3 C. Three: Bankstown

   Circulating the nine year old was the timber built wagon seen days ago, however, in this occurrence the blonde haired face removed himself from underneath the shadows, effortlessly divulging his pale skin to the young frightened 7 year old. A preserved Dak with a distorted look descended upon the grassy grounds, smothered by the pale mystery of man in front of him. He suddenly let out long wails of cry, while gazing upon the brooding "assassin". He unexpectedly reached out for Dak's immobile body, and covered his entire face with his immense white hands, while slowly compressing. Uttering any words that he could, Dak thought he drew his last breath, but that was until, he opened his shivering eyes.

    Dak indeed had experienced a nightmare, particularly about the carriage incident. Yilly sat left of him in a rocking chair, with his head in a small book, waiting for any signal from the boy. Surprisingly, Dak did not awaken in a dreading scream, but instead gazed upon the cream ceiling of the the children's center room with a silent cry. Walker leaned over to catch Dak's tears descending, which immediately made him rise from the chair and comfort him. "How ya feelin'?" he asked with a caring tone. "Are you havin' any troubles? Ya need assistance?" "No." he simply stated, leaning his head towards the Lieutenant. His everlasting fear just grew to a greater height now, and all he could possibly do is stare and cry. Yilly sat there in a confused position, and began to read his book again. Dak's paranoia riled up again as he closed his eyes, reminiscing deeply about the carriage incident, while also vastly wondering about his best friend's whereabouts. The broken glassed-clock struck on three forty seven p.m., and both Walker and Dak decided to go back into slumber.

The clock wrote nine forty seven when the two rose from their surprisingly well sleep. They were greeted by an awaiting nurse, prepared to check on the young child. "How's he feeling Lou?" she asked Walker, whom she had known very well. "He told me he was alrighty and ready to go earlier." "I didn't say I was ready to leave man." Dak assertively directed towards the conversing superior and nurse. "Well are you? You have been cleared by the medical assistants. They have reviewed your brain scans, nothing seemed out of the ordinary." "Interesting..." the deputy mumbled under his breath. "Are you serious?" Dak thought rising up from the laughably small bed.

"However, we have diagnosed you with anxiety disorder, and you will have to take medication, which you should dose every morning and evening before you head to bed, alright? I know it's a lot to swallow, no pun intended, for a child like you, but I'm here for you. We're here for you" the nurse stated with in calm manner. Dak had little to no facial expression on his face as he reached for his rainbow socks. "Okay, thank you, can I leave now?" he tiredly responded. All he could even anticipate about was his best buddy, mainly because he was already aware of his "disorder". "Okay so it's settled, you do want to go ahead and-" before she knew it, she was cut off by the child. "Yes, can we hurry" Dak impatiently asserted to the two adults, who stood in a shocking, but understanding position. "You have to pack before we do anything, ya hear?" the squatting lieutenant uttered to him. "Yea, okay." A packing Dak grabbed his dirt-covered green Polaroid camera, which is stocked up with photos of him and Andre, waiting to become a tangible object. He sat there for a few moments, thinking of the obvious. "I'm ready, let's head out" he told the nurse and Yilly with a smile.

    The adults and Dak headed out the newly built doors of the children's center, with Dak's designated cab awaiting for his arrival. The kindhearted nurse walked them to the car, and  gave her goodbye to the two, exchanging hugs and a light kiss from the Lieutenant. "Have a great day, and oh, don't ever forget about your health Dak, it's very essential!" She stated with a beautiful smile and a positive thumbs up. As Dak turned away from her after exchanging a smile and response, the midnight matte station-wagon instantly made the nine year old shrivel in pure fright, wandering back into those Saturday evening events, in which a week later, is still a floating remnant on his adolescent noggin. Yilly was aware of his frozen position and immediately took his hand and held it, while simultaneously bending down and whispering a soft "It's alright, ok kiddo? Everything's alright. We have God with us." That was one of the first moments the Lieutenant actually gave Dak a great comfort, which worked very well for the child. Dak, still holding on to the deputy's luxurious brown skin on his arm, entered the back seat of the matte black vehicle with his gaping green eyes looking upon the distance. With lieutenant Walker opting to sit beside Dak, the ongoing comfort created a realm of security, which brought a light languor to the kid.

    The arrival took no longer 45 minutes, with Dak rising from the burgundy seat cushions of the cab, to an entire entourage of kids, along with the blonde haired lady outside of the orphanage, patiently waiting for him to exit his transportation. Everyone were there, including Andre, whom stood alongside Kay, who also stood along with Terrence. Dak's crystal clear green eyes were visible through the conveyance's ashy  cracked glass, which was a dead giveaway that he was alive and well. He was the least motivated to be greeted by the others and returned to the building, on the other hand, he was anxious to get back to his best friend. In a quick reaction, Dak had his left arm grabbed by Walker, who then stated "This incident does not mean ya different, ya understand? Ya still one of us, and ya still will be loved by everyone. Nothing changes, understand?" "Thanks, I understand Mr.Walker." Dak kindly responded, with his right hand clinching the door handle, reaching  for his bag of medication after the Lieutenant removed his large hand. The Lieutenant nodded, which was a symbol of great response in their town. And with that signal, Dak unlatched the door handle and revealed his bright rainbow socked foot upon the crack filled ground.

