Episode 20: The Two That Parted Ways

Middle of Who-Knows-Where

Who-Knows-When

Outside of Atdonus Highschool

9:37am, Azel was sitting on the couch.

He just sat there, staring at the television in front of him like it was some foreign object. He was not used to such things, and would much rather pull out a book to read. He stared at the dark reflection on the screen, blinking a few times.

“Whatcha doing?”

Azel turned his head to see his father walk down the stairs. The man wore a crumpled shirt, and his hair was messy too. Azel looked at him with a questioning expression, and his father stared back. He rubbed his chin and snapped, “Are you wondering why I’m not at work?”

Azel nodded.

“Got it!” His father cheered, punching the air before clearing his throat. “It’s a Sunday, I don’t have to work today.”

Azel nodded.

He stood up, standing taller than his own father. Azel walked to the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee before placing it on the table. His father sat down, and Azel returned to his room, too bored in the living room. He entered his room, slightly smaller than the one he had in Atdonus Highschool since there lacked the presence of a toilet or kitchen. He still had a high shelf of books that he had transferred from Atdonus.

He sat down and looked through the books for the hundredth time since the school closed.

9:53am, someone knocked on the door.

His door opened, and his mother peeked in, a cheeky smile on her face. She was supposed to be 35 or 36, but she barely looked her age. She asked him, “Wanna go out today? As a family?”

Azel disliked troublesome things, things that dragged on for too long. He disliked it because most of the time, those things were easily concluded or pointless, to begin with. However, his family was important to him, especially since he had been away for quite some time. He wanted to catch up on what had happened, but his parents would probably try to ask him things which he would be unable to answer. He decided he would go on the outing, signalling the okay sign.

His mother smiled widely and told him, “Get ready, we’ll be leaving at 11am, okay? Just a quick lunch, maybe a movie together.”

Azel nodded, and his mother closed the door.

He sat on his bed, staring aimlessly at the bookshelf. He felt glad to be around his family again, and his mother seemed to be as happy as ever. However, he did enjoy school, school wasn’t too bad, not bad at all.

10:21am, he stood up and checked his drawer.

He had forgotten to ask what kind of lunch they were going to and if he should wear formal attire. He scratched his head and went downstairs to speak to his father. His father had finished the cup of coffee and was watching the news.

“Two students, identified as Students A and B, have been found dead beside a building. Witness reports claim to have seen the two falling from the roof. Intentions of suicide are still unclear, and more investigation will be made on this.”

Azel stood behind his father who sat on the couch. His father shook his head, saying, “Kids nowadays...”

Azel shrugged and tapped his father’s shoulder. He pointed at the clock, then put up both his index fingers. His father stared at him, confused before he asked, “Are you asking about eleven o’clock?”

Azel nodded.

“We’re going out for lunch, then maybe a movie. Your mother is very intent on this, so I guess I should probably get ready, huh?” His father scratched his chin.

Azel then held the shoulder of his shirt and pulled up. His father registered the meaning and asked, “What attire?”

Azel nodded.

His father smiled confidently. “Huh, I’m pretty good at this, huh?”

Azel rolled his eyes. His father playfully hit his stomach. “Hey, don’t laugh at your old man.”

Azel shook his head and waved the thought aside. He waited as his father got up, thinking. His father eventually told him, “Well, I guess we will be going out for lunch in a restaurant. Nothing too fancy, I think a somewhat formal attire will do. Just, not your school uniform, it’ll be embarrassing to have you in a school uniform.”

Azel nodded and was about to walk away when his father said, “I need to get ready quick...”

His father ran off to his room to prepare for lunch, Azel going back to his own room and stared at the cabinet again. Granted, he barely wore much in Atdonus, mostly his school uniform. His parents had gotten him some clothes as a gift for returning home, so he guessed he might as well wear them. He put on the pair of faded blue jeans that was oddly just his size, along with the white shirt and light blue jacket. The clothes seemed to fit him perfectly as if he had been wearing them for a long time. To be expected, his mother knew everything about him.

10:43am, He checked himself in the mirror, not bothering to comb his hair before walking to the living room.

There, he sat and waited for his family to get ready.

10:58am, they entered the red car his father owned and they drove off.

8:19am, Pandora had just woken up.

She opened her eyes, the familiar creak of the ceiling fan annoying her. She rubbed her eyes and stretched, checking the time. She stared at the clock and whispered under her breath, “Dammit Charmy.”

