The doors to the coach swung open and a man holding a folded umbrella, who royal identified as the English teacher, stepped forth, grabbing both Skittery and her by the collar.

With his hand still grasping them, the two kids climbed out of the car, stumbling on to the street. The man pushed them in front of him so that he could watch their moves and the three of them slowly made their way to the orphanage.

Immediately upon exiting the carriage, royal realized that they were about three blocks away from the orphanage and an avenue down.

The night air was chilling and a small breeze ruffled her skirts. She turned around to look at the man guiding them. He seemed not to have recognized her and royal did not blame him. There were over 300 children in the orphanage school and every year the teachers seemed to stress more and more over even remembering the faces of their pupils. On his hip, he balanced a pile of knickknacks and clothing some of which royal knew was her own.

They reached orphanage with in minutes and she paused slightly to take in the sight of the gigantic building looming before her.

The building was old and made of brown bricks with three visible windows on each floor. A three-step stoop led up to the entrance of the building and next to it sat an unlocked grate, leading down to the cellar. She had been told once before that this grate was used for deliveries and packages. The English teacher probed her in the back with his umbrella, urging her to move forward once more.

They walked up the steps to the front door and the man stepped in front of them, opening it for their entry.

The lobby of the orphanage was not warm and friendly like the lobby of the lodging house. It was gray and bleak with a couple of hard wicker chairs in each corner, hallways venturing in all directions and a stairway leading up to the next floor in the center.

Skittery looked around at the lack of furniture and life for that matter. He looked back to royal shrugging as if to say he had seen worse.

The man closed the door behind them and put his still folded umbrella in a tall umbrella vase in the corner. He walked back to them, his steps consistent.

Now that royal was in a dull light she could make out the teacher's clothing and apparel. His dress was not one of a rich man but of a man who thought him self-stylish for that day and age.

He took off his coat, draping it over one arm and ordering royal to do the same. She shrugged off her outer layer and Skittery offered to hold it for her. The man looked at them impatiently as royal handed her coat to Skittery, thanking him kindly.

The man glanced at a large clock near the back of the room and both Skittery and royal followed his gaze; the clock read 12:47pm. The man nodded as he digested the information, looking back at the two kids.

"You two may go to sleep, Mrs. Muller will talk to you tomorrow morning for it is too late now. Ms. Canely, please take yourself and the boy up to bunkroom 14. I'm most definitely sure that there are two spare cots up there. Your permanent beds will be given to you tomorrow morning as well. Here are your things." He stuffed the pile of clothing and objects in to Skittery's hands.

The man turned to leave though deciding better, faced them once more.

"I suppose you don't have to get up at wakeup call, it is late after all. Mrs. Muller will be expecting you at 8:30am though so make good choices." He turned around promptly, and made his way down the hallway to their right.

"Make good choices!" Skittery blurted out mockingly once the man had disappeared from view.

Royal fell into a fit of giggle, though collected her self eventually and led Skittery upstairs by the hand.

Over all, his mood seemed to have improved though royal could see some false humor in his statement. She sincerely hoped he was not putting on an act for her to make her feel less guilty about the whole situation.

As they entered bunk 14 on the 4th floor, royal felt a rush of tranquility created by the sight of sleeping girls and boys.

Bunkroom 14 was a toddler's bunk so it was co-ed and was usually the waiting room for older boys and girls as they waited for their sleeping arrangements as she and Skittery were doing.

They found two spare cots pressed against the wall and dragged both of them over to the center of the bunkroom, squeezing the cots between actual bunks. The cots, when pushed together, formed a medium size bed. The mattresses soaked up the little extra space there was in the bunkroom and royal desperately hoped that she would not get stepped on by a subconscious kid come morning.

Royal searched about the small room for extra blankets and two pillows, finally finding them atop a shelf in one of the three closets in the room.

Once she had spread out the blankets, layering them one on top of the other and placed the pillows side by side at the end of the double bed, royal showed Skittery to the men's washroom on that floor before going to the ladies in the opposite direction.

The last 3 hours had been surreal to royal, almost like she was viewing a film about her self. Everything seamed to be in the third person and she acted more then thought. In all it felt like she was in the twilight zone.

She washed up, letting down her brunette hair and scowling at her reflection in the mirror. She was not displeased with the way she looked, only with the actions she had taken that night. If anything were to happen to Skittery during his stay at the orphanage, she would never be able to live with herself.

If only I hadn't been so desperate to make friends, she thought to her self, I'm sure Skittery and I would still be as close as we are now if I had never told him about the orphanage and its lies. I am pathetic. If I hadn't told him any of this he would still have a life.

She sighed sullenly and began to strip down to her night slip, assuring herself that she would only have to sleep in the wretched thing until tomorrow when the orphanage would give her a night uniform. She adjusted the slip hastily and gathered her clothes up in a pile.

Royal exited the bathroom at an acute angle heading directly towards the bunkroom.

Skittery was waiting for her in the bed, wearing his legendary pink long johns as usual.

"Aw skits, I'm really, really sorry bout all this. I should have never blabbed about the orphanage to you and the other guys. Now you have ta rot in here as well"

He quieted her by placing a kiss on her lips.

"I would'a rotted away if I had stayed and let you go. Its better like this… when we're together."

She smiled; slipping her legs beneath the covers and watching Skittery do the same.

"Nothin's gonna happen, right?" she asked mischievously once they were comfortably laying in bed, side by side.

Skittery turned to her, resting his head on his hand.

"You mean while we're in bed together… nah… not if you don't want anything to happen."

She smiled once more and placed a kiss of gratitude on his cheek. "Not yet I don't."

He nodded understandably,

"Neither do I."

"Right…" she responded sarcastically.

"How do you know?" he playfully hit her with his pillow before sinking down into its comfort once more.

"Wake me when you wake up tomorrow, ok?" He nodded.

"G'night royal." He sat up slightly to kiss her on her forehead.

"G'night skits." She breathed out, turning on to her other side and slowly drifting off into a fitful sleep.

Her sleeps were always fitful at the orphanage.