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2024 August 1st

Chapter Six

Not a Good Time for Crying

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The days after Ty's shipment are normal. As to be expected. Children lament about Ty but also celebrate the fact he has his own family now. Never mind the fact he already had a family and that Ty was happy here. It's rather peculiar, but most of the children have a romanticized view of getting adopted. Mom and Sister Susan say how wonderful it'll be for children who leave but they never give more specifics; letting the children come up with their own wild fantasies of the outside world.

"I bet his parents have a sailboat and they're going to travel around the world with him." Rachel said. We just finished our last video lesson of the day. Mom should be here any minute but she's taking longer than normal.

Not wanting anything to do with this discussion, I've put my head down on my desk and have curled my arms around my face. Pretending to be napping after the lessons ended is a normal accordance with me so no one bats an eye.

"Or they work at a museum, and he can help them take care of the cool stuff there like dinosaur bones or ancient swords!" Is James's fantasy for Ty, or maybe that's something James wants when he leaves. It sounds like something both Ty and James would love.

"He could be living in Africa and sees zebras outside his bedroom window every morning." A boy named Waylen piped up. He just turned seven three days ago so he has been moved to class two. He has been given a lot more extra work to get him caught up with the rest of the class, but he seems to be handling the transfer well. Mom has been preparing him for over three months before the classroom switch which she does with all the children when they're near the time to move up.

Given how well Waylen is doing in class I would say he is likely to make it to at least his ninth birthday. He has a good head on his shoulders, and he does well in sports and games. For that, I've put him down as a strong candidate for the escape party.

I've decided the children to be a part of the escape will have to be at least seven years old. It'll be painful to leave the youngest ones behind, but it would be too difficult for the older ones to protect and take care of all the babies. Not to mention how impossible it'll be to make them understand why we need to run away from Mom and Susan.

Creating the escape plan has been agonizingly unproductive. I've continued working on my parkour with Frank during free time and that's been a tremendous help. My climbing skills have gotten better and I'm able to run around a little longer. Still not at a level I would like, but I should have enough time to get my body in tip top shape.

It's also really fun to hang-out with Frank but that's beside the point.

The research part of my preparation hasn't been as fruitful.

I have been combing the books in the library for survival tips but none have offered much information. Guess I shouldn't be surprised about that. Of course the Farm isn't going to give us books about surviving in the wilderness. They probably carefully screen the books for things like how to make a fire or how to gather food. Thankfully I had watched a few survival TV shows in my first life and can remember some important things.

How we'll even get outside is beyond me.

One day while playing hide and seek, I managed to sneak away and inspect the concrete wall for a few minutes. The sucker is so smooth that any attempts to climb would be futile. The trees close to the wall are too far away to use as ladders. I didn't have enough time to go around the wall's whole perimeter but it's safe to assume the Farm keeps all trees away from it.

Can't even do what Norman did with the table linens. All extra linens are stored in the washroom that gets locked when not in use. Also Susan counts and inspects them once a week. I need to get on top of the wall to see where the best spot would be to bridge across the chasm, but if I use a few of the sheets they would get dirty. If I return them then Susan will see the damage and know a child was up to something and if I don't return them then she'll know they were stolen. And if she knows then she's likely to inform Mom. I'll have to think of something else to use as rope.

Since I have a few months, I could gather small things and make the rope. Maybe our shoelaces? No, couldn't get enough of them without Mom noticing none of the children's shoes have laces.

The house does have sewing supplies like yarn and thread. Mom and Sister Susan use them all the time to patch up clothes or stuffed animals. They also make their own needlework. Some of the girls like to create needlework too, but there's a rule that either Mom or Susan needs to be supervising them while they work on their creations. The yarn and thread would be difficult to sneak off with. Mom keeps them in her office, which children are not allowed into without her permission. She says she can't risk any of the children's documents getting damaged or misplaced. So the office is another room that's kept locked when not in use.

Could look in the storage room. No idea what's in there, but since Mom and Susan don't go in there often it would be the safest place to steal from. But it's also locked.

I might need to learn how to pick locks like Norman. It would certainly be a handy skill in the future. Seems all the plans I come up with involve getting past a locked door.

"Shouldn't Mom be here by now?" Rachel asked. The question brings me out of my thoughts. I had blocked the children's conversations out since I was brainstorming.

I lift my head up and take a look around the room.

All the children had stopped their own talks at Rachel's question. Some are looking at the door as though that would make Mom come quicker.