Pandora reached to the table beside her bed and grabbed her beret before going to the washroom. There, a few other kids were there, laughing and playing around. Pandora’s hair, long and black, fading into grey, was messy. She pulled out her comb and tried to comb it, but she kept receiving stares from the other kids. It was expected, she was seen as weird in the orphanage anyways. Besides, she was the oldest in the orphanage, the only one her age or older that hadn’t been adopted yet. At that point, the orphanage might as well be her home.

She remained there for a few minutes before she managed to straighten her hair again. She sighed and brushed her teeth, looking into the mirror. Her beret was on the sink, strategically placed so as to not get wet. When she was done, she waged her face and went back to her room.

8:42am, she laid in bed.

She woke up and put her beret on the table before going to shower.

9:02am, she left the showers, listening to the shoutings of the other orphans, and the crying from newer kids.

When she reached the room, she had a towel over her head, trying to dry her hair. She wore the same attire she always wore in Atdonus, just a slightly more stylish version of their female uniform that was grey in colour. She waited in her room, wondering what she needed to do that day. In reality, nothing at all.

The other kids were troublesome to handle, there were about thirty of them in total. Being the biggest orphanage in the city, and the only orphanage, they were quite well known. Pandora got her own room simply because she was the oldest and the orphanage had room to spare.

9:06am, someone entered the room.

The head of the orphanage smiled at Pandora. Pandora looked at her and asked, “What do you need?”

“Just wanted to talk.”

Pandora nodded, and the head of the orphanage sat beside her. Pandora felt her hair, but as expected, it was still wet. The head of the orphanage sighed and helped Pandora.

She was an old lady, but not old to the point of fragility. She had curly black hair that was kept short and a cheeky smile. She looked young for her age but recently had started to show signs of ageing. She had a few wrinkles when she smiled. She adjusted herself behind Pandora, Pandora not resisting.

“Now, now, you should know how to take care of yourself by now.” The head of the orphanage laughed.

The head of the orphanage, having started and worked there for twenty years, was a kind woman. She was a happy-go-lucky type of person, but it was probably for the best given her occupation. Her name was Therese Hal, a few kids called her mom, and others made fun of her name to be ‘There is’. It was all in good fun, she enjoyed it.

“No one taught me any of this.” Pandora countered.

Therese laughed lightly and combed her wet hair. “Then you should learn now.”

There were limited funds on the orphanage, and they were quite poor themselves. They did not own a hairdryer, instead, had to make do with drying by hand. Pandora usually would not care about her hair looking good, but Therese insisted.

“Don’t you have other kids to take care of?” Pandora asked her.

“I have other people to help out, okay?” Therese replied. “I even got this new staff member that’s really good at his job.”

Pandora nodded.

Therese playfully knocked her head, Pandora reacting by ducking her head. Therese laughed and said, “Why would I take care of other kids if I already have such an adorable child?”

“I’m not your daughter,” Pandora said, her face red.

“But you called me-”

“It was one time!”

Therese patted her head, Pandora blushing. She turned away from the old lady and crossed her arms. Therese, not long after, finished drying her hair. Pandora put the beret on. Therese pulled out the chair Pandora had in her room and sat across from her. She looked at Pandora gently. Pandora catching that it was an important matter, paid attention.

“You know how you’ve been here for a long time?” Therese asked.

“Yeah?” Pandora replied.

Therese took in a deep breath and slowly said, “Well... the law in the city dictates that at sixteen, you will be deemed as a young adult.”

“And?”

Therese sighed and gave Pandora a sad look, almost apologetic. “When you’re sixteen, you gain independence. You won’t be able to stay in the orphanage after your birthday.”

Pandora sat there, frozen in place from the realisation. No wonder she was the oldest child there, either they were adopted or kicked out. Pandora asked, “I’ll be kicked out?”

“I’ve been looking all around for someone to adopt you, but there were no takers,” Therese explained. “Your birthday is coming up, right?”

Pandora’s birthday, at least, the one that was registered was supposed to be the week after. Granted, Pandora had nothing, so moving would not be too hard. However, the problem was where she would live. Without a cent to her name or any parents, she was virtually helpless at that point. Therese had tried to appeal to many others to adopt Pandora, but because of her condition, they refused to take in a mentally unstable child.

“Then where would I go?” Pandora asked, starting to feel afraid.

