A rose should be red: Part 1 - Secrets

by Akaku Red

  But somehow, as the girls started to push me down, my body froze.

  I felt like the four-year-old me again, who couldn't do anything.

  The girls began laughing, and they wanted to film the situation, as they started pulling out their phones.

  “Let us teach these girls some manners.”

  Yet, before one of them could do anything, Linette appeared in front of me like a ninja, she had a juice bottle in her hand and poured it over their faces.

  This blinded the girls for some seconds; they screamed out loud and started to throw fists everywhere.

  Linette grabbed my arm and helped me escape.

  We got our backpacks and ran out of the classroom.

  The girls tried to follow us but eventually lost us as we turned to the school garden.

  While we were running, we met Dean.

  He was with a group of people, sitting on a bench.

  His gaze met mine; he looked at me, confused.

  We stopped.

  Linette glared at him and screamed.

  “YOU SON OF A BITCH! GO AND GET YOUR STUPID FANGIRLS!“

  Again, he looked more puzzled.

  “THEY ARE HERE!“

  We heard the girls shout again.

  DAMN! They found us.

  I looked behind me. They were very close.

  This time, I was the one who pulled Linette. I started running again, somewhere safe.

  We ran and turned in every corner of this school.

  Till we outpaced them, then we leaned on a wall to gather or breaths.

  “This … was … crazy!”

  Linette gasped, as she kneeled down on the floor.

  I did the same and looked at her.

  She was smiling.

  “This was crazy … but funny!”

  Her short brown hair was messed up by the breeze.

  I detangled it and pulled her close.

  She remained me of Alice, her way of making bad things sound funny … Her comforting smile after such a pathetic situation.

  “Thank you.” I muttered.

  “No problem! This was nothing. These girls are crazy. They are from the fan club of Dean.”

  She explained.

  “They always try to act though, but they can’t even get a date with their idol. And I am sure if one gets to date him, they will fight themselves.”

  Now I started to laugh, as she made a funny face while making her own conclusions.

  I leaned back on the wall.

  “You were scared …” She whispered.

  Playing with the hem of my sweater, I looked down.

  “I … have bad memories, and … I am a little bit different from other girls.” I tried to explain the situation without telling her about my past.

  Her sincere look made me believe that she was truly concerned about what I felt.

  “If you don't want to talk about it, then it is fine! Someday when we know each other better, then we can talk.”

  She was even willing to give me some time to get used to her.

  My heart felt warm. Linette was a nice girl, and I started to like her even more.

  I still needed a moment to calm down.

  As I gathered my strength, I smiled a bit.

  “Thank you.”

  She got up.

  “You wanted to do something, maybe we have luck, and I can help you find a way out, so you can do what you had in mind.”

  Looking around, she started to go near a window.

  “I could distract them.”

  She suggested.

  But this wasn’t a good idea, and I didn’t want her to do something like this.

  Maybe … I should take her with me.

  “Do you want to join me?”

  She turned to look at me, with sparkling brown eyes, as if she was going to join an adventure trip.

  “May I?”

  I nodded.

  “YEAH!” She jumped happily, and then she locked our arms together.

  “Where are we heading to?”

  “Let us get out of here first, and then I will tell you.”

  Chapter 4

  As we safely got out of school, we started to cross some streets.

  It was my first time going out with a friend.

  Honestly, it was the first time I ever wandered… alone through the streets.

  Various people were passing by, and all looked different and colourful too, many differently dressed young and old people, and many locations.

  Of course, Elise and Tyler did go outside with me, but it felt different with Linette since she didn't stop talking.

  She talked about sightseeing tours, good locations to hang out, best places to go shopping and while she spoke her eyes sparkled like diamonds.

  It was amusing and refreshing at the same time.

  “So … where should we go first?”

  We stopped before the traffic light turned red.

  “To an orphanage!” I said.

  Now she looked at me, confused.

  She shook her head slowly, and while doing that, her hair wiggled right and left.

  “Why there?”

  The lights turned green again. I held her hand and pulled her with me across the crosswalk.

  “We need to take the train! I will tell you the reason when we get there.”

  I was good at memorising things, I had a good sense of direction, and I knew the way to the orphanage.

  It was not complicated.

  I had already looked it up on google maps a while ago, the only thing which was unknown at that time was when I would be able to visit the orphanage.

  Who would have thought that the opportunity would be today?

  To reach our final destination, we needed to take the train. The orphanage was thirty minutes away.

  So, we needed to go to the train station first.

  Linette just followed me silently and didn't ask any further questions, that was until we got to the station.

  The station was full, as always.

  I needed a moment to find the right train, and gladly we made it on time.

  We searched a seat, and once spotted, we rushed to them.

  Linette sighed heavily.

