4 YEARS LATER:
May 22, 2002
*Jodie's P.O.V*
Wow.
I've been here at Morningside Orphanage for 8 years of my life, and nothing's changed. Well, apart from the occasional kid getting adopted or being brought in. Oh, Caleb's sister Maria left last year, so things have been a lot happier for me. As I predicted, she didn't take Caleb with her. He's still here, but his 18th birthday is in two months so he won't be here once he finishes school.
Every morning and afternoon I play soccer with the majority of the boys that are still here, and I still go to the same boring high school as all the older kids here. Yeah, not much has changed in the last 4 years.
Today is also my 16th birthday… Oh joy. Another birthday that I don't really care about except for one reason: I am telling Caleb the truth. That's right, I said it. I am coming clean about my past because I trust Caleb and I know he won't judge me. At least, I don't think he will. Seriously though, May 22 has become like a cursed date for me. It's the one date every year I don't look forward to.
The sound of the door squeaking open made me turn my head, but there was nothing there. However, I knew better. I sat up in bed and squinted at the clock. Nearly 7am, and Caleb knows I like to sleep in on a weekend. Every year on my birthday Caleb tries to sneak up on me, but I always catch him in the act. It's a good thing that Yvonne and Eleanor, the two girls I once shared this room with, got adopted because otherwise they would have to listen to Caleb's screams when I surprise him.
Growing restless, I got out of bed and stood by the window. I've lost count of how many times I've stared out this window but I tell you, it has a lovely view of the city in the distance.
My ears perked up at the sound of socks sliding across wooden floorboards and I braced my hands on the window sill. Each year I pretend not to hear him, and each year he gets just as much of a surprise. The footsteps were even closer, and just as I felt my arms tingle at the touch of someone trying to scare me, I whirled around and pinned a very surprised Caleb to the floor.
"You never learn, do you?" I smirked as I let him get up. "Geez, sometimes it's like you're a toddler."
"A very big toddler at that," he grinned.
"A very big toddler for a 17, nearly 18 year old." I flopped down on the bed again and stretched, glancing at my feet as they touched metal bar at the end. "You do this every year, Caleb." I sat up again and faced him as he sat by my feet. "Why do you always insist on trying to scare me?"
"More like surprise you. It is your birthday, after all."
"And as you know, I don't like my birthday. It's the one day of the year I never look forward to."
"Ah, come on. It's not everyday you turn 16. So, here you go." He handed me a square package wrapped in -
"Tin foil?"
"Hey, I had to improvise. Ms. O'Dell wouldn't let me out, not even to fetch the mail."
I smirked. "Ah, yes. Well, who was the nincompoop that got caught out after curfew?"
"Who was the nincompoop that locked me outside in the rain?"
"Touché." I carefully opened the corner of the tin foil, and when I was assured that nothing inside would break, I tore it open. My eyes widened and I tackled Caleb into a bone crushing hug which sent us both tumbling to the floor. We both held our breaths as we listened for the footsteps of anyone coming to see what the noise was, but relaxed a moment later.
We sat back up on the bed, and I resisted tackling him into another hug as I stared at what he'd given me: a framed photograph of myself sitting on the grass in the backyard, surrounded by the boys after a game of soccer. Caleb and I had our arms around each other and the youngest, Darrel, was sitting between my feet. I smiled at the memory of that day: My team of eight had won the game, and suddenly we'd all been tackled playfully to the ground. I remember it had started to rain, and it had turned from a tackle war into a full on mud slide. When the rain had stopped, Ms. O'Dell had laughed so hard at the sight of us that she'd taken a photo of it and put it up on the wall in her office. It had taken over a week to scrub the mud out of all our clothes - which unfortunately we'd been given the task of doing.
"Oh my gosh, Caleb… thank you!" I smiled at him, my face threatening to split. "Wow, I'd forgotten there was a photo of this. Please tell me you didn't --"
"No, I didn't. Ms. O'Dell printed off another copy for me and had it framed. She knows how close we are."
I chuckled and my gaze ran over the familiar faces in the frame. "How old was I when this was taken?"
"You were 13 when this photo was taken. I was 15, nearly 16."
I smiled. "Good times."
"Can you still name all the people in it?"
