The pair had to make haste not to be late. Lily silently trailed Amelia as she went about her morning routine. She couldn’t help but smile to herself slightly when she thought about just how like her namesake in the story the younger girl was suddenly acting. They came across some of the other kids, who all seemed to be surprised at seeing Rosalie/Lily out and about, though none of them said anything. It wasn’t too surprising, Amelia supposed, considering how elusive she’d been so far. Pauline, who was Lily’s housemate, didn’t seem to have any particular reaction, despite the girl having vanished from their room in the middle of the night and not having returned.

 Since that first breakfast, Amelia had eaten each meal at the same table with Noah and Brody. Now that Lily was with her, she thought that she probably wouldn’t be comfortable with the two boys. Instead, she made her way to the table that Lily had previously had the sole use of, and they sat next to each other. Amelia noticed Noah looking at them and made what she hoped was an apologetic face. The boy seemed slightly disappointed but gave her a thumbs up anyway.

 Both Miss Ursula and Miss Sandra were in attendance for the breakfast this morning. Ursula’s gaze did the usual sweep of the room as she made note of attendance. The gaze stopped at Amelia and Lily for a moment. When everyone had got their food and was busy consuming it, Amelia noticed from the corner of her eye the two adults speaking with each other in hushed voices and occasionally stealing a glance in their direction. She supposed that even they were surprised by Lily’s current behaviour.

 Her suspicion turned out to be correct. As breakfast finished and most of the kids started to make ready for school, Miss Ursula approached Amelia.

 “May I have a word?” Amelia could do little else but agree. She turned to Lily, who was still close by.

 “Lily, I have to stay a while. Go on ahead, I’ll be there soon.” Lily seemed hesitant, but after an encouraging smile, she left the room. Amelia turned back to Miss Ursula, who had been looking at Lily walking with a raised eyebrow.

 “Lily?” the old woman inquired.

 “That’s what I call her. She seems to like it.”

 “She told you that, did she? And her name, too? That girl hasn’t been close to anyone ever since she’s been here, and it’s been almost two years. Ever since she was deemed old enough to be here instead of in constant care. She always keeps to herself and never seems to speak to any of the other kids. Nor to us, at least of her own accord.” She looked at Amelia appraisingly. “What happened to bring this about so suddenly?” After all, during supper the previous night, they’d still not interacted with each other.

 Amelia didn’t feel comfortable talking about it. Maybe an adult could help, but how would she explain things she didn’t even understand herself? She ended up just shrugging awkwardly.

 “Well, I won’t pry. She’s already been here longer than most kids ever spend here. Given she’s so eccentric, it has...” She stopped as she noticed Amelia looking confused. “Oh, apologies. What I mean is that she’s not like most kids. That’s why we haven’t been able to find anyone to take her into a new, permanent home. The other kids go to school, but that did not go well with her. So, we try to instruct her here instead. She seems smart enough, but I must admit we have a hard time getting through to her.” She mulled over what she wanted to say for a moment. “I know you’re only a year older than she is and this is a lot to ask, but it would be a great help if you managed to... well, help us to help her, you could say.”

 “I... but how?”

 “To start with, just be with her, I suppose. Get to know her and let her get to know you. Maybe you can motivate her with other things later, too. But you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. Alright?” Amelia felt it was indeed a lot to ask, and she was unsure how much she could even do. But she found she found the idea of spending time with this strange girl oddly appealing, so she might as well get to know her better. She decided she would just focus on that.

 “Okay. I’ll try.” Lily had already been there for her when she didn’t even know she needed it, so if she could also help her back...

 “Very good.” Miss Ursula smiled. “Normally, she would have a few hours of schooling today. But what say you if we just leave that for now, and you can just spend time with her, if she wants to?”

 Amelia had expected that Lily would go back upstairs. Instead, she was sitting at the bottom stair in the hall, knees pulled to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs, and her chin resting on her knees. Almost like how they’d been sleeping. She seemed spaced out and didn’t react to Amelia approaching her.

 “Lily?” The girl flinched, surprised. She looked up at Amelia, though not in the eyes, aside from a brief glance. “Is there anything you’d like to do?” A shrug was the only response. As she was standing next to Lily, who was sitting down, the girl’s messy red hair featured prominently in how Amelia saw her. This gave her an idea. “Come.” The girl got up slowly and followed as Amelia made her way to her room and went to the closet. She grabbed the hairbrush from her toiletry bag. Lily eyed it suspiciously but didn’t resist when she led her to sit on the edge of the bed and climbed up behind her. As she touched the fiery red hair, causing Lily to flinch again slightly, it felt thick and coarse. She also noticed that the girl smelled a bit... earthy. Not outright disagreeable, but she suspected the girl wasn’t a frequent visitor to the showers.

 She started carefully running the hairbrush through the tangled hair. She and her mother had often brushed each other’s hair, but this was the first time she did it to someone else. The thought of her mother made her feel a lump in her throat, but she swallowed and focused on untangling the mess. Her mother’s hair – she’d loved it. It had always been smooth, so it didn’t get tangled easily. Lily’s, however...

 As she hit another snag, her ‘customer’ shifted slightly, appearing uncomfortable. It was clear just from looking that it must’ve been a long time since her hair had last been brushed or properly washed.

 “I really like your hair. The red is very pretty. But you should take better care of it.” It was true, Amelia found the fiery red quite lovely. But there was a lot of potential for more. She climbed off the bed and retrieved a shampoo bottle from her toiletry bag. She showed it to Lily. “This would help.” It was something both she and her mother had used together, and it included conditioner. The girl seemed hesitant and a bit dubious. “Well, my hair is smooth, right? Try it if you want.” She walked up to the bed and offered a lock of her hair. Being shoulder-length, it wasn’t very long, but still longer than Lily’s. Cautiously, Lily reached out her hand to touch it. After briefly sliding her fingers along it, she pulled her hand back. “So, what do you think?” Lily shrugged but stole a glance at the bottle. “Won’t hurt to try!”