"Yeah, it never takes her this long." Waylen answered.

I look at the clock. It's been twenty minutes since our lesson ended. That is a long time. It's normally about five minutes for Mom to collect us when we're done. She could be trying to help a child work through a problem in another classroom, but she wouldn't keep us waiting this long. She would come dismiss us and then help the child later during study time.

There is only one thing that would take her attention this long when children are waiting for her.

"Sister Susan will come get us." I said out loud. Probably should have kept that thought to myself though.

All heads turn towards me.

"Why?" Rachel asked, confused. James and Waylen on the other hand seem to understand what my thought was.

"Yeeee! We're getting a new baby!" A dark skinned girl named Kelly screeched. Thankfully I'm not seated next to her. Children's voices are painfully high-pitched.

And just like that the whole classroom became the loudest room in the house.

"I want it to be a girl this time."

"No, the last three times it's been girls. We need a boy now."

"I hope they have curly hair. Babies look so cute with curly hair!"

"Wait, how do we know there'll be a new baby?" Rachel asked still not catching onto the clues. She wasn't the only one. I could see two other children confused as well.

"Think about it Rachel. What happens when Mom is too busy to get us from the class?" I said, trying to allow her to connect the dots on her own.

"Um, well she gets Susan to get us."

"Yes, and why is she busy?"

That got her to think of the right answer if the look she gave was any indication.

"Oh because she has to go get a baby from the gate!"

"Right." I laugh, giving a big smile. Rachel grins back and excitingly begins speculating what the baby would look like and guessing their name. I play along, offering my own theories even though I didn't particularly like the idea of another innocent child. They would be too young when the escape happens and will be left behind.

But I am happy about the new baby. In fact I've been yearningly waiting for one.

Ever since I Remembered the Promised Neverland, I've checked my ears dozens of times when no one is around. The tracking chip should be in my ear and I should be able to feel it, but for some reason I can't.

In the story, the Grace Field children didn't notice the tinny bump until it was pointed out to them. After that, they felt for it and could tell where it was imbedded in their ear.

I know I should have a chip in one of my ears, but even with that knowledge I can't feel it. So it must be somewhere else. Glory Bell isn't Grace Field after-all and this would just be another difference between the two farms.

Emma was able to find the chips because she found a red spot on a newly brought baby. So once again I'm following her example and plan on checking that baby head to toe for any signs of a tracking chip.

It was easy for Emma to get close to the babies since she and Glenda had to wash them in the evenings, but I don't have that excuse. In fact, children here are not allowed near the one year-olds without Mom or Susan in the room.

But I already have a low risk plan in place.

The door swings open, and just as I predicted Sister Susan comes walking In, all smiles.

"I'm so sorry for not coming earlier. Mother is busy and I had to take care of the toddlers before dismissing you from class. Please put your tablets on the desk and hurry along to the refectory." She apologized, but did not explain why Mom is busy. That's another hint there's a new baby. It's always Mom who gets to break the news. Mom introduces the new babies right before lunch while everyone is gathered in one place.

If Susan noticed how more energetic we are than normal to go to the refectory then she didn't want to bring it up. Maybe she figured it out that we know what's going to happen and doesn't want to have to deny or confirm if there is a new baby.

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Everyone is seated at their tables. All except Mom.

Judging by the looks of some of the other older children, it seems class two were not the only ones who put the pieces together. No one though is asking Susan where Mom is at or if she is bringing a new addition to the family. Maybe they don't want to jinx it. Or maybe it's just because it's tradition not to ask about new babies. Guess it doesn't matter either way.

After waiting for what felt like half an hour, but was more like five minutes, Mom finally walks inside the room holding a light skinned baby with short blue hair.

And yes, I double checked to make sure my eyes were right. That baby has light blue hair.

I know the Farm would not have a reason to dye our hair, so it must be their natural color.

I'm not sure why that took me by surprise. There's kids here with pure white hair, green hair and even pink hair. And now I know I'm living in a manga series where demons exist so blue hair shouldn't be so weird to me.

"Everyone may I have your attention." Mom addressed the whole room, raising her voice but not enough to make her sound like she was shouting. We all were staring at her so she didn't have to say that, but I guess she was making sure the ones in the back were paying attention. "I would like you to meet your new sibling. His name is Thiago."

The younger ones get up from their seats first and run over to Mom and our new brother. Mom lowers Thiago so they can get a good look at him, but she doesn't let them touch him or get too close to scare him.

