to miss you though."
"I'll miss you too."
Elaine felt tears come to her eyes, her attempts to push them back failing. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry."
"Oh, don't apologize, Elaine!"
"But mum…I don't want to leave you."
Her mother pulled her into her arms and hugged her daughter tightly. "You're my brave 15-year-old girl, and I'm proud of you. Your father would be too. Remember, we will see him and each other again someday, no matter what happens. You know that." She pulled apart and gave her a pained smile. "Off you go. You don't want to miss the train."
Elaine grabbed her suitcase and began to head to the train as it whistled loudly, signaling there wasn't much time left to board. She took one look back at her mother and ran back to the safety of her arms.
"I love you, Mum."
"I love you too, Elaine."
She kissed her daughter's forehead before Elaine went back over to the train. Elaine handed the ticket to one of the workers before boarding the train and finding herself a place to sit. She found herself in a car with another girl and a young boy. They looked about the same age which had to be around nine or ten.
"Hello," she said politely. "May I join you?"
They both nodded so she took her suitcase and put it on the overhang above them. Then she sat down on the other seat across from them.
"My name's Elaine. What's yours?"
"I'm Aggie, and this is my brother, Warren," the girl said.
"It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too. Are you nervous?"
"Nervous about what?"
"Being away from your family and living with strangers."
"I suppose I'm a little nervous, but I don't want that to make this situation any harder than it already is. You want to know the secret to getting through it?" She pulled them in closer like it was the biggest secret in the world. "No matter what, you are always nice to everyone. Even if they aren't nice to you. Nice people are happy people. The happier you are, the more it will spread and you'll make everyone happy with you."
The two siblings smiled at her, quickly warming up to the girl they were sitting with.
The train ride was quite uneventful. Elaine made conversation with Aggie and Warren and helped them relax a little bit more. They ended up reaching their stop before her, so she helped them get their suitcases down from the overhang.
"Remember what I said," she told them as she gave them quick hugs. "Be kind."
"We will," Aggie smiled. "Good luck, Elaine!"
"Good luck to you too!"
She watched from her window as an older couple who must've been in their 60's picked up Aggie and Warren. Aggie shyly smiled up at them and said something that made the gentleman smile warmly. Warren offered the woman a flower. The couple began smiling and laughing as they escorted Aggie and Warren off to their home.
Elaine smiled as she watched the children with their new guardians, grateful that the young children were with people who were nice to them. But she would be lying if she said that it didn't make her more nervous about what the person she was living with would be like. Would they be like the couple? Or would they only be doing this because they were told to, and they hated children?
Her heart thumped in her chest as the train crawled on and on for several more hours. She took a book out of her suitcase to read, but she quickly found that she couldn't focus on the words when she was so nervous about what the future held.
Finally, it was time for her stop. She grabbed her suitcase from the overhang and disembarked from the train. To her surprise, four other children got off the train as well.
When they heard the sound of a car coming, they hurried to catch it, but it just ended up driving past them. Looking in both directions, there were no cars in sight.
"The Professor knew we were coming," the older girl said.
"Perhaps we've been incorrectly labeled," the younger boy added.
That was Elaine's biggest problem with this whole thing. Being labeled as if they were nothing more than a sack of luggage.
The sound of hoofbeats turned their attention to the right to find a woman coming up in a horse-drawn wagon.
"Mrs. Macready?" the older boy asked cautiously.
"I'm afraid so," the woman answered sternly. "Is this it then? Haven't you brought anything else?"
"No, ma'am. It's just us."
"Small favors."
The five of them got into the back wagon and headed to the house in silence. As they pulled up, Elaine's eyes widened. The house was absolutely huge!
Mrs. Macready stowed away the horse and the wagon and then escorted them inside.
"Professor Kirke is not accustomed to havin' children in his house. And as such, there are a few rules we need to follow. There will be no shoutin'. Or runnin'. No improper use of the dumbwaiter." The older girl reached out to touch one of the statues, but Mrs. Macready's sharp voice snapped, "NO touchin' of the historical artifacts!" The five children sighed, now realizing just what kind of place they were going to have to stay in for an indefinite amount of time. "And above all, there shall be no disturbin' of the Professor."
The woman showed each of them where they would be sleeping. The two boys slept in one room, while the two girls slept in another. Elaine had a room to herself.
She began to unpack her things when she felt tears began to slip down her cheeks. For a moment, she paused and sat on her new bed. It just wasn't fair that she had to be away from her mother and now live with four strangers, all of them siblings, and a housekeeper and a professor who didn't seem to really want them.
Composing herself once more and silently scolding herself for crying, she was reminded of what she said to Aggie and Warren on the train. Be kind. Nice people are happy people.
She finished unpacking her things and went to go get to know her new companions.
"Hello," she said as she poked her head through the door. "May I come in?"
"Of course," the older boy smiled. She felt her breath catch in her throat a bit. He was really, really cute.
"I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Elaine."
"I'm Peter, this is my sister Susan, and the other ones are Edmund and Lucy."
"It's nice to meet you all."
"Nice to meet you too," Susan said to her. "How old are you?"
"I'm fifteen."
"Oh, so you're Peter's age!"
Elaine smiled a little. "I should…go finish unpacking. I just wanted to say hello." She returned to her room and began putting away her clothes. For some reason, her face felt rather warm.
Maybe this whole thing wouldn't be as bad as she thought.
That night, after a very silent and awkward dinner at a table that was much too big for the few occupants, Elaine found herself with Susan and Peter. Lucy was in bed and Edmund was on his way there, though he was proving to be a little difficult.
The sound of Lucy's quiet sniffling drew their attention over to the girl.
"The sheets feel scratchy," she said.
"Wars don't last forever, Lucy. We'll be home soon," Susan tried to comfort her.
"Yeah," Edmund said, coming into the room. "If home is still there."
"Isn't it time you were in bed?"
"Yes, Mum!"
"Ed!" Peter snapped. He turned back to Lucy. "You saw the outside. This place is huge. We can do whatever we want here. Tomorrow's going to be great. Really."
Lucy eventually fell asleep and Edmund finally went to bed, leaving Susan, Peter, and Elaine the ones awake.
"So, I guess we can get to know each other a little," Elaine said in an attempt to make the situation better.
"I suppose," Peter added. "Well, we live in Finchley with our mum. Our father's fighting in the war."
"I live with my mum too. My father…well, he was missing in action for a while, but they eventually did find him. He died in battle."
"Elaine, I'm so sorry," Susan said.
"It's alright. He died for his country. I'm proud to call him my father." There was a bit of silence before she added, "I hope you don't mind me being here. I have a feeling you weren't expecting another person to be staying with you."
"Of course not," Peter smiled. "It's not a problem at all."
The three of them traded stories for an hour or so before they decided that they all deserved to get some sleep. Elaine returned to her room and pulled out her picture of her mother and father. They looked so happy together, with her father kissing her mother's cheek as she smiled broadly. Elaine desired to have a marriage just like theirs. For as long as she could remember, her father made a point to show her mother just how much he loved her.
"Don't worry, Mum," she whispered. "The other children here are nice, and so far we're getting along. I think I'm going to be just fine. And Dad, you know, their father is fighting off in the war too. I wonder if you knew him. I miss you. But I'll do my best to make you proud."
She kissed the photo and then drifted off to sleep, expecting a bright new day to await her.