“Don’t worry, I have a way.” Therese told her, holding Pandora’s hand gently in her’s.

Pandora was normally silent and only did what was needed to be done so as not to stand out. But ever since she had gone to Atdonus Highschool, something about her changed, she seemed more open, happier. Therese looked Pandora in the eyes. Pandora was trying to hide it under a cool mask, but the fear in her eyes was obvious.

“I’ll adopt you.”

Pandora’s eyes widened. “You’re allowed to do that?”

Pandora’s voice had dropped to something more of a whisper. Therese smiled. “I can. But it won’t be easy for you either if you accept. I expect you to help out around the orphanage. I can’t be a good parent like those in a normal family, I can’t give you good food every day, I don’t have much money, and you’ll have to work here until the day I die.”

Pandora blinked a few times. True, if Therese adopted her, she would no longer be required to leave, life would go on as it, just that she would have to work at the orphanage. She nodded, saying, “Then I guess you are my mom now...”

“Remember to call me mom.” Therese smiled. “I don’t want to hear you calling me old lady ever again!”

Pandora nodded.

“Now what do you say?”

“You’re really going to do this?”

“Yes.”

“Okay... mom...”

Therese gave her a hug while saying, “We'll do the paperwork after we get back. Why don’t we go for lunch later?”

“I thought you didn’t have money?” Pandora asked.

“I have some, just not much.”

Pandora felt the warmth in her chest as Therese got up. The feeling of being loved by a parent felt so foreign to her, she did not know how to react. Pandora looked up at her new mother, who told her, “C’mon, let’s go shopping first, our first outing as a family.”

9:54am, they left.

11:04am, Azel was in the car.

“Was school fun?” His mother asked.

He nodded.

“Who was that girl with you when we picked you up?” His mother asked, her eyes gleaming.

Azel shook his head, not wanting to continue the conversation any longer than he already had. But his mother pushed on, “Hey, we already told you, your father and I don’t mind if you get married early, just as long as you’re happy.”

Azel wanted to explain that he was not in that kind of relationship with Pandora, but he was unable to speak a single word. He tried to look for a piece of paper to write on, and a pen, except, he forgot to bring anything when leaving the house. His mother had a cheeky smile on her face, knowing she could tease her son all she wanted since he would be unable to reply.

“Yeah, just make sure you introduce her to us too.” His father added on.

“She seems like a nice girl.”

“How far have you gone?”

Azel’s mother smacked his father’s chair. “That’s a question he shouldn’t answer! We don’t want to dive too deep into it.”

His mother faced him again and asked, “But was school actually fun? Was the first year fun?”

Azel thought about it, then shook his head.

“The second year?”

He nodded.

“Was it because of your girlfriend?”

He nodded before realising the trap his mother had laid out. She laughed and said, “So she is your girlfriend after all!”

Azel tried to correct her, but had no way of doing so. He swore that when they go back, he was going to force his parents to learn sign language.

“We’re almost at the restaurant.” His father said, turning the corner.

“You know...” Azel’s mother started. “If you want to visit her while school is still closed, you can tell us, we can bring you there if we’re off work.”

Azel nodded.

“Dear, Azel’s going to leave us.” His mother fake cried. “He’s going to get married and he’ll leave the house!”

“He’s already sixteen though.” His father laughed.

Azel raised an eyebrow. He had almost forgotten when his own birthday was supposed to be. He assumed he was sixteen the moment the previous year ended, but apparently, his parents still cared about the date of birth. His mother hopped out of the car, Azel following after, standing at his full height.

“Happy Birthday!” His mother cheered.

It was a small restaurant, nothing too fancy or extravagant, only somewhere people might go on their day off. But it was enough, it suited his tastes, and it suited his mother’s tastes. They grew up in the slums, going to a fancy restaurant would not sit well with them.

11:24am, they entered the restaurant.

“Table for three?” The waitress asked.

“Yes, reservation by Dominico.” His father replied.

The waitress looked at Azel, who towered over her, and his parents. She faced his parents and commented, “Your son is quite tall, huh? How old is he?”

“We’re here for his sixteenth birthday.” His mother said, elbowing Azel gently. “I don’t know what I fed him for him to get this big.”

They were led to their table where they sat down. There were jokes, laughter, from his parents, not Azel. Azel was mute, he did not need to talk. But he did take solace from one thing, and that was the fact that they looked like a normal family.