Behind the red door | ONC 2022

Chapter 2:

After about three hours of traveling their transport eventually came to a stop. Julia and Angie look out of the window that was next to them to see that they’ve arrived at the new orphanage. There was a red signboard with a green border that said Fountain of hope orphanage by the main entrance. Next to the signboard, there was a woman standing waiting, they assumed she was waiting for their arrival.

Not too far from the signboard, there were red double doors that led to the inside of the orphanage. The outside of the orphanage looked quite fancy, it was built out of white and brown bricks. Next to the double doors, there were pillars that were made from white bricks. Everywhere where they looked there were wide open spaces with the next building miles away.

After a short while, Julia and Angie got out of the vehicle and fetched their bags from where they put them before their journey. As soon as they had taken their bags out of the vehicle and made their way back to the signboard, they were greeted by the orphanage manager. The transport they took drove away shortly afterward.

“Hello and welcome to Fountain of hope orphanage! My name is Ms. Benson, could you two please take your bags and follow me inside. I’ll also be showing you around the place and going over the basic house rules with you.” She told them while making her way towards the red double doors.

Julia takes her cellphone out from her pocket and takes some pictures of the signboard and the outside of the orphanage from where she was standing. She then sends it off to Ava in a message and tells her that they’ve arrived at their new orphanage.

When she was done, she saw that Angie and Ms. Benson were already halfway up the pathway. She quickly grabs her bag and runs after them to catch up before she gets left too far behind. She catches up to them just before they enter the red double doors and start with the tour of the place. Ms. Benson opens the double doors and they all make their way inside. Both Julia and Angie come to a halt as they wait for Ms. Benson to close the door and for the coming information.

“Julia, where have you been? I was a little worried when I noticed that you weren’t next to me. I didn’t want to come looking for you because I didn’t want Ms. Benson to notice that we’re gone.” Angie whispered to Julia.

“I was busy taking a few pictures of the signboard and entrance of the place so that I could show Ava that we’ve arrived. I also wanted to show her a little bit of the new orphanage, since she’s still our friend and we promised to keep in touch. It’s alright Angie, I understand why you didn’t want to come looking for me.” Julia whispered back to her. Their whispering was interrupted by Ms. Benson before Angie could respond to her friend.

“Girls, I need your attention right now. You can carry on with your little conversation later and not now. There are some important things that I’m going to be telling you, girls, now, mainly the rules. After I’ve gone through some of the main rules, I’ll be showing you around so that you don’t get lost. The number one ground rule of this orphanage is that you’re not allowed to go anywhere near the attic. The attic is located right on the end of the passageway where all the dormitories are. If any one of you are found anywhere near the attic, they’ll be big consequences…” Ms. Benson said in a stern tone.

“Why are we not allowed in or anywhere near the attic?” Angie blurted out without thinking.

“And why is that the number one rule? I thought it would be something more serious.” Julia added after her friend.

“Can you girls please keep quiet and stop interrupting me while I’m talking. To answer your questions, that rule is there for your safety. It’s just as important if not more important than any of the other rules of this orphanage. You might not believe me now but you’ll be thanking us later if there even is a later. Now can we continue with going through the rest of the rules without you girl's interrupting me?” Ms. Benson reprimanded them in a stern tone. She had a slight look of worry and terror on her face.

“I wonder what’s got her terrified and worried but I’m going to find out what it is. I’m also going to find out why we’re not allowed in the attic because somehow, I don’t believe her.” Angie thought to herself.

Julia and Angie simply look at each other in silence for and moment and then allow Ms. Benson to continue with what she had to say. Ms. Benson went over the remaining rules and they did a fairly short tour of the place. They eventually reached the foot of the staircase that led up to the dormitories. Ms. Benson goes up the staircase first and then Angie and Julia follow her not too far behind. All down the passageway there were red doors on both the left and right sides. There was a red door that was right on the end of the passageway. Behind that door was assumed to be the attic that they weren't allowed to go in from what Ms. Benson had told them a little earlier. They eventually arrived by their dormitory; it was the one in the middle on the left.

“You girls need to get settled in and be down in the dining room in about 30 minutes. If you’re not downstairs on time, you’ll lose out on dinner for the night.” Ms. Benson instructed them while making her way back down the staircase.
Julia opened the door to their dormitory and to their surprise, they were greeted by the other girls who will be staying in the dormitory with them.

“Hello and welcome to Fountain of hope orphanage!” All the girls shout in unison from everywhere in the room. Both Julia and Angie looked at everyone with surprised looks on their faces. They make their way further inside and close the door behind them. Shortly after that, they were approached by a blonde-haired teenage girl.

“Hello there, my name is Bethany! I just wanted to personally welcome you to the orphanage. I’m also going to be showing you which of the beds are yours so that you don’t sleep on the wrong beds. A few days ago, 2 girls were recently adopted so now those 2 beds became available for you.” she made her way towards a bunk bed that was on the right side in the middle next to a window. Angie and Julia follow her and put their bags on the bottom bunk bed.

“Those are your beds and the wardrobe where you put your clothes is in the back left corner. You can let me know if you need anything more.” She then turned around and went back on her way. As soon as she was out of eyeshot and earshot, they just look at each other in total disbelief.

“How can she just tell us what to do? She’s not in authority as far as I know but anyway let's just drop it. I have something more on my mind than her. Julia, remember when I asked Ms. Benson about why we’re not allowed in the attic. She just all of a sudden had a look of terror and worry on her face.” Angie enquires with her friend while she undoes the zip to her travel bag to look for something.

“I don’t know who Bethany thinks she is; she thinks she’s the boss and I don’t like it at all. Yes, I did see that earlier. I wonder what got her upset like that, I have a feeling that she’s not telling us something or hiding something from us. Especially after she said that we’ll be thanking her later if there even is a later.” Julia complains to her friend.

“Julia, I'm also wondering what got her so upset but we're going to find out what is and why we're not allowed in the attic. I also have a feeling that she is not telling us something but don't worry we'll find out what it is no matter what. We’ll also find out what Ms. Benson is hiding from us.” Angie reassures her friend.

They were disrupted by the sound of a bell that came from the intercom system that was in the front of the room. They look around and all the other girls were making their way out of the dormitory. They assumed that it was time for dinner and they follow the other girls down to the dining room.