A line begins to form and I jump in just so I won't be the odd one out. One by one, the children say hey and welcome Thiago to our home.

It's finally my turn.

"Um hi Thiago." I say as I get as close as Mom would allow. The blue hair is weirder up close. It doesn't look like it would be natural, but it must be. The other children didn't point out the blue hair. Maybe my old memories make it hard for me to except that this could be real. Couldn't hurt to point it out to Mom though.

"I've never seen someone with blue hair."

"Yes, it's a rare trait. I've only seen one other person have blue hair." Mom said, and I couldn't help but to wonder if this other person was real or if Mom was making stuff up. But why lie about something like that? If she isn't careful then she won't be able to keep up with all the lies she has told us.

I step away so others could have their turn and go back to my seat. Once everyone was done looking at Thiago, Mom took him to the nursery to sleep. Once she came back we all said our little prayer and eat.

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It's been two days since Thiago came, and I'm ready for my plan.

"Let's play ninjas today." Frank said. We're still in the refectory and had just finished our lunch. So now it's free time, a time I used to spend reading in the library but now play with Frank. Today though I will have to give him a rain check.

"I wanted to finish reading that book I started yesterday." I lied.

Frank gave a small pout at my rejection. I felt like I just kicked a puppy.

"But we can play ninja tomorrow!" I quickly add.

Frank laughed.

"Ha, it's okay Shirley. I'll be fine for one day. Have fun." With that he leaves the room with the other children to play outside.

I can't linger for long, so I go straight to the library to get the book.

Considering the time of day, I wasn't expecting to find anyone else in the library least of all Joseph. He is setting at one of the tables, hunched over an open book and writing on some papers. It looks like he is doing homework, but it's not study time so he would just be wasting his free time to do whatever he wants.

"What are you doing in here? Don't you want to play outside." I asked.

He jumps, clearly surprised.

His shocked face melts away and is replaced with a hateful glare.

"It's none of your business." He spats and goes back to his papers.

I shrug it off, not caring enough to probe more. I found the book where I left it yesterday and leave so mister grumps can do whatever he is doing alone.

Okay, easy part is finished plus I gained a witness that I got the book which could help my plan.

Now on to the second step.

I walk towards the kitchen, careful to act normal just in case someone passes by me on my way.

The kitchen is relatively small for one that feeds so many children. The walls are an off-white. The cabinets are made of oak wood and have a very simple design. The floor's tiles have a black and white checker pattern. There are large sinks, a gas stove and oven, plenty of counter space and other small kitchen items. It's the most childproof kitchen I've ever stepped foot in. The stove and oven require a key to turn on, so children can't turn it on themselves. Pans and other cooking equipment is locked in cabinets. Plates, bowls, cups, and cutlery are made from this hard plastic so there is no chance of them braking into dangerous shards (or be turned into a weapon). There aren't forks, instead we have sporks, basically spoons with small spikes on them. The spikes are small enough to where they can't do much damage if someone decided to use them to attack others. Knives aren't allowed in the house, so all the ingredients are brought chopped up. There is not a lot of actual cooking.

Meals come in almost completely cooked. Really Mom and Susan only need to heat the food up before serving. Sometimes, Mom or Susan will bake something sweet for us like a cake or cookies, but that only happens once in a blue moon.

We aren't allowed to eat outside of mealtimes, but the food isn't kept strictly under lock and key unlike other things around the house.

I put my book on the counter and climb on top of it using a stool. From here I'm able to reach up into one of the highest cupboards, but just barely. Carefully I open it up and grab a jar of strawberry jam. I set it down on the counter away from my feet then slowly step off the counter. I move the stool back to where it belongs and then grab my book and the jam.

Time for step three.

This time I try to act like a child sneaking around, which is what I'm doing. Thankfully almost everyone is outside right now so again I ran into no one in the hallways.

Within a minute I get to the hallway where the girl's bedroom is located. I looked inside the bedroom to make sure no girls are here. Finding no one nearby, I deliberately smash the jar on the floor near the bedroom's door.

I ran after that.

Quickly as I could, I made it to another hallway and stopped. I gave myself a minute to get my breathing back to normal and then opened the book to pretend to read. If someone comes by then I can just act like I'm reading while walking somewhere. In truth, I'm waiting for some child to see the mess and go get Mom.