  “Wow … that took us some doing.”

  I nodded.

  “Yeah … but we made it. Thank you for accompanying me!”

  She started to play with her hair.

  “No problem! But why … are we going to an orphanage?”

  I looked out the window, as the train started moving.

  “I wanted to see a friend. I didn't see her for a long time; she was … my best friend.”

  Linette let her hand sink on my lap.

  She looked at me, with a new light sparkling in her eyes!

  “I am sure we will find her!”

  Even though she didn’t know the whole story, she still locked determined to find her.

  Her smile gave me new strength.

  “Thank you.”

  She lifted her arm and pulled her green backpack up to her lap.

  “How is she?”

  Linette asked as she opened her backpack to get some sweets out of it.

  “She is the most beautiful, most compassionate and nicest person on earth.”

  Linette handed me some sweets over.

  “You sound like a woman being in love.”

  She laughed and started taking a bite out of her wine gums.

  I joined in.

  “I do love her; she is truly amazing.”

  “But not as amazing as for me!” She made a pose which made me laugh.

  We reached the first station. Some people got in, and others went out of the train.

  Then it started moving again.

  “How long do you know each other?” Linette asked.

  “Over … eight years …” I looked down.

  “But I didn't see her for four years. And … she didn't respond to my letters.”

  Linette looked at me with disbelieve.

>   “Who writes letters? We all have phones now.”

  “Well, the orphanage forbids cell phones. There is just one phone for everybody.” I explained.

  “Wow … what a shitty ass orphanage!”

  She looked displeased and started to chew harder and louder.

  “Well, these were the rules.”

  Linette panted.

  “Stupid rules! Who the hell do they think they are?”

  A lady who sat behind us started coughing loud.

  “Could you please stop cursing?” She said.

  Linette turned bright red and sank down on her chair.

  Which made me laugh!

  She was cute.

  I turned to look behind me and saw a stylish old lady. She held a book in her hand while shaking her head in disbelieve, after hearing those words.

  “I am sorry.”

  I apologised instead of Linette.

  The lady just nodded and continued reading her book.

  Linette looked at me with big eyes; then she pulled her backpack close to cover her face.

  I started to laugh even more— her reaction was priceless.

  “Stop laughing! I want to vanish right now. When do we get out of here?”

  At the next station, the lady behind us got up and left the train.

  “We have two more, but you can sit properly, she is gone!” I informed.

  Gladly, she let her backpack slide back down to the floor.

  “Whew! That was awkward.”

  But funny!

  “Anyway … How was Florida? You never really talked about it.”

  She asked while turning so that her body could face me.

  I remembered the cloudless sky, the bright sun, and the beautiful beach as I thought about Florida.

  “It was amazing. I really loved it there. The weather was always warm, sunny… and we had a house near the beach.”

  “And did you have friends?”

  I shook my head.

  “Not really, I was alone… the only friends were my parents and animals.”

  Linette narrowed her eyes.

  “You … will be my first friend too.” She said softly.

  “What about Charlotte and Amy?”

  She swallowed hard.

  “I … love them both, but they stick together like gum. And they spent more time together! Our meeting was a big coincidence too. I started to hang out with them after I escaped the fangirls of Dean. Once, I also was their target. Amy and Charlotte helped me out. Don't get it wrong, I do see them as good friends, but I would be happy to have … Oh … forget it. I am just selfish.” I touched her shoulder and nodded.

  “I do understand what you mean. I really hope that we can grow a friendship as strong as them.”

  Linette smiled.

  “That would be wonderful … I have the feeling that we are starting good!”

  I nodded; she was right.

  The feeling she had, I shared it too.

  “So, what is the first thing you are going to do when you see your friend?” She asked.

  Er … I didn't think that far.

  “I guess I would hug her and never let her go again. But the real question is, … is she still in the orphanage or is she with a new family? Or did she start to live alone?”

  Linette shrugged her shoulders.

  “Either way, we will find out!”

  Her spirit was full-on; she was determined to help me find Alice. And as we talked through the ride, I started to trust her more. So, what if she knew Tyler? It wasn’t a crime to know people, and Linette was a really nice person!

  My doubts started to fade away slowly.

  The little wall I had once build – that wall started to break down.

  We arrived at our station and got out quickly. The way to the orphanage was simple, but it took us ten minutes to get there.

  I had a crazy feeling growing inside me, as we got near the building.

  The only good memories that I had in there were with Alice.

  The orphanage itself was like a cheap prison with strict rules and drably activities.

  It didn't change at all.

  The walls were grey and started to darken on some corners; even the windows were still the same – made out of wood and glass.

  Well, the only thing new was that they didn't have a meadow anymore, because the ground was paved with stones.

  The dooryard was empty.