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Of course I can, silly. I never forget a face, and certainly not in three years. Let's see… Leo, James, Tom, Darrel, Robert, Robin, Nicholas, Andrew, Sam, Mark, Andy, Oliver, David, Michael, Harry, Liam, me… and you." I sighed, running my finger around the edge of the frame. "Darrel, Robert, Sam, Mark, Andy and Oliver have moved on from Morningside, the lucky bastards."
"Hey, your time will come soon. Don't worry."
"Do you really think someone will adopt me in the next 2 years? You know how hard it is for a teenager to get adopted. People prefer younger children so they can settle in before they hit teen years."
"True, but you'll be out of here before you know it. Trust me." He flashed me a smile, and I put the photograph on my bedside table before giving him another hug. "Thanks, Caleb. This is probably one of the few birthday's I've enjoyed in the last 8 years."
"On that subject…" He pulled away and looked me in the eye. "I know you don't like to talk about it, but why is it that you don't like your birthday?"
I froze. I convinced myself days before that I would tell him, but now I can't bring myself to do it. Another thought occurred to me: Would Caleb be in danger if he knew about… me? About my abilities? Probably a definite yes.
I sighed and glanced at my hands, clenching them together. There is no way I can weasel my way out of this one, not even with the excuse of breakfast being ready. "Do you remember when I first arrived, how short my hair was and how I basically shut myself off from everyone?"
"Yeah." He crossed his legs and grabbed a spare pillow off the floor, and I couldn't help but smile slightly. He reminded me of a kid being told a bedtime story.
"Well, the week before I arrived - I'm originally from Wisconsin, it was my 8th birthday, and my whole family was murdered except for me and my older brother," I lied - well, it is mostly the truth. "I don't know why we were spared, but I was filled with so much guilt… so I changed my appearance, hitched a ride to New York, started going by a different name. Been here ever since."
Caleb stared at me with wide eyes. "Your family was murdered?" he whispered. I nodded, and he pulled me into a hug. "Oh, Jay… I'm so sorry."
"It's okay." I pulled away and he raised an eyebrow. "I've learnt to deal with it." We stared at each other for a few minutes. I could almost see the gears in his brain working overtime, trying to process everything I'd just told him. When he opened his mouth, I immediately interrupted him. "Please don't go spreading this around. I changed my name and came here for a fresh start. So please, just continue calling me Jay." I feel bad lying to him, but the less of the truth he knows, the better.
He nodded slowly, but I could tell he thought otherwise. "I'm used to calling you Jay, anyway. It's not like I'm going to remember your real name after calling you the same thing for 8 years, whatever that is."
I smiled and stood up. "Thanks. Now shoo. This girl needs to get dressed."
"Why?"
I rolled my eyes. "Honestly, Caleb. I'm not going to go play soccer with a bunch of boys only in a singlet and boxer shorts - as much as they would like it."
"But you'd just whip their butts either way," he smirked, getting up and walking out of the room before I could throw a pillow at him, closing the door behind him.
__________________________________
That morning's soccer game was eventful, as usual. It was the usual crowd: me, Caleb, Leo, James, Tom, Robin, Nicholas, Andrew, David, Michael, Harry and Liam. We even managed to get a few of the younger boys to join in, but they soon went back inside because the game got rather competitive. This is my crowd, we stick together through our highs and lows. We get each other out of sticky situations, make our own fun when there is nothing else to do… We are a pretty awesome but weird bunch.
I heard David yell, "Dog pile!" and I cracked up laughing at the sight of Caleb getting tackled to the ground along with Harry, Liam and James. Tom then pulled me in on it along with Leo and Robin, and soon all of us were mushed together on the ground in a huge pile, laughing our heads off. Though I must say, it was a lot less awkward before I went through puberty… Luckily I managed to somehow get pushed to the bottom, so none of the boys were put in that awkward spot. Seeing a gap between Leo's arm and Robin's foot, I squeezed my way through the mass of bodies and crawled my way along the grass. I lay there on my back on the grass, panting for breath while I was still stuck in the pile from my waist down.
Looking towards the back door, although I was upside down, I could see Ms. O'Dell standing at the edge of the yard with a camera in her hands, grinning down at us as she took a photo. Just for a laugh, I flashed her a goofy smile and stuck out my arms. She laughed along with me and shook her head at our silliness.
