Author's Note: This is the second chapter in the story. Enjoy!
Glee
Light begins to filter through my eyelids and I realize that I'm not sleeping anymore. My back and neck ache from my spring bed that I now sleep on, adversely different from my bed at home. I flutter out of bed with my eyes still half closed. To let in some fresh air, I pry open the window. Seconds later, a tiny bird lands on the windowsill. His feathers aren't the most flattering color of grey, but the rest of him is adorably cute.
"That's Charlie," Quinn announces as she comes out of the bathroom. "He comes here at various times of the day because I started feeding him."
I nod, while at the same time, admire his cute, baby face.
Ms. Davis' stomping footsteps are heard coming down the hall.
"Hurry, Rachel. Make Charlie go away and close the window. If Ms. Davis see him, she'll shoo him away and make him never want to come back."
As soon as I shut the window, Ms. Davis appears in the doorway. I try as hard as possible to not act suspicious. As she stares at us, I can't help but notice the mess of a hair-do she has. Her greying hair is hoisted up off her shoulders by countless clips and barrettes. It looks as if she just threw her hair up and whatever position it came to, that's how she decided to wear it. She ambles in my direction and begins to speak. From the minute she opened her mouth, I could smell the booze in her odorous breath. How is this woman fit to run an orphanage?
"Hope you had a good night's sleep because you're gonna need it. After you finish your breakfast, you and Quinn will scrub every bathroom in the building from head to toe." She turns and leaves with a wide grin plastered to her face. I stand there with my mouth gaped open in shock. What an excellent welcoming gift.
After four hours of scrubbing, Quinn and I decide to take a break and eat lunch. In addition to the aches I had this morning, I know have pains in my knees from being on them all morning. I feel like an old lady. Since there isn't a cook until dinner, we decide to make ourselves gourmet PB&J sandwiches. Well, as gourmet as a PB&J sandwich can be. This meal was far more enjoyable than last night's meal, as I could identify all the components.
We soon went back to work in the bathrooms and only two hours later we finished the laborious task. We had the rest of the day to ourselves. We decided to make hairstyles for each other. It was my turn to style Quinn's hair first. I decided to French braid her silk, gold hair in pigtails. Then it was Quinn's turn. She tried to remake Ms. Davis' do. It looked pretty horrible but it captured the essence of Ms. Davis perfectly.
By the time dinner ended, we had minimal energy left in us. As soon as our heads touched the fluffy pillow, we were out like a light.
Three days passed on in the same manner as the previous two. Ms. Davis gifted us with unfavorable tasks but we still mocked her disheveled behavior. I am still unable to discover what makes up the dinner I eat but I have yet to become ill because of it, so I presume that's all that matters.
Glee
At six o'clock the next evening, the dinner bell rang again, going right along with routine. The ten other kids, who I have not yet met, Quinn, and I all settled into out designated seats. Once we gave thanks, our dinner was served. Our plates were served with a burnt piece of chicken covered by white sauce with green chunks of something mixed in. I'm a bit surprised because I think the green chunks were actually supposed to be green.
When the cook came out of the kitchen, bringing everybody's food, I could tell something was wrong. Tears stained her cheek which caused her make up to smudge. She rubbed her eyes and nose, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying. This only made everyone notice her more. I wanted to ask her what was the matter but Ms. Davis beat me to it.
"What's wrong Miss Corcoran? Is being a cook too hard?"
Looking shocked but not looking away from the table, she softly answered, "No mam."
"Well then please stop your pitiful sobbing. You are making it increasingly difficult to enjoy the slop you've put on everybody's plate."
"Yes mam," she answered. After she finished setting down the last of the plates, she hurried back into the kitchen, all the while keeping focus on the ground.
Everyone stayed silent for the rest of the meal. No one wanted to take the risk of being snapped at by Ms. Davis. No one wanted to be subject to her humiliation.
In the silence, I thought about Miss Corcoran. Me, being an extremely empathetic person, I naturally felt the need to ask what was wrong. I wonder why she is cooking our dinners, where as our usual cook is not here. (Not that I am complaining. Tonight's meal was definitely a step up from the past few days). I remember seeing her outside, raking the leaves the morning that I opened the window and Charlie came in. It was weird because at the moment she happened to look up at my window, and just stared at me. After a few seconds, I looked around to see if there was anyone behind me, thinking she couldn't be looking at me for that long. But when I turned back she was stilling staring at me. Just then, the woman was brought out of her thoughts when she heard Miss Davis shouting her name. Miss Corcoran turned to walk inside but not before flashing another glance at me. I was then soon brought out of my thoughts as the little grey bird landed on the windowsill.