  Back then, kids would play on the meadow, but now it was silent.

  And creepy … really creepy!

  “It looks more like an abandoned building, than an orphanage full of kids.” Linette was holding my hand tightly, as we got near the door.

  “A lonely building with abandoned children.” I muttered.

  It left me cold, the feelings… the atmosphere.

  Everything was dull and let alone the thought that the children needed to live in such a cold place, made my heart feel heavy.

  One day… I will gather my money and make them a better home.

  I really wanted to do that.

  “I think we can just go in there.” Linette stated.

  We slowly got to the door.

  On it was a `Welcome home` sign, which obviously was drawn by a child.

  As Linette opened the door, I started to shiver.

  Again… this house didn't change at all.

  My tension was getting higher, as I put one foot before the other, to get in there.

  The floor still creaked when you took a step, and the hallway was still adorned with the pictures of the children.

  Each age band had their own pictures.

  As I looked carefully through them, I noticed that the pictures from Alice and me were … gone.

  I did let go of Linette’s hand and started searching again.

  But the pictures weren’t there anymore.

  It was creepy because of all the other pictures from people … who I have known, were still hanging on the wall.

  Maybe it was just coincidence but … this was … not normal.

  “Look, there is a reception.” Linette pointed at the end of the hallway, showing a woman sitting next to a computer.

  I nodded and led the way.

  The tiny woman sat on a chair and played a game on the computer.

  She didn't notice me, till Linette started hammering on her desk.

  “You kids should be in class, what are you doing here?” She didn't even look up, but Linette started talking.

  “We aren't kinds; we just have a question.”

  The woman sighed.

  “If you want to give your kid away or to adopt one, you need to discuss it with the lady above me. I can’t do anything.” She rolled with her eyes and finally looked at me.

  I didn't know that woman … she must have been new.

  “Any more questions?”

  I nodded.

  “I want to know … if Alice Green … is still here. I don't know if she got adopted or if she changed her name, but it would be nice to know if she … is here.”

  The woman typed something on her keypad, and then she shook her head.

  “Are you related?”

  “No, we shared a room here in the orphanage … and we were good friends. That’s why…”

  “So you were in here too?”

  I nodded, clearly feeling Linette’s shocked face.

  “Well, normally I can’t give you any information… but… I can assure you that she is not here anymore.”

  I looked down.

  My heart dropped.

  The possibility that she wasn't here anymore was high, and I had that in mind too, but still… it made me sad.

  I felt how my eyes started to tear up, but I tried my best not to cry.

  “Thank you …” I muttered.

  I had reckoned that I wouldn't get the information, where she was living now, however, I thought that maybe there was a … little trace.

  “Alice Green … did you really know her?”

&n
bsp; She asked again.

  “Yes, why should I lie?”

  The woman patted her forehead with her fingers.

  “I know that girl, I remember her … I didn't think that she had a friend.”

  She slowly sighed.

  “Do you know where she is now?” I asked.

  “I can’t tell you that… She left the orphanage, about three years ago … but I remember something. She did leave a picture here. She told me to give it to her friend if she asked for it. How was your name again?”

  My hopes were getting up.

  “My name is Jenny Brown.”

  She typed again and looked at the screen.

  A few moments past…

  “You aren’t listed in our system.”

  I sighed.

  “Err … Could you try another surname? Before I got adopted, my name was… Jenny Mitchell. Maybe you can find me like this?”

  The woman wasn’t really pleased that we came in here and disturbed her time, but at least she typed again.

  This time it took a little while.

  She started to bite her lower lip as she thought hard.

  “I found something … Yeah. It seems like you’re telling the truth. About the picture, I could … look. But if I get fired, I will hunt you down till death.” The woman said while standing up.

  She was nicer than I thought.

  “Follow me.” She said leading the way downstairs to a storage room.

  As I remembered correctly, it was strictly forbidden to go down there, but she didn’t seem to care.

  She opened the door and let us in.

  “Wait here.”

  The storage room had many shelves with cartoons, papers, and folders on them.

  Linette tensed and didn't let go of my arm, as the woman started searching for something.

  Well, I did understand her reaction; this place was indeed creepy.

  But I tried to stay cool so that Linette could be at least a bit calmer.

  It took the woman a lot of time.

  The more time passed, the more my hopes sank.

  “FOUND IT!”

  Her voice startled me.

  The woman got closer and handed me a picture of Alice and me.

  “You look like the girl on the picture too!”

  We were ten years old back then, and we played together on the meadow, which was at the dooryard.

  Alice was smiling brightly, and her long brown hair was tangled over me.

  Her skin was kissed by the sun, and she had her beautiful blue dress on.

  I started to smile.

  This picture reminded me of a beautiful day.

  “Thank you.”