See around this time of day Mom is in her bedroom watching the youngest children. The nursery is attached to her room so to get to the babies you need to go through Mom's room.

Mom's bedroom is just around the corner and I'm close enough to hear the door opening and closing. Everyone knows where to find Mom or Susan at any time of day. Susan will be outside watching and even playing with the children. When someone finds the mess I made then they'll come to Mom's room since she would be the closes adult. I also figured that they would go to her room using a different route then the one I took here since I went in a roundabout way to get here. So they shouldn't pass by me to get to Mom's room.

Now I just need to wait and pray everything goes to plan.

I did start to read the book after about ten minutes of pretend reading. My mind couldn't get focused on the story though since I made sure to pay attention to any sounds I hear.

Five chapters into the book, I finally heard the sweet sound of children running and shouting.

"Mama! Mama!" They yelled. There's two of them and both sound like young boys, but I can't tell who they are. Many of the five and under children sound so much alike that it's difficult to tell their voices apart.

Before they could knock, I hear the door open.

"Yes. What's the matter?" Mom asked concerningly. I could just picture her worried face and kneeling to be face to face with the boys.

"There's glass on the floor." One of them explained.

"And blood!" The other boy added. I held in a snicker. Had he never seen strawberry jam before? Or blood? You know what, he probably hasn't seen blood given his age and how child safe the house and grounds are made.

Mom gave a gasp.

"Show me where it's at." She said firmly, taking charge of the situation and believing the boys until proven otherwise. I hear them hurry away, but I wait a minute to make sure Mom won't hear me walking into her room.

Good thing she doesn't lock her bedroom like so many other doors.

I would like to look through her room and see if she is hiding anything here, but time is limited so I need to get this job done quickly.

Spotting Thiago in his crib was easy. The little guy is the only one with blue hair after all.

Picking him up was nerve-racking. I wasn't around young children in my last life. Growing up here also didn't give me any experience holding babies since Mom never allows it. I'm also too short to reach over the crib's bars, but thankfully Mom has a chair in here I can stand on.

His ears don't have a red spot and I can't find one anywhere else on his head. I take his onesie off to look at his stomach and back, but there is nothing there.

Damn, where could it be?

I checked and rechecked every place I could think of but there is no red spot. I haven't taken his diaper off so it could be in the butt. Don't want to check that though since he might decide to start peeing all over the place.

Thiago hadn't mind my handling of him at first. He was still asleep when I picked him up. But the more I turned his body and pressed down on his skin the more agitated he became. I thought I was being gentle, but he clearly didn't think so.

He began whining.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm not hurting you." I whispered, halting my search and switch to soothing him instead. I tried rocking him and using baby talk, trying to copy what Mom does when a baby gets upset. "There, you're such a sweet boy."

"Aaaah!" He cried out of nowhere, just when I thought I was getting the hang of things. The sudden ear piercing screech almost made me drop him, but I corrected my hold just in time. He's kicking his legs and flailing his arms as though he thinks I'm one of those monsters about to eat him whole.

It's a lost cause at this point.

Mom could be back any minute and when she hears the crying she'll come rushing in here. I have to run away with nothing useful gained.

"Shirley, you shouldn't have come in here."

My heart rate leaped up and my body tensed. My grip on Thiago must have turned painful with how my hands tightened, but my mind was not thinking about him any longer.

I snapped my head towards the doorframe and there stood Margaret.

It was just her. No Mom, Sister or other sibling in sight, but that was little comfort.

She's frowning for once in her life. I've never seen her with such a serious look. She's always so gentle and caring even when our siblings get on her nerves. But now it's as though her personality has done a one-eighty. It's almost like she's angry at me. In all my years living with her, not once have I ever seen her be angry with anyone. Not even that one time Joseph poured hot soup over her head.

This is bad. Really, really bad.

She's going to tell this to Mom and I'm going to be suspected of something and then get a flower shoved through my chest!

"I-I'm s-orry." I hiccupped, my crying not an act. Within seconds, I'm bawling my eyes out just like Thiago is doing in my arms.

I lower my eyes to the floor, not wanting to look at Margaret any longer.

She hurries over to us and takes the wailing infant out of my arms. With my hands free I rub the tears out of my eyes but they just keep pouring. My nose has also started to run.

Need to think of a way out of this. Mom is more likely to believe Margaret over me. Can't say any lie that would blame her then. Maybe I could just say I heard the crying and came to make sure he was okay? No, that goes against the character I've crafted for myself all these years. Orphan Shirley never likes interacting with young children. If ones hurt or needs something she goes and gets someone else to take care of them.

