CT230R, you're amazing, but you're inflating my ego to an unhealthy level.
5;
Riley's knuckles, now bandaged with a white cloth, were rapping on Sara's desk as a nervous tick. Ron was sitting by the doorway, the feeling of a presence so close behind was setting her even more on edge. The two of them had called her in under the pretense of having a conversation which immediately filled her with some apprehension due to its unusualness.
She sat staring at Sara and was the first to break the awkward silence.
"Is this about John? Because you know I had a good reason. He's a bully, and I would never do that to someone unless they really deserved it." She rolled her eyes to the far left and then back at Sara. "Also why is Ron here?"
"He's just here to observe, don't mind him. And no, this isn't about John." She scratched the corner of her eyebrow. "Recently, as I'm sure you've noticed, we've had a rather large influx of new children into the orphanage. An unfortunate situation for obvious reasons. As such, the occupancy allowance of our building will soon be exceeded."
Riley absorbed every word, remaining skeptical to each one of them.
"So as a result, I've had to make some… decisions that I want you to know were not easy to make." She quickly glanced at Ron and then back to the girl.
"Just say it." Riley's eyes had narrowed as her patience lessened.
"We're going to have to move you to a larger orphanage a few cities over. It's a bit of a distance, but I hear it's quite nice there."
Riley wasn't sure what she had expected, but it wasn't that. She stared blankly at Sara while contemplating the sudden change in her life that was just thrown at her. She didn't care for the other kids really, but she was comfortable where she was. She was eventually jerked out of her unfocused gaze when Ron cleared his throat behind her.
"Just me?"
Sara scratched the corner of her eyebrow again and looked uncomfortably toward Ron and then back to Riley. "A few others will be relocating as well."
"Well then why the hell don't you just send the new kids over to the other orphanage instead and not go through the trouble of transferring me?"
"Because… the city sends the orphans to the nearest orphanage, which is us. I don't have a say in the matter."
Riley scoffed in disbelief. "Is that the best you can do?"
"It's the truth, Riley."
"Bullshit it's the truth. You just don't want to have to deal with me anymore. Well fuck you too." She got up from her chair quickly, causing a reaction in Ron to do the same. "Well I guess I know now why your little body guard is here."
"Riley, please calm down. We're only doing what we're told."
She ignored her and shoved Ron's shoulder aside as she walked indignantly out of the room.
Sara watched as she nearly disappeared around the corner before yelling to be heard. "You'll be leaving in the morning, Riley! Get your things packed by tonight!" She took a couple of deep breaths and turned to Ron. "Well, that went about as expected."
"A few others will be relocating? Really?"
"I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to make it obvious I was sending only her away."
Ron rolled his eyes as he walked out of her office. "She's gonna figure it out real quick tomorrow."
Sara sighed as he too disappeared, leaving her alone once again to her work.
Riley finished climbing the stairs, reached her room, and slammed the door behind her. She turned around and smashed her palm into it and fell onto one of the beds.
"This is complete bullshit! I've always wanted to get the hell out of here, but not just to end up in another one." She kicked the railing of the bed, the feeling of being betrayed by the two people who she's known for almost her entire life was crushing. "Fuck!"
As night rolled around she reluctantly listened to the commands of the betrayers and was once again packing up her clothing and the few possessions she owned into a small piece of luggage they gave her.
After a light sleep, the sun crept up from over the horizon and beamed its early morning light into the bedroom. She rolled herself out of bed with a newfound lack of care that it was likely the last time she'd be seeing her room, let alone her home. She dragged the bag behind her down the hallway and carried it down the stairs where Sara and Ron were standing by waiting with other curious orphans. She didn't bother stopping to even acknowledge their existence as she passed them by on the way out of the door.
She walked down the walkway to where a small van was waiting at the edge of the sidewalk. She walked up the vehicle's stairs and took a seat toward the back, throwing her bag onto the empty seat next to her.
"Of course I'm the only one."
She let her head fall against the headrest and watched out the window as the van slowly pulled away from the curb and drove out of sight of the last two people she wanted to see. She managed to stay awake for a while as she tried to figure out where exactly the van was driving, but soon gave up and closed her eyes.
