The Orphan Part 2

Alexandra sat in French class stressing over the events of the last 4-minute break when an office helper peaks their head in the door. Victoria stands behind them visibly shaken by the idea of being called to the principal's office.

"Sorry for the intrusion Mr. Arthur, but Mr. Gunnery would like to see Alexandra." The office helper says. Alexandra doesn't wait for the nod from the teacher to stand and collect her things. The three of them walked in silence until the door to the principal's office clicks shut behind them and the two girls were faced with Mr. Gunnery and Sarah. Mr. Gunnery's face is grim as he waves his hand, insisting they take a seat. Papers are scattered across his desk with a professional kind of order that could only make sense to him. Victoria slips tensely into the chair farthest from Sarah and carefully places her bag on the floor where as Alexandra allows her bag to find the floor on its own accord and flops down into the familiar old leather chair in the middle. A bruise had started to blossom on Sarah's cheekbone but she keeps her chin up high and her jaw set in place like nothing had happened.

"Now that everyone is here we can begin," Mr. Gunnery pauses, taking time to look each one of them in the eyes before continuing, "first I want you two to hear from Sarah. She has already told me her half of the story but everyone should hear it before we continue on so Sarah is you please." Sarah starts speaking not even a breath after he finishes talking, only Alexandra knows this is the shorter, less exaggerated version of what she told Mr. gunnery before they arrived based on the look on Mr. Gunnery's face.

"And honestly Mr. Gunnery, I don't know what could have instigated Victoria's violence. We were simply having a conversation with the two of them and out of nowhere, Victoria slaps me. I was so shocked I just walked away and found myself outside your office." Sarah's voice holds all the necessary emotional tones to make people believe her story; but the truth could be seen in her eyes if you looked closely enough. Sarah had clearly thought this conversation through. Alexandra had no plans of letting Victoria face Mary's wrath, even if it was at her own expense.

"It wasn't Victoria, Mr. Gunnery, is was me who slapped Sarah. She had been mocking us about our families, or rather our lack of one. She was using information she shouldn't have had since we have never told anyone but the school counselors. I just lost it. The look on Victoria's face when Sarah brought up her parents," A pause for dramatic effect so that it would seem as though Alexandra was trying to compose herself, which to her, was true, "it broke my resolve and I lost it." The lies tumbled easily out of Alexandra's mouth and across the table, causing guilt and self-loathing to join the number of other emotions in her body. She hated lying; if she could she would remove the ability to lie. When Sarah goes to open her perfectly shaded lips mouth to protest Mr. Gunnery silences her with a raised hand. Victoria finally comes back to reality and looks up at Alexandra, their eyes locking for just a moment and the relief in her eyes is enough to calm Alexandra's nerves, her hands shaking a little less.

"Victoria," Mr. Gunnery's voice pulls them both back into the conversation, "is this true?" Victoria gently shakes her head and does her best to look fragile and upset. Mr. Gunnery looks concerned when her responds.

"Then the answer to the conflict is quite simple. Victoria, you are free to leave and head back to class, my secretary, Mrs. Jules will write you a note." Sarah's face twists with rage as Victoria stands and collects her things. Once the door closes behind Victoria Mr. Gunnery's attention lands back on Sarah; the anger quickly disappears off Sarah's face and is replaced with her naturally irritated expression.

"The two of you will receive 3 days of out of school suspension, since this is not the first infraction for either of you, and a week of in school suspension. If this continues between the two of you I will schedule meetings with the school counselor and possible expulsion if necessary. Is this clear?" Both girls nod their heads quickly, the full extent of her punishment still sinking in for Alexandra. "Sarah, you are free to leave, please pay a visit to your counselor so you can discuss changing your second period class. Your father will be here shortly I'm sure; I called him when I had Casey retrieve the girls." Mr. Gunnery's expression darkens once Sarah is out of the room, he moves his eyes over to Alexandra. Mr. Gunnery had seen some of the bruises on the other girls from St. Joseph's and connected the dots months ago. It bothered him enough that he had tried to do something to change it but he had been told he'd lose his job. With a family of his own he had shut up.

"You're the second "Joseph" I have sent home today." He says this as he begins typing up the letter for Mary. "I knew that Jackie didn't steal those files. I had no proof until you said what you said about Victoria knowing more then she should but it's too late to undo."

"I don't understand why you took the fall for Victoria." He adds with a sharp glance and a small sigh, "I'm writing the letter as broadly as I can but there isn't much I can do to protect you from her." Mr. Gunnery's printer queues up before he finishes speaking and Alexandra shifts uncomfortably in her seat. Mr. Gunnery folds the letter in thirds and slips it into the envelope as Alexandra stands heavily, bring her backpack up with her. He goes to hand her the letter but does not release it when she goes to leave retrieve it.

