Okay, I think I have this figured out? Sort of...? Not really... So Forsaken Words is currently my only story, which I will update every Monday, but I am working on other stuff. Thank you very much to Ryuakilover for reviewing! Unfortunately, Allen will continue to be a punching bag, but things get better next chapter I promise! In the mean time, please enjoy and review, any comments/ concerns/ suggestions are welcome!
This institute was the same as the last and all the ones before. Dull, dreary, depressing. Allen had stopped thinking about the constant shifts of the same thing. Only a few minutes until I'm shunned by the others here. Only a few days until they find out I'm a monster, and start treating me like one. Only a few weeks until something bad happens and I'm kicked out, banished to the next place. Nine hadn't bothered to give him a tour; she knew the drill as well. The officer shoved him through the main doors before retreating to his car of black and white. Allen watched it leave before he picked up his near empty backpack and walked down the corridor.
This orphanage was the remnants of an old Victorian mansion that was donated for the purpose it was currently serving. Since it was in fact a mansion, it was in a mansion subdivision on the edge of the city. Only the wealthy resided here, and they expected the children nearby to always behave. This specific location generally only took the better behaved; those who were soon to be adopted or in the process, or those a few months away from being able to live on their own. Those of Allen's ilk were forbidden, however this was the only institution left in the state from which he had not been kicked out of. And since Sarah was too lazy to type up the proper documents to request a statewide relocation, here he was.
The mansion was silent as Allen wandered down the hall leading to a grand hall. Some cords hung from the ceiling, reaching downwards in search of the chandeliers that had once hung from them. Double stairs lead to a second floor, with peeling wallpaper and ancient wooden rails. Specks of dust drifted about the ghost of a once magnificent room. Allen turned upon hearing footsteps muffled by bland carpet. A seventeen year old bearing a bored expression waved at the stairs. He remained fixated with the iPod in his hand as he led Allen up the stairs and down another hallway to their right lined with doors. The fourth door to their right was the one they went through.
"First two on the right and three on the left are forbidden. Don't even bother with the left wing unless you're as suicidal as you look." Allen glanced at his drab attire of jeans and a black hoodie. He had dirtied sneakers and an old glove on his left hand, which was currently in the pocket of his hoodie. He had pulled up the hood in an attempt to conceal his hair and face. While he may not radiate happiness, to say he seemed suicidal was a stretch. Allen pondered the comment as he followed the stranger down the short corridor. At the end of the hall there were two doors. He turned to Allen for the first time, brown eyes locking with silver.
"Listen pipsqueak, I'm in charge till I move out in three months and eight days. My name's James but you're going to call me sir. Door to my left is the bedroom. Nine says we're 'sharing' but that ain't how this is going to work. Door to my right is the bathroom. That's where you're staying except for five to nine in the morning when I use it, twelve to ten when I also use it, and whenever I say it isn't yours. Got it?"
"Not to sound demanding, but why don't you tell me where to sleep or when, both isn't-" Allen's face was covered by Chaoji's hand in an instant before he was slammed against the door leading to the bathroom. One hand bore down on Allen's neck, pinning him, while the other tightly covered his mouth and nose. His thumb slid under Allen's jaw, holding it shut and forcing his head up and into the door, further exposing his neck. Always like this… Allen thought, not bothering to fight back.
"You are going to do what I say, when I say it. I'm in charge. And I don't want to see your ugly face until school tomorrow. I don't care how early you have to leave tomorrow, but you aren't showing up with me tomorrow. I'm using to bathroom from eight to ten, so you better not be in there, or there will be consequences." Chaoji kept Allen pinned for another minute before letting him drop. He gasped for air. The figure looming over him smirked and kicked him in the diaphragm, before retreating down the hallway. Allen lay in a heap on the ground, struggling to inhale bittersweet air once more. He stayed like that for awhile before pulling himself up and stumbling into the bathroom. A large window sat a few feet in front of him. A tub with faucet clinging above it to the wall was the shower. That took up at least a fourth of the space. a toilet sat in the corner and in the neighboring corner a sink sat with a small, broken mirror hanging over-head. He closed the door and slumped down the gray wallpaper, sitting on the black and white tiled floor. He sighed, but wanted to swear.
"Forgot about school…" He opened his backpack, sifting through the few contents. A few sets of clothes, a toothbrush, a broken pencil, and a faded crimson notebook. He had it since he started school five years ago, it was his most prized possession. He desperately tried to make it last, but each page was packed with notes for all his courses.
"I can make this work…?" He sighed again, hands falling to the floor.
"Heh, welcome home."