The New Girl Around

Chapter 4 ~ The punishment...

~ At The Orphanage ~

I walk through the doors of my less than perfect home and see Mrs. Bernadine chasing the same girl I saw this morning. The girl is easily getting away from Mrs. Bernadine, which is why she holds suck a sour expression.

When she notices me she stops chasing the girl and storms over, slamming the door behind me. I jump slightly, my eyes nearly level with hers as she stares at me.

"You need to cook dinner for honey tonight." Mrs. Bernadine declares, frustration falling off her in waves. She storms into the kitchen and shouts for me to follow.

"Who's honey? And why am I cooking for her?" I ask, my feet speeding up to catch up with her. She grabs some ingredients and a recipe and places it on the kitchen counter.

"She is that horrid girl I was just chasing! And you're cooking for her because I have to cook for all the other children in this house and she's too fussy to eat what I've made." She shouts, the anger pulsating through the room. I realise I can use this to my advantage, so that's just what I do.

"Fine, but tomorrow can I go to the cafe to work on a school project?" I ask sweetly, a small smile plastered in my face.

She stops before she  gets to the door and thinks about it for a few seconds. "If you get her to eat that spaghetti you're making, I'll consider letting you go." She finalises, not even sparing me a glance before she storms out the room and leaves me to start cooking.

I'm about half way through cooking the sauce when I hear the door open. I turn to see the young girl standing there holding a small sized blanket in her hand. She looks about 8 or 9 years old and she has her right curls tied up in bunches. Her dark skin looks dirty, like she's been hiding somewhere dusty.

"You're honey, aren't you?" I ask softly, careful not to scare the poor girl away. She stares at me before she sits down on the chair opposite me.

"Ok... well I'm cooking your food and I really need you to eat it. It's really important. I have a project with my friends and I can only go meet them if you eat." I let out quickly, waiting for any sort of reply. She still doesn't say anything as I get a text from Peter.

~ Messages ~

Peter:
Hey Hope, It's Peter. Are you coming to the cafe after school?

Hope:
I'm not 100% sure but I'll try to be there!

Peter:
Great! I hope you can go.

Hope:
So do I, it'll be good to get that project started early.

Peter:
Yeah, it would. What are you up to?

Hope:
Uh, not much, just getting ready for dinner. That actually reminds me, I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow though?

Peter:
Oh, yeah. I'll see you tomorrow, bye!

~ Back To The Kitchen ~

"Who's Peter?" I jump as I see Honey standing looking over at your phone. "Is he your boyfriend?" She asks quickly after, her voice just as sweet as her name.

I laugh, "no. He's my friend, one of the ones I'm doing the project with." I say turning back to the stove to make sure I don't burn anything.

She smiles and sits back down. "He sounds cute. I guess I'll eat the food for you." She says with a smirk. I smile and finish the cooking.

"You are one cheeky girl, aren't you honey?" She giggles at this and I smile at how adorable she is. Well, I'm glad I've got someone as cute as honey here with me.