"Mary has never had two kids sent home in the same day for infractions. I understand that you want to protect Victoria from Mary but she made her choices. You shouldn't suffer because of them. The mind can only take so much before it brakes, and yours I'm afraid, is close to its breaking point." He releases the letter, his eyes still holding Alexandra in place. She knew the bags under her eyes were deep, knew she looked two years older then she was.

"Thank you, Mr. Gunnery, for everything you have done over the years but just like Victoria made her choices; I made mine." Alexandra backs away to the door and pushes it open before he can say anymore. She shakes off the bad feeling his words had caused and barely avoids running into a man. He's of an average height, with short hair and a young face; though his attire does not look like something a young man would wear. Sarah is close behind him and the door to Mr. Gunnery's office is yanked shut with a loud snap. Only moments later yelling echoes from the other side to the door but Alexandra doesn't stick around to eavesdrop on the disagreement. Out in the hallway Alexandra begins preparing herself for Mary's reaction to the letter but the much-needed silence doesn't last long.

"What were you thinking?" Victoria comes out from around a corner, now angry instead of grateful. At least her acting classes were doing its job.

"I was thinking that I can't let you go through one of Mary's fits the day before a fundraiser." Alexandra doesn't bother to keep the tone of irritation out of her voice.

"I could have handled it!" Clearly Victoria is just as frustrated with Alexandra as Alexandra is with her.

"Oh really? You think you can handle cracked ribs, severe bruising, and a verbal lashing the likes of which none of us have ever heard and still face the fundraiser the next day? To get up, put a smile on your face and speak pleasantly with guests for hours while you can barely breath through waves a nausea? Because if you can't Mary will come down on you all over again and it will be twice as bad as the first time." Victoria's anger fades with the truth of Alexandra's words and forcing her to understand what has to come from her actions.

"It's not fair; you covering for me."

"Life isn't fair Victoria, but we still have to play its games. Who knows, maybe there is still a way to win." Alexandra walks around Victoria as she says this, avoiding a longer conversation. "Besides you always pull in the most donations. We can't make it without you.", she adds over her shoulder as the doors to classrooms begin swinging open. Students leaving for lunch through any door they could find so none of them notice her as she walks right off school grounds and into the slums. Just 16 blocks from St. Joseph's; just 16 blocks separating her from Mary. For a moment she considers turning back, running away, and never looking back; but she has tried that in the past and always failed so she keeps walking.

The walk doesn't take long, a product of walking the same route twice a day for three years with a time limit of fifteen minutes. With each step Alexandra took she watched the expensive houses and manicured lawns dwindle. Replaced with lesser versions of the same thing and soon enough the sidewalk paths turn into a dirt paths. The middle-class homes turn into old office buildings and low-income housing developments that look like they are ready to fall over. Before she's ready the cracked concrete steps leading up and into her home appear before her. St. Joseph's was an old two-story church long, long, ago located at the edge of the slums. Its paint is peeling in several places, revealing four other layers of paint from who knows when. The once beautiful wooden doors now look ready to fall off the hinges. Tomorrow the five oldest girls in the house would stay home and clean the house so that the wealthier benefactors would be willing to enter the building. Alexandra doesn't make it all the way up the stairs before Mary throws open the door and grabs her by the arm, causing her backpack to falls to the floor. Mary drags her through the door and slams it shut only releasing Alexandra's arm once they are within her make shift office with the door closed and locked.

"Where is it?" Mary yells at Alexandra who still remains close to the door. She pulls out the letter and hands it over to Mary. She snatches it out of her hand and tears it open, skimming the contents. Her face goes from angry and ravenous by the time she finishes and throws the letter down on the table.

"This is some sort of joke, right?" Mary questions, gesturing towards the discarded letter. Alexandra stays silent by the door. "Tell me you didn't slap the daughter of the richest man in town. The Marr's own over half this city! They have basically single handedly kept this house afloat by bringing in donations." Mary had moved back towards the door again and Alexandra couldn't help but flinch at her tone.

"I can't tell you what you want to hear." Alexandra answers, keeping her eyes on the floor, physically feeling Mary move closer, "If I did, it would be a lie."

"Then lie!" Mary yells, shoving Alexandra back against the desk and slamming her hand into Alex's chest repeatedly. Mary looked like a crazy person with her short hair flying around her like it was, it didn't help that it was clear that she hadn't showered all day and had nasty grease streaks.

"You may have just cost this house it's rent for the next several months. That family has influence child! Do you understand what you have done?" Alexandra keeps her face down, allowing Mary to believe what she wants instead of fighting her. Her back aching from the impacked with the desk.

"Of course you don't, you are a self-absorbed, spoiled bitch with attention issues. The only person that matters to you is yourself." Mary's prying eyes scour every inch of Alexandra's face, looking for a twitch, a moment of weakness; she doesn't find one though.

