The Baby Programme

Chapter 6: dinner

"I don't want to talk about it." 

"Oh come on, don't be such a wuss," she whined again, "We all know that everybody here had a stupid home or did stupid themselves. I was a wild child, as my parents like to put it. I drank, smoked, hang out with the wrong crowd, didn't listen, got a tattoo, you know that kind of stuff. They were so done with me, they sent me here. And that goody-goody lady over there was the oldest of twelve children and when the twins came there wasn't enough money to take care of her so they signed her up. And they had this bullshit story about 'having a better childhood, a new way to get all the love you missed out on'. You know, so what's your story?"

I felt bad for them that their parents were also the ones who got them here, but I was too afraid to tell them my story. They had endured so much, while I hadn't. So I just shook my head.

"Well if you're not going to tell, I'm going to guess."

"Lexi no, please you have already made her uncomfortable enough. Let's try something else. Tell me, Alice, how old are you?" Nancy asked me. "Fifteen, and you?" I answered.

"I just turned seventeen and Lexi is sixteen." She responded.

Just when Nancy wanted to ask me something their guardians made their way into our room. One of them was an elderly woman and the other a man around the age of Mr. Carter. They gave them their clothes and told us to follow them. Saying they would bring us to the dining hall.

The three of us followed them through the hallway. In front of the desk was a double door, which was now opened and behind it was a large hall with long tables. They told us to take a seat and with that, they left. We walked until we found three seats for us. Lexi and Nancy sat next to each other, in front of me. The hall was filled with about forty teenagers.

Shortly after we were seated three people walked in, of them in a suit and the other two had scrubs on. They looked like nurses. The lady in the suit started to speak, "If I could have your attention, please!? Boys and Girls!" The teenagers went quiet and she continued, "Thank you. I would like to welcome you all, now the last arrivals have joined us. My name is Mary, I'm the head of the Rehabilitation of Children Programme and it's my job to make sure you all have a chance to a great second childhood in loving families. I know that you just left a difficult period behind you, so if there is something wrong or you want to talk, know we are here for you." She paused and looked around to make sure the message came across. "Now with no further a due, I'll no longer hold you guys up. Enjoy your dinner!" With that, she left and more nurses came in with food on trollies. Each teenager got a tray with food on it and a juice box.

During dinner, Nancy and Lexi were talking with each other, as were more teenagers. I on the other hand stayed silent. I wasn't in the mood to talk nor to eat. I played with my food until I saw that most of the others were done and the trays were picked up. When the lady wanted to pick up my tray, she paused in her task. "Honey, you need to eat otherwise I can not let you leave to your room."

I looked up to her and said, "I'm not hungry."

"I'm sorry but that's no reason to leave the table. You need to eat, you need your nutrients for the procedure to work. You can leave once you have eaten everything from your tray."

I dropped my head, too embarrassed to look up as I was just scolded like a small child. Soon I was the only one in the dining hall with two other nurses, making sure I would eat my dinner. With very slow bites I tried to eat, but the sadness in me made it difficult to swallow my food. Halfway through my tray, I stopped eating. I looked up in the hopes they gave me a sign I could go, but they shook their heads.

Soon I heard footsteps nearing me and when I looked up it was Mr. Carter. "Mr. Carter w-what are you doing here? Am I in trouble?" Worry filled my mind. He sighed and took his seat in front of me.

"Alice, please call me Jim and no you're not in trouble. I heard you didn't feel very well so I came to check up on you."

I looked down and mumbled, "I'm not sick, just not hungry."

"And why aren't you? Something troubling your mind?" He asked gently.

I shook my head, not wanting to talk. "Alice, if something troubling you, you know you can talk to me right. I'm your guardian, I'm not only responsible for you but it's also my job to make sure you're healthy, physically and mentally. Please tell me what's on your mind?"

"I miss my home, I miss my brother... Can you please tell my parents I'll do better, I promise I'll." Mr. Carter sighed. I looked up at him and was met with a sad face. He pitied me. I looked down again.

"Alice, I understand that leaving your old life isn't easy, but you have to see that your parents... your parents don't want you anymore."

Those words hit hard. It felt like I couldn't breathe, was I that worthless to them? What if Alexander thought the same? What if they planned it out like this?

Thanks for reading and stay safe!