If I Die Young

4. Paper cranes

The next morning I woke up to the sound of children's laughter in the hallway as they ran by. I dropped the knife I'd been holding, my defensive position in the corner of the room now utterly useless. With a sigh I rubbed my eyes and grabbed the knife again before I stood up, walking over to my wardrobe and placing it back where it had been the night before. The clock read seven so I knew they were going to school; I wouldn't be going until next week, seeing as the transfer process wasn't quite done yet. I didn't mind it, it meant that I could wander the house without anyone giving me rude stares or whispering about me.

I stripped down and changed into designer jeans and a plain white shirt, the paint splatter on the denim putting the worth over what most people would pay for a decent used car. I'd gotten them for free. After a few moments of wandering my room aimlessly I finally put a pair of sneakers on and brushed my hair before walking out into the hall. It seemed as if mostly everyone had already woken up and I was the last one to the party. Miss Huld put a bowl of oatmeal down in front of me when I took a seat and I thanked her, the smell causing my stomach to squeeze in hunger. Luckily I was able to dig right in, the brown sugar already mixed together with the oats.

There was a lot of laughter and joking, seeing as this was the week they were just getting back from winter break. It must have been nice to celebrate Christmas with people you loved instead of in a halfway house by yourself. My heart stuttered for a second and I choked down tears, realizing that this was starting to hit a lot harder than I'd previously thought. I watched as everyone scarfed down their food and suddenly I wasn't hungry anymore. I finished my bowl though and brought it over to the sink, deciding to take dish duty myself today. While everyone ran off to get ready I washed them all out and put them into the dishwasher, finding that the only other person in here was Miss Huld. She was humming as she swept up the dust the children had left in their tracks, another vintage dress adorning her skinny frame. She was about the same height as me, and when let down, her hair was a dishwater blonde that reached past her collarbone.

"Why doesn't Ladon come to meals?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, him and the kids don't get along very well." She sighed. "He always eats, I make sure of that, but it's too difficult for him to be around everyone else."

"Why don't they like him?" I paused, my brows furrowed in confusion.

"He was the newest arrival before you, but that was about six years ago I think." Miss Huld stopped to explain. "Something happened and he scared the other kids. Ever since then they just haven't been too welcoming. I've tried to mediate the situation but I couldn't get through to any of them."

"That's a shame, at least Ezra has talked to me." I snorted quietly as I went back to doing the dishes.

"Hell, maybe you can get through to him." She laughed. "He's a nice kid, just not very sociable."

"Well, my only social experience was half drunk at upscale parties and private school, so I guess I could see where he's coming from."

"I almost forgot, you were a model weren't you?" She asked, and I nodded. "What's it like to strut down the catwalk wearing thousands of dollars worth of thread?"

"Invigorating," I smiled at the thought of it, "all eyes are on you and the cameras are flashing like mad. Trying not to grin and steal the spotlight is the hardest part to me."

"Who have you modeled for?" Miss Huld rested her chin on top of her broom, using it as a support while she listened with wistful eyes.

"Anne Klein, Nasty Gal, and Charlotte Russe are the main companies I was signed to, then obviously I did freelance work as well. They're not wrong about how the modeling industry treats their models health wise, but luckily I had one of those figures that fit within their standards." I laughed darkly. "It's fun and all, but it does take a toll."

"I could see how it would." Miss Huld nodded as she returned to her business. I finished up the washing and walked back out to find that the older kids had left for the bus while the younger ones were still running around happily. I saw Delilah in the corner, whispering to someone that wasn't there; I knew it wasn't abnormal for kids to have imaginary friends, but after last night, I felt a little spooked. James on the other hand ran right up to me, something that utterly surprised me to say the least, and handed me something: a nerf dart. His smile when I took it in my fingers revealed a missing tooth and some small amount of trust. I smiled back at him, taking the dart with me when I walked back upstairs.

Seeing as I didn't make it very far in my exploration yesterday I began to veer off from the course to my room. There was music coming from down the hall and it wafted towards me, luring me into what I found to be the craft room. There were sewing supplies and stuff for school projects scattered around, and there was a girl sitting at the table in the middle as she drew. Daisy looked up at me, her eyes little black pits among the surrounding white.

"H-Hi." I stuttered suddenly, not entirely meaning to.

"You're not going to school?" She asked, her voice a lot more mature than I'd expected it to be.

"I don't start until next week." I paused. "They have to transfer my transcript and records from my old school."

"Oh." She said simply. "So you're staying?"

"Yeah, I'm staying." I nodded.

"Well...good."

That surprised me a little bit. She went back to drawing and I took to looking through the bins and boxes spread out around the room. There was stuff for jewelry making and pottery, tons of markers and colored pencils and crayons, plus the sewing supplies I'd mentioned before. I was tempted to make some paper cranes to decorate my room with, seeing as I'd lost all the ones I'd made before. There were squares of origami paper stashed with the rest of the paper supplies and I snagged a few different colors and sizes before taking a seat in the chair adjacent to Daisy. She seemed curious as to what I was doing and I caught her eyes glancing up from her drawing every now and then to watch.

"Whoa," I heard her whisper when I finished one, and I chuckled quietly, placing the pink paper bird on the table in front of her.

"You can have this one." I told her, and she took it happily in her hands. Daisy's eyes met mine and suddenly those black pits didn't seem as black.

"Do you think you could show me how to make one?"

"Sure." I smiled, patting the chair next to me. She scooted over eagerly, watching with intent as I handed her a piece of paper.

I went through the steps one by one as I made the crane, explaining to her why she needed to fold it there and tuck it here. She was the best student I'd ever had and she paid closer attention than even I had when I was first being shown. In the end, she had a near perfect paper crane that mirrored my own. Daisy seemed absolutely elated.

"Wow," she whispered, "thank you."

"You're welcome." I smiled, feeling like I might've actually gotten through to someone.

"Mind if I take a few of these?" She asked, pointing to the paper.

"Go ahead, there's more in the cabinet over there, too."

Daisy snatched up a few choice colors before grabbing her backpack, waving to me on the way out the door. I waved back, feeling a little warmth in my chest from the interaction. The younger kids might be an easier nut to crack than the older ones it seems, and I could work with that. I might not be the greatest with kids but they aren't a nuisance when they're being good.

It seemed as if for the moment I had the house to myself. I walked along the halls, examining every door and every option I could take. Eventually I found myself back on the ground floor, wandering towards the parlor and taking a few steps towards the piano in the corner; it was colored blue, odd, but amusing at the same time. My fingers brushed over dusty keys and days spent learning how to play the instrument came back to me. Eventually I'd graduated to a harp, something that was immensely more challenging and doubly gratifying to play. For now though I traced my fingers along a familiar path and listened to the tune of a Debussy song as it radiated in the home.

The echoes of my song came back to me long after I'd pulled my fingers away. They bounced off of the walls and vibrated in the floorboards like a never ending melody. It was all just beginning to fade when Miss Huld walked back into the home and I'd taken to putting away the now clean dishes. We hummed the fading tune and laughed about it later.