The Orphanage

It was near after ten years since Mrs. Annie took in the abandon baby girl into the orphanage. Noting has change mush during the ten years. All that was ever changed were the orphan children growing up in the orphanage.

Yet the baby girl was alive, sleeping in a room alone from the other orphanage children. But not for long, their caretaker was wide awake. She was going from room to room, waking them up.

‘Up!’ she shouted.

Everyone groaned. They didn’t feel like getting up.

‘Come on, get up!’ she shouted again. ‘Or have you forgotten that today is our first trip to the zoo?’

At the word “zoo”, all children jumped out of their bed and started to rush to the bathroom. The young girl, who was sleeping alone, reluctantly got down from her bed and slowly walked to the bathroom. She didn’t look excited at all, unlike the other children who were talking excitedly about the trip.

Once everyone got dressed, they took a quick breakfast at the dining hall. Mrs. Annie counted them as they line up in two straight lines. One was missing; the youngest of them all was Roxie Roxas.

‘Hurry up Roxie!’ shouted her caretaker. ‘We will be late because of you.’

Roxie quickly walked towards the entrance and line up behind the other children. She didn’t want to be the reason they were late. The children got up the bus. Roxie took a seat at the end of the bus, staring outside as Mrs. Annie started saying the rules and regulations.

It was a very sunny day, and the zoo was crowded with families. Many children were running around excitingly as their parents tried to keep up with them, afraid that they will get lost. Some dragged their parents around.

Roxie watched the other children, enjoying themselves with their parents. A part of her wished she could experience to be loved like that but from what she knew was all the while she was in the orphanage. Roxie reluctantly followed the other children and went into the zoo.

They had lunch at the zoo restaurant. Mrs. Annie treated them a large burger each. Something or someone caught Roxie’s eyes. There was a family nearby their table. A black hair boy, around her age, wearing glasses had a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. The boy looked noting similar to the parent but the fat boy who was sitting next to him does. He’s could be his cousin. Thought Roxie.

After lunch, they went to the reptile park. Roxie enjoyed watching the reptile animals. She loves looking at snakes. Once, a snake entered the Orphanage playground. Everyone was terrified except Roxie. The snake obeyed every of her command. However Mrs. Annie had wildlife hunters captured and took away the snake. Roxie was devastated every since.

Roxie found a big boa at one of the tanks. She was admiring the beauty of it as it was very big. However, she was pushed away from the tank by a fat boy and his friend. To her surprised, she was helped up by another boy who was wearing glasses.

‘Sorry about that.’ He apologized. ‘Dudley likes to do that all the time.’

It’s the boy from earlier. She thought. ‘It’s alright. Thanks.’

‘Come on, move!’ said the Dudley boy, looking bored and frustrated. His father tapped on the glass, trying to get the boa to move.

‘Do it again,’ Dudley commanded. Once again his father tapped the glass but the boa didn’t move one bit.

Roxie could tell that the snake could not be bothered by them. She was happy when they decided to leave. She walked back to the tank, to her surprised the boy followed her too.

‘Sorry about that,’ he said, looking at the snake. The boa looked up to him as if he understood him.

‘You understand him?’ Roxie asked, pointed at the boy. The boa nodded. Both children looked surprised.

‘So where are you from?’ the boy asked the boa.

The boa used its tail and pointed at the sign. Boa Constrictor Brazil.

‘Was it nice there?’ Roxie asked.

Again the snake pointed at the sign which Roxie and the boy read on. This specimen was bred in the zoo. ‘Oh I see, means you never been to Brazil?’

The boa shook its head. Roxie felt bad for it. ‘I know how it feels,’ she said. A defending sound behind Roxie and the boy made them both jumped. ‘DUDLEY! MR DUSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THE SNAKE! YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT IT’S DOING!’

The Dudley boy came wadding towards them as fast as he could.

‘Out of my way, you!’ he said, punching the boy at the ribs, and knocked Roxie causing her to fall again. Caught y surprised, Roxie fell hard on the floor. She gave a dead stare at the boy. What happen so fast, one second the Dudley boy and friend were leaning right up so close to the glass, the next moment, they had leapt back with howls of horror.

The boy who was wearing glasses, gasped. The glass front of the boa construction tan had vanished. The great boa was uncoiling itself rapidly slithering out of the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started heading for the exit. The Dudley boy accidentally tripped and land into the boa construction tank. By the time he got up, the glass reappeared back and trapped him inside. His parents screamed and got panic. The boa slid swiftly past Roxie and the boy.

‘Brazil, here I come. Thanks senorita,’ it said.

‘Anytime,’ she said and the boa slithered out of the reptile house.

The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.

‘How did it get out?’ he kept saying.

The next thing Roxie knew was her caretaker looking furious.

‘Roxie! You have gotten us all worried about you. A snake has gotten loose, it could have bitten you or eat you up,’ she said furiously.

She dragged Roxie out of the reptile house and made their way to the bus where the other children were sitting inside. Roxie made her way to the back seat of the bus. As she walked, she heard whispers and murmurs. ‘It’s all because of her we had to leave… if she was never around, thing like this would never happen.’

Roxie ignored all the others and sat quietly at the back. She wondered how she ended up in the Orphanage. She was told that a policeman found her in a burning house and brought her to the orphanage as her parents were nowhere to be found. She wondered what happen to her parents. Did they not love or care for her? Weren’t there any relatives of hers that were living? Couldn’t they take her in? All that was left was an X shape locket that could not be open. She wished someone would love her, take care of her and take her away from the orphanage.