"Of course you have nothing to say! Always the silent one! You were always unable to own up to your own actions Alexandra." Mary's voice continues to rise the more she speaks and Alexandra prepares for the first blow. She never says anything, knowing that engaging Mary would only make the situation worse. She learned a while go that absorbing each insult thrown her way was better than speaking against them in the end.

"Such an ungrateful bitch you are," Mary brushes a strand of hair from Alexandra's face gently her eyes finding Alexandra's and holding her with an icy stare. "Perhaps a little lesson is in order" Mary grabs Alexandra by her hair and pulls her face down, bringing her chest into the right position for her knee to knock the wind out of her. Faster than Alexandra could respond to Mary's knee finds home in Alexandra's sternum and she drops to the floor.

Mary never was one to mark the face but she would gladly mark any other place on the body and that becomes evident when the wind in knocked from Alexandra's lungs and she continues her assault. The pointed tip of Mary's heel finds Alexandra's stomach and she doubles over, receiving blow after blow to the abdomen all while Mary is yelling incoherent things about ungratefulness and selfishness. Mary takes a moment to turn around and compose herself and Alexandra's eyes fill with tears at the amount of effort it takes to get air into her lungs. Alexandra makes it to her knees before Mary returns to her regularly scheduled abusive behavior. This time when the pointed tip of Mary's heel finds Alexandra's rib cage an audible crack fills the air and Mary stops. Pulling Alexandra onto her feet by her hair, Mary forces her to look her in the eyes.

"I don't care what anyone tells you Alexandra. You will always be less than everyone else and you must accept that. You can't act the way you did without receiving proper punishment." Then Mary slaps Alexandra across the face exactly like Victoria slapped Sarah, though with less force. The blow knocks Alexandra off her feet, and before she could find balance again she lands painfully on the tile floor.

"Now get out. I don't want to see your face again until tomorrow evening. I hope this lesson sinks in and I don't have to reinforce it again." Alexandra takes this dismissal and rises to her feet, needing to get out of the room and away from Mary. Shakily, Alexandra opens the door and moves into the kitchen. Using the wall as a crutch she fights against the nausea and makes it into the old sanctuary that they now use as a common room. There would normally be chairs and couches to rest on but with the fundraiser tomorrow Mary had the furniture moved to the basement yesterday so some precleaning could be done today. By the time Alexandra makes it to the bottom of the ornate staircase she can't stand anymore and is forced to take a seat on the bottom step. She only needs to make it up the stairs and three doors to the left and she would be safe from Mary. Mary never goes upstairs if she can avoid it. The pain still hadn't subsided when Alexandra uses the railing to pull herself to her feet and begins moving up the stairs

Her bedroom was three doors to the left with a bathroom joining hers to another room. Alexandra falls through her bedroom door and stumbles into the bathroom. Turning on the tub faucet and filling the tub with icy water in hopes of slowing the swelling. Slowly Alexandra pulls off her shirt, jeans, and socks and tries to stand to front of the mirror to see the damage that Mary had accomplished. Already dark purple bruises are forming across her abdomen where the point of Mary's shoe had hit hardest. Where she landed her last blow to the ribs already had a multi colored bruise forming with red, green, and a dark purple that looked almost black. Based on the large amounts of pain associated with breathing Alexandra guessed Mary must have cracked a rib or two. After one last look Alexandra strips off the rest of her clothes, turns the faucet off, and slowly lowers herself into the cold tub. Instantly, her teeth begin to chatter, she focuses her energy into controlling the shivering. She tells herself 15 minutes will be long enough, she loses track of time and is startled out of a light sleep by the sound of the girls getting home from school.

The telltale thumps of the younger girls coming up the stairs echoes into the bathroom telling Alexandra that Victoria will be back soon. Alexandra sits up in the tub and pulls the drain with her toe. Victoria comes slamming through her bedroom door and bathroom door without saying a word, simply grabs the towel hanging on the door knob and helps Alexandra stand and get out of the tub. She doesn't bother with clothes on the way to her bed and just stays wrapped in her towel and sits on the edge of her bed after pulling the covers back and begins to dry off. Victoria grabs a baggy shirt from within the nightstand and slips it over Alexandra's head and shoulders. Victoria then moves to the foot of the bed, too nervous to sit with her on the bed but not wanting to leave either.

"This won't happen again, I won't allow it to." Victoria's tone surprises Alexandra but she is too tired to really think about what she was saying.

"What are you talking about Vic?" Alexandra turns slightly so she can see Victoria's face and that's when she finds it within herself to feel worry. Victoria's face is completely calm and still, no anger or tears detail her face, just a normal, flat expression.

"We are getting out of here Alex. Tomorrow."