After dinner I went to the now, sparkling clean, bathroom. I'm no longer afraid that I will contract a disease just from entering it due to the laborious Quinn and I spent disinfecting it. That is the only good thing that came out of the day's toil.
While making my way back to my room and passing the kitchen, the sound of muffled crying caught my attention. Judging from the night's earlier events, I figured it was the cook and decided to go see what was wrong. All the lights were shut off in the kitchen, making it slightly eerie. The door, slightly cracked open, allowed only a sliver of light to shine in. after I peered into the room, I slowly pushed open the door.
"Miss Corcoran?" I called out.
The woman, sitting on the floor up against the wall, jumped at the sound of my voice. She quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks and looked up at me.
"What are you doing here? You are supposed to be getting ready for bed. You are far from where you should be," the woman snapped.
"I know mam. I was on my way to my room and I passed the kitchen. I couldn't help but hear you crying and I, well, all of us saw you crying earlier this evening. I just wanted to low if everything was ok."
"I appreciate that but you don't have to worry about me. Just head to bed and forget about it."
This is not what I wanted to happen. She clearly isn't fine but it's probably none of my business anyway. I decide to leave because I don't want to be the naggy kid who wants to know everything. Reluctantly I wish her a good night and make my way to the door. Before I get there, I am stopped.
"Wait. Everything's not alright."
After stopping in my tracks, I turn towards her. She meets my gaze and motions for me to sit down opposite her. As I sit, I wonder what in the world she is doing here. I can't understand why a woman so young and beautiful is stuck in the kitchen of an orphanage on the East Side. I can guess that she is only in her mid-twenties. Her flowing, silky, hair is as black as the midnight sky. Women everywhere would be jealous of her figure and she's got a gorgeous face to go with it. Even after all that, something else caught my attention more the anything; the eyes. Her eyes, chocolaty brown, stared straight at me. They are so powerful, it's like they pierce holes through my skin. Even though she had been crying, her magnificent brown eyes blaze with life.
While staring at the wall, the woman says, "There's a funny thing about family. You can spend your entire life with them and think nothing is ever going to happen to each other. After all, your family is the greatest family in the world, invincible. You never know how amazing they are until you realize your days with them are limited."
As she starts crying, I start thinking about my parents. Oh, please lady, I really don't want to cry right now. I'm still recovering from the last time I thought about them. But I know I can't tell her that. After all, I was the one who came to see what was wrong.
"Anyway, my brother, Jonathan, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a week ago. My family let me know earlier. Nobody wanted to tell me right away because they knew I would be devastated. And I am. Jonathan and I were extremely close growing up. My mom always said we were attached at the hip, couldn't be separated. Then, when he was sixteen, he started hanging around with the wrong crowd and messing around with drugs. But he was one of the few people that could see that he was hurting the people he loved. He realized he needed to turn his life around, so he did. He sobered up, got a job, and met a girl. Two years ago he married that girl. He was finally happy and everybody was happy for him. Now at twenty seven, he gets freaking cancer?"
She is now bursting into sobs. What am I supposed to do? I don't know how to comfort someone I just met three minutes ago. Is this what I looked like the night that I told Quinn about my parents? Still, I feel bad because this woman is pouring her heart out to me and all I can do is sit here and stare.
Finally, the cook controls her crying and says, "I'm spry, really. I didn't mean to dump this on you. It just felt so horrible to keep all that inside. I needed to vent."
"It's ok…"
"Shelby, call me Shelby. Miss Corcoran makes me sound old," she replies with a light, sad laugh.
"Um ok, Shelby. I understand. The first night I got here I poured out every detail I could about my parents to Quinn, the girl who shares a room with me."
"Thanks. And what's your name? So I don't have to walk around calling you 'kid'."
"It's Rachel, Rachel Berry," I said as Shelby gave out a ghost of a gasp. I could have imagined it.
"Well, Rachel. You should probably make your way to your room before Ms. Davis catches you."
"Ok I will. And I'll remember to include Jonathan in my prayers."
Shelby smiled. "Thank you. I really appreciate it."
And with that I wished her a good night and snuck down the hallway with the stealthy skills of a ninja, not wanting to alert the head. Quinn, already asleep, snored softly as I jumped into bed. From there, everything is a blur, as I was in serious need of some sleep.
Glee
Author's Note: So I hope you guys liked this chapter. I did. Mostly because I know what's to come of it, but still.
Please review! Do you guys like this story? I can't really tell because I have only gotten one review so far. Anyway, any suggestions or comments are welcome, just review