The Andrew Graham Center wasn't really that far away from the city. It was still part of Yule, technically, just fifteen minutes away from the town's entrance by car. Connor passed through the gas station he and Alexis first arrived in on their way there, when Grace said she wanted to accompany him on his first day. Apparently, she knew some people who worked at the place. Alexis and Mikey had tagged along, too, although they weren't planning on staying for too long. Connor appreciated the company, despite dreading having to go and work on top of everything else going on in his life.
But Lisa had warned him from a start that he was going to do some sort of social labor to clear his file a bit, liked it or not. And if that meant going to this place once a week for two months to serve people food and whatnot, then he might as well comply. It wasn't like he did anything on Sundays anyway. Lisbug had said that he might be surprised by meeting some people he already knew there, though he highly doubted it.
The pictures he had seen at the guidance counselor's office did justice to the place; it was surrounded by evergreens that extended into the mountains, surrounded by a deep forest. The grounds weren't that big, but they were big enough to host three buildings. He knew the largest one was the homeless care shelter and dining hall, which was very busy especially on the holidays. There was the administrative building, where he would be spending most of his time, and then there was the psychiatric ward. It was amazing how a single place could serve so many purposes. This Graham person, whoever he was, was a visionary.
-"It's been some time since I've been to visit Andrew."—Grace said nonchalantly after parking her small white car and walking with the three kids towards the white administrative building in front of them—"I wonder how he's been doing?"
-"You know the owner of this place...?"—Alexis asked, watching the people walking around a bit distrustfully.
Connor grimaced watching Alexis taking in the place. It was clear she didn't like it one bit. One thing was having Connor away during school days, but they weren't used to getting separated this much either. Even if it was only once a week, he knew she would take a while to get used to it.
Mikey walked alongside Connor, his gaze focused on the floor. He didn't seem to be too fond of the place either.
-"Yeah, he's a family friend."—Grace said fondly, answering Alexis' question—"I've known him for years. He was the one whom we came to when I told him I wanted to become part of the foster system. And after several months, he gave us a call, and introduced us to Mikey."
Connor turned to Mikey, who sent him a shy smile. Coming to think of it, Connor hadn't ever asked his roommate for how long he had been in a system. If he had been in a place like this for a while, then that meant that probably for a lot longer than what he originally imagined.
They entered the lobby, which was decorated with several potted plants which seemed to be healthy and some hanging frames of cats, forests and beaches. A grey-haired and big bosomed lady in the reception received them with a caring smile, and judging from the pictures on her desk she was a cat person and loved her grandchildren to bits. Connor introduced himself, and submitted the forms Lisbug had given him to fill out.
-"Oh, you are here for community service! That's great..."—the lady said, smiling and picking up the reception phone and dialing a number—"It's so strange to find young and handsome voluntaries like you these days..."
-"Voluntary-? Ow!"—Mikey said right before Alexis' elbow on his stomach—"I mean... yeah Connor here is just dying to help out."
Thankfully the lady didn't seem to notice, and instead went on and on about how good it was to receive another voluntary. Though she turned it down a little when she read in Connor's form that he was a foster kid. They were told to wait for the person in charge of the program Connor would be helping out with, and so they did for about ten minutes, when a tall young man entered the room and headed towards the reception desk to speak with the lady. He was lean, but muscular, and was wearing jeans and white vest with a brown jacket on top. He had very messy brown hair, which stood very tall and seemed to be going in every direction, and his wrists were covered in what seemed to be bracelets. The minute he laid eyes upon the newcomer, Connor noticed he looked strangely familiar.
YOU ARE READING
Algid (#TronnorAU)
Random"Let me tell you the story, about what happens when a heart as cold as ice meets one made of gold." What happens to the things that nobody can remember? Are they forgotten? Did they mean anything at all? Did they even exist at some point? All his li...
