Behind the red door | ONC 2022

Chapter 5:

Julia let off a groan underneath her breath when she heard the door of the dormitory open. She then saw Bethany and Ms. Benson going around waking everyone up. She hid her teddy bear well underneath the blankets so that nobody would find it and dragged her heavy, tired body out of her bed. By the time Bethany arrived there she was already sitting up in her bed. She was only complying so that Bethany wouldn’t be on her case but she honestly wasn’t in the mood to get up. She was exhausted and had a bad headache. If she could sleep all day, she would.

Julia got up from her bed and looked around to see where Bethany was, she saw that she was quite a distance away. Julia went and approached one of the girls that were on her own not too far from her bed. She looks sad and lonely; it seems like she has no friends.

“Good morning, my name is Julia. I can’t help but notice that you’ve been alone since yesterday. Do you have any friends here?”

“Good morning, my name is Roxanne but you can call me Roxy. Unfortunately, I don’t have any friends anymore. They both left about 2 days ago before you and the other girl you’re with came here so here I am alone and friendless. I miss my friends a lot; we were all such good friends until they left here. We still talk on social media but it’s just not the same as having them with me.” She responded to her with a tear escaping from her eye.

“There’s no need to cry, I understand what you’re going through. I also had to leave one of my friends when our previous orphanage shut down. She had to go to a different orphanage from me and my friend Angie. If it weren’t for her, I would be in the same position as you. Just like you, I also speak to her on social media but as you’ve said it’s not the same. You don’t have to worry about being friendless anymore, you can become friends with me and Angie if you want to.” Julia said while taking her into a hug and rubbing her right shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

“Are you sure about this? I would love to be your friend but only if your other friend Angie is alright with it. I don’t want to cause any trouble or anything like that.” Roxy could feel a smile form on her face.

“Yes Roxy, I’m being dead serious about this. She will be alright with it; now that I can guarantee. You’re not causing any trouble anywhere, we’re glad to have you as our friend. If you follow me, you can meet her now if you’d like. But first I’d like to ask you something before we go and meet Angie if that’s alright with you.” Julia reassured her with a smile on her face.

“Yes sure, you may ask your question. I don’t mind at all. I’m glad for that and I would love to meet her, she seems to be pretty cool judging from you!” Roxy could feel a smile forming on her face.

“Aww judging from that you’re pretty sweet and cool already. Anyways my question to you is, do you hear any petrifying noises at night when the lights go out?” Julia enquired with her.

“Julia let me be honest with you, those petrifying noises are nothing new. It’s been carrying on for many years trust me, I’ve just got used to hearing it and sleeping with those noises every night. It does take a while for you to get used to it but eventually, you adjust and learn to live with it. When I first arrived here when I was a little girl, it took me about a week or two to adjust. I clearly remember hugging my favorite teddy bear all night because I was so scared. That was pretty much when I met the friends that I had before they left. We made a promise that night that we would stick together until the end and that is what we did until they left.” Roxy could feel a slight feeling of sadness creep onto her.

“Aww, that’s kind of sweet of you friends to do, you don’t find friends like that easily. Angie and I will be here for you and protect you until we leave here, I know that we can’t replace your previous friends. I honestly don’t know how you get used to something like that. Anyway, if you don’t mind me asking, did you ever wonder what was in the attic, or did you ever know where the noises were coming from all these years?”