Short chapter, I know. But I thought this would be a great place for a cliffhanger. :) Don't you just love those? Happy reading! -Delly
-
Blossom patted her blonde sister on the back as she cried into her shoulder. "W-we…were…so close…" her soft, cracking voice spoke between heavy sobs.
"I know, it's okay, Bubbles…" the redhead spoke in quiet whispers back to her. Oh, how she wanted to scold Buttercup. She had ruined yet another chance for them. Their heartbreak was made even worse by the sneers they heard of other children, who had looked back at them. They mockingly waved goodbye to the trio with their free hand, the other clutching the hand of their new mother or father, as they exited the room. They were getting to leave. They got to go home.
It was getting near the end of the day, and the room was mostly empty. This is how it usually was. There were still a few children, scattered here and there. But the girls knew those kids wouldn't be stuck in this place for long. That's why they never made friends outside of themselves. It was too painful, getting attached to a child that they knew would be leaving soon.
The girls had returned to their "business as usual" places. Better luck next month, they could hear the Orphanage aide speaking through her solemn expression as she watched the girls hang their heads in silence and move onto whatever mindless activity the girls usually did to pass the time. Unbeknownst to them, however, the Professor was still present at the Orphanage...
-
Back, back in the very back of the building was the office of the head of the Orphanage. The Professor was seated in front of his desk. The room was not well-lit. In fact, it looked like a scene out of the Godfather, which made the Professor more than a little nervous. But it seemed that the Orphanage head, who insisted that the Professor call him Sammy, was quite a cordial man. He spoke to the Professor about the girls' predicament in a soft-spoken, but authoritative voice.
"S-seven years?" The Professor exclaimed out of heavy shock. "They've been here for seven years?"
Sammy nodded. "Yup, the mother was deemed unfit to raise children and left them here shortly after they were born. They know almost nothing of the world outside. It's very sad."
The Professor looked down at his laced fingers. He was at a loss for words. He wanted to help them. But… there were three of them. He had come to the Orphanage expecting to find the Perfect Little Girl. Not three of them. Just one. Singular.
Sammy continued to speak through the Professor's silence, "that black haired one, Buttercup, we've always had problems with her. Everyone is scared of her, even the adults."
The Professor looked up at him when he said this. Scared of a child? That's absurd. "I understand that she's rather… ill-mannered. But she can't possibly be that bad?" The Professor wondered if Buttercup's temper was simply due to her situation. Was it a front that the poor child had put up as a defense mechanism?
"Oh, she's that bad," Sammy replied to him, leaning forward on his desk and placing his elbows down on the hard oak. "You should have seen her when she learned about the tooth fairy. Not long after, she was trying to knock every kid in sight's teeth out!" He sighed, taking his glasses off to rub his forehead indignantly. "Mr. Utonium, she is impossible. We have many children here that are perfect for first time parents. She is not one of them."
The Professor averted his gaze. He was at an impasse. He needed to make a decision today. Right now. He took in a sharp breath of air and looked back down at the desk as he heard the sound of the man behind the desk sliding two separate adoption papers toward him. Only two.
Sammy thought for a moment before putting his glasses back on, looking at the Professor intently in the eye, and he spoke once more. "Blossom and Bubbles, however…"