    As expected, the first to notice his vibrant sock was the guy he did essentially everything with, and he responded to such by darting to the car. "He's back!! I can't wait to grab his chubby cheeks!" Kay yelped with exhilaration, as she viewed Andre heading closer towards the automobile. Before he could get the rest of his small frame free from the station-wagon, his friend anxiously grabbed and fully opened the door and gave Dak one of the greatest hugs he had in a while. "It feels great to see you again. I was sooooo bored here, only God knows!" Andre told him, releasing his arms around his lifelong buddy. Dak obtained a huge smile on his face, and responded with, "Me too, Andre, it felt like the H word." "Ok, so I was playing this game with T, and he kept on losing, and so this one time he got SO mad, he threw the board at me, and..." as Andre went on about his time without him, Dak 's aquamarine peepers began to drift towards Kay, whom was nearing him. Suddenly, the jubilation for his best friend grew into a vast endearment for the one caught in his gaze.

The boy mentally drowned out his friend, missing whatever he had said during that time period. After a measurable amount of seconds, he was shifted back into reality, and once again became attentive to what Andre was yapping about. "Let's see, ummm, I had lots of pancakes with chocolate chips one day, then another day-" suddenly Dak cut him off and stated, "Andre we can catch up upstairs, then we can maybe...head down to Bankstown." "Bankstown? Again?" "Yea, and maybe we could bring along Kay, is that fine with you?" "But didn't we get in big trouble for that?" "No not really, if I recall, we just got yelled at and went to bed." With that statement, Dak's mind almost created a whirlwind of anxiety, but he managed to control these feelings quite well. Meanwhile, Andre held a questioning facial expression from that bold statement, while trying to figure out why his only comrade would let someone else visit their "city". The obnoxious to Andre, but considerably curious to Dak, Kay approached the dyad with an object unidentifiable by the both of them. "What's, uh, what's that?" Dak asked, attempting to not be startled by Kay's glowing beauty. "A gift for you, but you won't get it until later. I just wanted to show you and Surgey, together." she responded, opening her palms revealing the surprisingly well-wrapped present. "Maybe a lil early for presents, ya know, it's October." Andre responded, heading back to the orphan huddle. Andre's thoughts and feelings were clearly disoriented because of what was said earlier. An awkwardly positioned Dak gazed upon his infatuation, smiled wittingly, and began to walk to the crowd himself. Kay stuffed the gift back into her radiantly colored "Fancy" pack she was given during brief her time with a foster family, and followed behind Dak.

The unofficial trio was greeted with a "Welcome Back" and extended hug from the entire orphanage house, however Dak didn't show much affection towards them. Then came the never-ending weary Terrence, who gave Dak a much more affectionate clasp. "Heyyy uhhh, I don't know your name but heyyyy! Glad to see you back with us, and get well soon." "Thanks, Terrence, I appreciate you." Dak softly replied. The blonde haired lady suddenly chimed in with a subtle, "Welcome home, baby. Now, let's go and get you some SOUL food, Lord knows you need it!" while smothering her thick arms around him. "Sure, Miss, I would love some soul! Then afterwards, could me and Andre go-" he abruptly felt the brown palm of Andre latch onto his lips. He looked towards him and was greeted by an intimidating, but completely understood expression, an expression that only he and Andre knew about. "Never mind, Miss. Can we go inside now?" he stated, gazing up at the ongoing cloudiness of the day.

"Been like this for weeks now, but the flowers are still bloomin'. Only in Cliya'd" deputy Walker stated with a harsh cough. "Alright kids, let's go eat!", the blonde haired lady smilingly said, holding onto Dak and Andre's adorably small fingers. As the vehicle began to drive off into the distance, blood began to rush to the disordered young child, but once again, he prevailed through this experience, something he has never been good at doing until recently. Yilly walked behind the marching orphan band, giving that sense of security once again. As he turned his head back towards the Lieutenant, Walker replied with a heartfelt "It's alright, kiddo." Then he made a glance at his pal, who was beside him, smiling in his direction. His anxiety eased away even more with the help of these two, which resulted in a sighed relief.