It would be a hell of a coincidence that I randomly tried to help a baby while Mom was distracted. Mom hasn't lived this long by being that easily fooled.

My breaths are getting more frantic.

I can't explain this to Mom. She'll see right through any lie I give.

It's over for me.

"Margaret what are you and Shirley doing in here?" Mom shrieks, concerned for her children's wellbeing.

My head is still turned downwards, but I hear Mom dash towards Margaret. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Mom take Thiago from the girl.

I think Margaret is saying something to Mom but I can hardly hear her words through the cries.

My vision becomes too blurred to see anything and my hearing is filled with only the sound of wailing.

My breaths hurt now. Every suck of air is too fast, and my lungs can't keep up.

Stupid.

Stupid.

Stupid.

Why did I think this would work!

Hands hook under my armpits, and I'm lifted off the ground.

It takes a second for me to realize Mom is holding me to her chest and rocking me as though I'm one of the babies. She's rubbing my back and whispering words, but I can't focus enough to understand what she is saying.

Wasn't she holding Thiago? He is still crying so shouldn't she be calming him down?

No actually the only one still crying is me.

"Shh, it's okay Shirley. Thiago is fine. No need to cry." Mom utters, still rubbing my back.

I'm not sure how much time passed, but eventually I get my breathing under control and the sick feeling in my gut loosens.

Wait when did I leave the nursery?

I'm in Mom's bedroom. The door to the nursery room is shut and so is the door to the hallway.

Margert is standing beside Mom. The stern expression from earlier is gone, replaced with one filled with concerned. She looks more in line with the Margert I'm familiar with. She also looks oddly guilty, but for what I don't know.

"There, there. It's alright sweety." Mom says, giving me a gentle smile. She's holding me close to her chest. Having her arms wrapped around me is like being incased inside a cozy cocoon.

"Mom." I don't know what to do. I feel like I missed something important. "Am I in trouble?" I ask.

Her smile thins out.

"No darling. Why would you be in trouble?" She asks.

"I don't know." I answer, somewhat honestly. I could be in trouble for the broken glass and spilled jam. Maybe it's because I went in her room and nursery without permission. Or the fact I was trying to find where the tracking chip is located in Thiago's body which would mean I know the house's secret. That last one would be the worst one.

"Don't start crying again Shirley. I already told Mom it's my fault." Margaret spoke up.

What?

Every fiber of my being wanted to ask questions. What had Margaret confessed to and why is she taking the blame for it? But I'm already driven myself down a mountain with no breaks and it seems Margaret is trying to stop my descent. And it seems she's decided to do it by sacrificing herself. One wrong word here and I could undo her work. Then we might both fall down to rock bottom.

"Is Thiago okay?" I asked, looking at Mom. Snot is still dripping from my nose, so I have to suck some of it back in.

"He is just fine." Mom brings out her handkerchief to wipe my nose. "He's not hurt."

Well yeah of course he wouldn't be hurt. Is there a reason he could have been?

I kept my mouth shut. Partly because I'm scared to say something stupid and also because I have no idea what I could say.

Mom finished wiping my face before putting me back on my own feet.

"Margaret, I'm very disappointed in you. For the next week I'll be giving you extra chores and homework during your free time." Mom says with her hands on her hips, looking just as stern as the day she got onto Joseph.

"Yes Ma'am." Margaret couldn't meet our Mom's eyes.

Mom hands me back my book which was laying on Mom's bed. Apparently she had gotten it before leaving the nursery and placed it there so her hands would be free while calming me down.

She sends me off to go play outside after checking to make sure I'm fine, but Margaret had to stay since her punishment starts now.

Once outside, I found a nice shaded spot under a large oak tree. The book lays open in my lap and I pretend to read. All the other children running around pay me no mind. Thankfully Frank isn't nearby or else he might come over. I have to think over what just happened.

I had another anxiety attack while my carefully crafted plan fell apart. Because of that I lost crucial information.

How did Margaret stumbled upon me when she should have been playing outside with the others?

What was the story she told Mom?

Why did she take the blame?

By the time the Bell Tower rang, signaling for free time to be over, I still hadn't thought of an explanation to it all.

Notes: Thanks guys for following and favoring! I made some changes to some chapters so You might want read those out again.

Chapter posted on 11/12/22