Ashicia

Chapter 1 🗝

Dear Diary- May 21st, 1994.

What a day, today the other kids from the orphanage came over for lunch with their caretakers. Crazy, just crazy. That's all I can describe them with. We played hide and seek before lunch and they messed up everything in our playfield. The swing is broken and about three balls are punctured, totally ruined. We had mac and cheese for lunch, a massive food fight broke out. Cheese everywhere. On the walls, chairs, and windows.

I am unbearably tired after it all but I have to go, Mia, is calling me, I wonder what it is now. Those kids probably they broke something in her room, no manners at all.

Arielle ❧

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I placed my diary on the shelf on the bunk and slid off the bed, landing with a clunk on the floor.

"Arielle!" I hear Mia yell from a few doors down. I pull on my ragged blue sneakers and walk out the room. With every step, a little thud echoes through the halls. I turned into Mia's room and close the door behind me.

Lucky girl, she got her own room no other kids. I was the only one allowed in her room. Mia mostly thought of me as her best friend. Well, her only best friend. Mia looked like my age about the same size of height, exactly 5'2. We shared the same crystal blue eyes and curved shape faces. Mia's hair was strawberry pink when mine was just plain cocoa brown.

Mia was perfect, smooth skin with an inviting bright smile. Her hair was always pulled away from her face in two fishtail braids. She always wore a fake gold bracelet with a half moon trinket on her left wrist. Even though I was her best friend Mia always thought that she was better. Better at art, learning, and writing. The only thing she couldn't do was play sports. Mia was scared of flying balls. Soccer balls, volleyballs, beach balls, anything really.

"Arielle? Is that you?" I glance up to see Mia standing by the window of her room. Water drenched her hair and was splattering down from her face onto her favorite coral pink dress. For some odd reason, I burst out laughing. I slap a hand over my mouth so my laugh wouldn't come out too loud.

"Arielle, stop." Mia protests, she shakes her arms attempting to get some of the water off her.

"Sorry." I gasp, I rush into the bathroom and pull out a thin towel from the cabinet. I turn back to Mia and drape the towel around her shoulders.

Poor thing.

"Those kids came in w-with water balloons," Mia stutters, "They started fighting. They hit me, and..." Mia trails off but points to the painting of a bouquet of flowers that hung on her wall from last year. I remembered the moment when she painted it clearly.
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"Arielle, could you pass the pink?" Mia had asked me. I reached over and grabbed the pink tube of paint from the other side of the table and passed it over to Mia. She had taken the paint tube and squeezed it too hard. Pink paint squirted out of the top, flying through the air and landing on my head. I remember Mia's shocked face as she tried to help me get it out but just accomplished in getting it all over my shirt and face.

I sigh and start undoing the braids in her hair, one by one.

"They were absolutely rude." Mia starts, I set the elastic from her left braid on her wet bed and start the other one.

"Disgusting..." She whispers as her hands wrapped the towel around her shivering body. I reach over, getting a brush from the counter and slowly brush her hair, getting all the wet knots out. I brush all Mia's hair and leave it hanging down her back.

"Are you alright?" I ask quietly, I sit her down on the bed and rest beside her.

"Just... Shocked. I guess." Mia decides. "Just shocked."

I nod and look around the room, "Those kids have no manners." I put in. Mia says nothing, doesn't even move.

A few seconds pass until Mia moves her face so she is looking at me. "When are they leaving?" she inquires.

"Soon," I reply. "In about 30 minutes or so.

Mia turns back and stared at the white walls of her room.

     "Do you want to go outside?." I suggest. "Fresh air might make us feel better."

Mia smiles, "Sure." She drops the towel on her bed and spreads it out. I grab her hand and squeeze it before we walk out. Out the door, we start down the empty dark hallway and pass the kitchen on the way. I glance over and we both stop and stare at the cheese stained floors.

"Disgusting, as I said." Mia comments. We continue on, passing younger children helping to do chores that usually the maids and janitors have to do. Since the kitchen and other places in the orphanage are so messy, we don't have enough staff to help out.

      Finally, we reach the courtyard, only a few kids are dwelling in the corner by the pretty raspberry bushes. Mia points to the side of the courtyard, where a big oak tree stands. It shades a grassy spot with a few rocks piled up the side.

"Over there is fine." She says. I step forward and head towards the tree, with Mia following me. We sit down under the big oak, I sit closer to the rock while Mia leans on the tree's trunk. I take a deep breath and smile at Mia.

I pick up a rock and study it humming a lullaby that I use to sing to the little kids

"It is better outside..." Mia interrupts.

The small rock I hold breaks, it cracks open and crumbles on the grass. Something heavy falls out.

It falls onto the grass and I drop the rest of the rock onto the ground. Glance down, a thin silver key rested on the soft luscious green grass. I look over at Mia, here eyes were closed tightly and she was swaying.

Turning, I pick up the silver key. A long thin chain connects the key to the chain. It looked like a necklace that you could get at an expensive jewelry store.

Not that I had ever been to a jewelry store in my entire boring life. I put it around my neck and stared down at the necklace, feeling it heat up for a second glowing a soft yellow. I felt Mia shift beside me. Her red hair caught a branch of the oak tree, getting it knotted up in a crazy. Mia opened her eyes and noticed her hair, she tugged on her hair and tried to untangle the knot.

I quickly stole a glance at the key, it wasn't glowing anymore. The little blue stone that was glowing a light blue, something swirled around the core of the stone. I shivered and tucked it in my shirt, I felt the cold metal against my skin.

I stood up abruptly and stared back at Mia. "Let's go back inside." I comment.

I stalk towards the door without looking back.