The time stood at five o'seven in the evening, with everyone enjoying a hearty soul meal, all cooked and prepped by the self proclaimed "Queen of Soul" herself, the blonde haired lady. "Oh my God, I outdid myself this time! Whew! This pasta is SOO amazing!" she spoke to herself, even though she was in a room filled with kids who laugh at every and any thing. "You did do great, Miss." "Thank you, Lou. I wanna make more of this every weekend, like a tradition." "That's if we can save up on our income, it's runnin' a lil low." Lieutenant replied, biting down on a freshly baked, perfectly seasoned pork chop. "Yea, yea, I hear ya, the Lord will help us. He will be there for us anytime.", she replied reaching for the napkins, which were sitting a bit out of reach for her. The round table was surprisingly quiet today. No kids were yelling and throwing peas, instead they were getting shut eye, while also attempting to pack their little cheeks with macaroni. The only remotely attentive kids were Kay, Andre and Terrence. Nine year old Kay occupied her time with a word search, while Andre and Terrence exchanged spoonfuls of rice and Mac and cheese. Dak lied there on the table with sticky drool escaping the crevices of his lips. "Lord knows these babies need they rest." the blonde haired lady stated, chuckling at Dak's watery mouth. "But it's better if we not wake em up from their lil nap, ya know?" Walker insisted, reaching for his "Daily Bread" book. The two adults rose from their chairs, kissed and hugged every single child, and made their separate ways to a different location.

     Andre quickly thought about the golden opportunity awaiting: Bankstown. Suddenly, Dak fell upon the dining room floor and was met by a rolling pea, which fitted seamlessly into his nostril. "Hey Andre, you wanna play Gross Goose? I have the Deluxe Edition upstairs! It's old, but it's better than the regular. I do know a little something abo-" "Shush it T, I don't want to play right now. And besides, you always lose and that sparks anger. I don't have time for that." Andre asserted, reaching for his friend's back. "Well ok, you mean guy. I was just trying to be a friendly guy." T replied, in a yawning manner. "Good night or whatever." he said as he made his way towards the stairs. Andre is aware of Dak's heavy sleeping, so he used the slapping method, which is guaranteed to get this snoring bear up. He did it in an instant, and with that movement, Dak rose and was separated from his pool of slobber on the floor. Dak screeched an "OOWWWWWWWWIIEEEEE" , and in return slapped Andre's wrist. "That stung dude", he told his comrade, who did not care one bit about his pain. "Yilly and Miss are gone, this is our chance to head to Bankstown before it gets dark." "Foreal? I have to pee first." Dak replied. "Nooo, you can do that on the way. Let's go now! Time is not on our side for God's sake!" Andre angrily told Dak while directing his eyes to the cross labeled timepiece. "Bankstown? Never heard of her. I want in, pleaseee." the quietly eavesdropping Kay said, halting her word puzzle, with an enchanting, but curious expression that made both Andre and Dak blush a little. "Uhh...it's a river." the stuttering and stunned drooler replied. "Yea, it's only for the toughest of the tough. We are men. Sorry, noodle arm girls aren't allowed." "But you both have twigs, you can't even tie your own shoes. Why can't I come?" "Well, this is embarrassing" Andre laughingly whispered to his confidant. The duo then formed a dysfunctional circle to discuss their decision. "Give us, um, three minutes." Dak told the patient, but eager Kay.

After many exchanges of tree jokes and not much of any decision, the two concluded and broke their broken shaped huddle. "So, we have firmly decided-" "TWIGS", Andre laughingly bursted, interrupting and effecting Dak's attempt at a serious conclusion. The two began to chuckle even more obnoxiously, which brought a loud chortle from Kay herself. She approached the two and emphasized "You guys are fun to be around and I'm coming. And that's final." The twain glanced at one another for a quick second, and bursted into a second roar of laughter in front of the girl's face. "My side hurts" "Twigs...twizzlers", Andre guffawed while rolling on the damp floor. The noise caused some other orphans to lift their heads up from the table, causing the trio to quiet down. But their plan wasn't spoiled. "Thank God, can we go now?" Kay asked, walking back towards the living room. "Ok, but we have to set rules now." Andre asserted. Dak grabbed his loose rainbow sock and pulled it up his skinny leg, making sure it won't slip off during the trip. "A new person can be great for us.", he kindly told Andre, who gave little to no care.

The kitchen clock above the oven wrote five fifty-eight, meaning they had only a measly hour to have their fun. "Bankstown, it's not, uhhh, far. It's like our, uhh second home." Dak expressed to Kay, who wore his heavy red raincoat. Andre did not feel comfortable letting Kay know about this secluded section of their creativity. As the newly created triad were headed out of the dirt littered main entrance doors, they noticed a lock, one that wasn't previously there. Completely unaware of what to do, and their time coming to a quick close, Andre viewed the windows closest to the entrance. He reached for his wooly mittens and opened the creaking window at a slow pace. Dak anxiously kept watch out for the adults and other orphans, who were still fast asleep on the round table. In a matter of seconds, the casement was fully opened. "Kids. Are ya awake?" Lieutenant Walker yelled from another room, which made Dak rush out of the window in fear. Kay and Andre then followed suit. Yilly made his way back into the kitchen, waking the slumbering kids up and telling them to head to their rooms. His gaze then shifted towards the window, which was left cracked open by the trio. Curious enough, he strolled over towards the aperture, which gave him a chilling draft as a welcome. "Silly babies. Windows aren't for kids." he said while tightly shutting the window, glaring out of the stained glass. By the time he arrived, Andre and Dak were already headed to their second home with a new member joining.