Then, just our luck, it started raining. I crawled the rest of my way out of the pile and ran to the shed, pulling out six large water pistols and handing them to Tom, Andrew, Nicholas, Michael and James, who had also managed to crawl free. We grinned at each other and began spraying everyone else. Immediately there were shouts of surprise and laughter as rain water got mixed with mud, grass, cold water and soap. James and I had managed to sneak soap into the water pistols, so there we were, all twelve of us running around the yard in the rain covered in soap suds, mud and grass. I showered Caleb with a wall of water and soap, and he chased me around the yard, slipping and sliding.
I passed my water pistol to Leo, who was in the middle of a mud fight with Andrew. I let out a shriek when Caleb swung me over his shoulder, spinning me around. He stopped spinning and I slipped off his shoulder and landed in a large puddle of mud, pulling him down with me. As the two of us lay there laughing our heads off, we saw Nicholas, Michael and Robin spreading a large blue tarpaulin across the entire yard. We got out of the way as Harry and Liam yelled, "Gangway!" and the two of them ran at the tarpaulin before sliding along it on their stomachs, leaving a trail of soap, mud and grass across it, before crashing into the soccer goal at the end.
Caleb grabbed the hose and sprayed water along the tarpaulin, washing away the worst of the mud but making it extra slippery with the added soap. Grinning at each other, David and I ran at the tarpaulin and went sliding down the yard into the goal. We helped each other to our feet, managing not to fall over in the process and rejoined the others at the start. All through this, Ms. O'Dell was recording this on a video camera while one of the girls, Tamara, was taking photos and laughing at us.
It is still raining, but that only added to the fun. For an extra challenge, and being the daredevils we are, we decided to create one long train on the slide. In order it went: Leo, Robin, Nicholas, Andrew, Harry, Caleb, Liam, Michael, Tom, James, me and then David at the back. We all stood as far back as we could, before rushing at the tarpaulin, yelling at the top of our lungs and then sliding along it. I'll admit, it wasn't the most comfortable way to go and definitely not the smartest, but it was fun.
By the time we were all piled up in the goal, we were covered from head to foot in mud, grass and soap suds. When we stood up, some of us falling over again, Ms. O'Dell got a photo of us. We were barely recognizable under all the mud. Using the hose we at least cleaned our faces so we could see, then we all sat down on the tarpaulin for a group photo.
To my surprise, I was raised on the shoulders of Leo and David, making me taller than everyone else. We all raised our arms in the air, smiling like goons, before we all tackled each other into another dog pile. I sat on the very top, laughing down at the boys I have grown up with. Groaning and laughing their heads off, they all shouted, "Happy Birthday, Jay!"
I laughed along with them as another photo was taken, this time of all of us falling over from laughing so much as we tried to stand, which resulted in another large mess of limbs, grass, mud, soap and the occasional swearword. We must've looked quite ridiculous, but this is by far one of the best birthdays I've had in years. As we untangled ourselves and stood upright, I smiled. Today is just like that day three years ago, the same day the photograph Caleb had given me was taken.
"Everyone, line up!"
We all stared at Ms. O'Dell as she approached us with the hose. Exchanging looks of curiosity and caution we all did as she asked, forming a line along the grass. Before we could even comprehend what was going on, a huge blast of water engulfed all of us. We could hear Ms. O'Dell laughing along with some of the other kids at our reactions. However, we knew we had no choice but to stand still and let her wash off the worst of the mud and grass. Of course, we just turned it into our own fun.
David, Tom, Robin and Liam pushed Harry, Nicholas and Michael to the front so they got the worst of the blast. Laughing at their expense, Caleb then swung me over his shoulder and walked to the front of the line, so we both got hit full on with the water. While I kicked and screamed and laughed along with Caleb, we were the first to be properly washed off, so we got the fluffiest, warmest towels. Sticking our tongues out at the others while they continued trying to avoid the water at all costs, we walked inside, still laughing slightly.
"That…" Caleb panted as we trekked upstairs. "That was fun!"
"It was more than fun!" I called over my shoulder as I walked down the hall towards the girl's bathroom. "It was entertaining!"
"You bet it was!" he answered.
Once inside I dropped the towel and peeled off my soaking wet clothes and stepped into the shower. I rinsed out my hair and washed thoroughly to get the mud and grass stains off me. I was satisfied after 10 minutes, and wrapped the towel tightly around myself before poking my head out the bathroom door. Just as I was about to walk out, five of the boys walked out of their rooms and I had to duck back inside. "Shoot!" I muttered under my breath. "Okay… just bite the bullet and go for it."
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