A bump in the road jostled her awake, revealing the foreign scenery of an area she's clearly never been before. Even the distant mountain peaks had completely shifted into unfamiliar ones. The surrounding area had been mostly covered in trees when she fell asleep, but was now far sparser and contained a scattering of small buildings that surrounded the road they were driving along.
Within minutes of waking up, the van slowed down and eventually stopped in front of a relatively small building for an orphanage. The driver motioned for her exit which Riley found annoying. She grabbed her bag off the seat next to her and walked off the van. The driver took off almost as soon as her feet touched the ground.
"Thanks for the help, asshole."
She gestured at the van and turned back toward the red bricked building that lay in front of her. She observed some rectangular holes dug into the ground along one side of the building, likely due to a basement. She walked up the pathway, passing by a large wooden sign that was pounded into the grass, and up to the large wooden door.
She took a deep breath, turned the handle, and pushed her way through. She was immediately taken aback by the difference in layout from what she was used to. The first thing she saw was the sleeping area which was vastly different. Instead of a multitude of separate rooms housing the beds, there was instead one large one that offered no privacy, similar to a barracks.
"Hello over there. Can I help you?"
Riley was startled by the voice and looked around to find the source. She spotted an elderly man in a small office directly across from door leading into the bedroom. She walked into his office and did a quick look around. The man himself was an older man of at least eighty and had a nameplate on his desk that read 'Edgar Halwell.'
"Yeah, I guess so. I've been transferred here apparently. My name is Riley."
"Oh right, Riley. Yes I see you on here. Rather strange that."
"What?"
"The transfer itself. It's very uncommon to send children to and from other orphanages."
"That bitch. I knew it."
"Language, young lady. There are many children here younger than yourself that are very impressionable. We don't want them picking up any bad habits, okay?"
"Yeah."
He noticed her indifference but let it slide. "Good." He shuffled around some papers and examined them before looking back up at her. "You'll be sleeping in bed 33. Your locker will be number 123."
"You number your beds and lockers here? Sounds like some sort of prison system."
The old man's brow dropped. "It might not be what you're used to, but that's just how it is here. Money is tight and we're spending it in other areas that are of higher priority than having individual bedrooms."
"Fine. Where can I find my bed?"
He grew frustrated with the girl. "You'll have to ask one of the other orphans in there to help you. I'm not familiar with the numbers personally without the layout sheet in front of me. You'll also have to ask your bunkmate which half you'll be sleeping on."
She nodded without saying anything and took her bag, almost making it back out of the room before Edgar spoke up again.
"Oh, and Riley, welcome to Gateway."
She looked confused for a second then simply shrugged it off, continuing again out the door. She walked straight across and into the bedroom area, stopping just beyond the doorway to take in the room itself. The first thing that stuck out was that the ceiling was noticeably taller than the area from where she just came, likely to accommodate the taller beds.
The bunk beds themselves were laid out in a pattern of three rows running the length of the room, each row containing six beds. The first row was situated against the left wall, which itself had windows along its entirety, the third on the wall opposite, and the second evenly between them. She figured it was safe to assume there were at most thirty six orphans here. Lockers filled the gaps between each bed and a small string of dangling lights were stretched down the lane between the second and third rows.
There were several orphans walking up and down the room and a few others she spotted either sleeping or just resting. One of the latter was a girl reading a few beds over from where she stood. She approached slowly, trying not to startle her.
"Hey… uh, girl with the book. Can you show me where bed 33 is?"
The other girl slowly let her book down, as though she was finishing up a sentence, and turned her head to look at the brown-skinned girl standing next to her. She had straight reddish-brown hair and the bridge of her nose and her upper cheeks were spattered with freckles.
"Sorry, didn't mean to disturb you."
"It's fine." She swung her legs over the edge and stood up. "33 you said?"
"…yeah."
"Over here."
She led Riley down the right lane and toward the back of the room, stopping in front of a bed in the middle aisle. "This is yours. What's your locker number?"
"123."
She put her hand on the locker to her side. "This is yours too. It's not much but it'll help you feel like you have at least some privacy in this place."
"Thanks."
"No problem."
"So… is there a lock or anything for this?"
"Nope. Just don't put anything valuable in it."
She thought on it for a second before it sunk in. "Funny."
"I thought so."
Riley, surprisingly, managed a half-smile. "I'm Riley."
"Ellie."