The light blue cast was drifting away by the arriving gloomy cumulus clouds, with Andre awaking from his good night's rest. He was occupied, shuffling through his basket in search of his favorite silky golden sweatshirt, given to him on his birthday by the blonde haired lady. Throwing it over his squirming head, Andre began to feel deep, warm surges throughout his short legs and wrists, which altered his movements momentarily.
Completely aware of the painful experience, he did not want to let any suffering escape verbally, so instead clutched his tan bed sheets with great force. After the brief pain subsided, the grubby haired child ascended from his awkward position and glanced at his opened bottle of pain medication. "No, I don't need it." he told himself, strolling out of his bedroom, like nothing occurred. He looked over his shoulder to only see his roommate in slumber with an overly damp bed sheet. "What a nasty dude", he quietly uttered, sauntering by and into the trash littered hallway.
Meanwhile, Dak was unsurprisingly staring off upon the dark wooden ceiling, while his alarm went on in repetition, ignoring the banging alerts of the clock. "Daytime is great." he uttered with a crooked smirk. In confusion and somewhat disappointment, the brown skinned nine-year old grabbed his lucky teal sweater and hoped for a better day. "Couldn't be any worse, I guess", he thought while throwing his sweater over his head. A sudden knock on the door grabbed Dak'a attention, and as the door creaked open slowly, Dak's blood started to exhilarate, and he began to breathe sharply, close to forming an anxiety rush. A black and white sock caught his glaze, and he halted his startling outburst of panic. "Whew." he let out with huge relief. Andre tucked his head into Dak's dust littered door and began to smile at him, with no words but a subtle "Good Morning." Dak happily smiled back and smacked his previously shaking hand down on the alarm, causing it to tip over and fall off the cluttered dresser.
"I'm hungry, when are they gonna call us to eat?" Dak asked, reaching for his warm water can. "I don't know, but for right now let's play a a game!", Andre responded. Gulping the overnight canned water without hesitation, Dak replied with a smile, and grabbed his game boards from under his dead critter infested bed. "How about, uhh," he uttered while contemplating on which one to choose. The options weren't wide, with him only possessing chess, checkers, and Gross Goose, a strategic battle game gifted to him on Christmas last year. "Ooouu Geese of the Gross", Dak yelped with joy on his face. Andre nodded in agreement, and the duo began to clash with each other on the game board. Dak rolled the die first and moved up six the first try. "Can't beat that, you loser", he said with lighthearted assertiveness. Andre calmly rolled the die, which in response landed on a six as well. Dak looked appalled, while his buddy moved his Goose with delight. "Talk less", he replied, laughing at Dak's dismayed face. The two shared the same position on the board, and it was Dak's turn to do damage again.
Many long exchanges passed by, and Dak and Andre came to one roll to decide the undisputed winner of this tactical Goose game. "Goose, more like chicken!" Andre said as he stared at his comrade, patiently waiting. Dak was taking an insane amount of time to place the die on the board. "Winged Waterfalls, Winged Waterfalls", he repeated while grasping the die with his two short fingers. "Boys, girls, breakfast's here!" The blonde haired lady yelled, interrupting the two, from the bottom of the creaking wood stairs, but neither Dak or Andre had any complaints. "FINALLY", Dak yelped while throwing down the die and making his way across the filthy floors, with Andre following. The two had a race down the stairs, with Dak almost tripping on his green sock he left there from last night.
As everyone were rushing towards the awaiting table full of mouthwatering morning meals, lieutenant Walker halted their hurry and asked, "Where's ya best buddy Terrence?" Andre immediately replied "he's still up there sleeping, like a baby." Walker immediately sat down the rest of the ambrosial bagged foods on the round table, let out a subtle "hmph", and made his way up the stairs to Andre's room. "Okay, since everyone, with the exception of Terrence, is awake and starving, we'll go ahead and start feasting." The kids in unison yelped a massive "YYYAAAAAAAYYY", which caused the lady to cover her ears, with a big smile on her face. "Okay, okay, ladies, come up and get anything you want", she told them. Kay Stacy, one of the female orphans, approached Dak with a heartwarming simper and twinkling eyes. "Hey, do you and Surgey always have to stand side by side?" she asked. "Um, uh, I don-" "Don't worry about us, Kay.", Andre replied, cutting off his best pal. "Well, Dak, I would like to hang out with you sometime ya know", a smiling Kay responded with a titled head. "Yea...uh, sure, uh, ok", the timorous boy answered, while turning back towards Andre, also maintaining his eyesight on Kay. Even his best friend was ashamed of his faltering and inability to speak. "You have to get better dude," he laughingly expressed to him.
The starving tandem enjoyed their delectable breakfast feast together, side by side. "What type of fruit is your fave?" Andre asked Dak, while stuffing his small mouth with grapes. "It's definitely mangos, ah man I love mangos like I love pizza!" Dak replied, smiling with food particles in his baby teeth. "HEY GUYS, LOOK AT MY TEETH", yelled out Terrence, jokingly mocking his orphan associate. Everyone glanced at Law, but not particularly at his teeth. "Look at his pants!", some of the girls said while laughing and pointing, which made Terrence undoubtedly humiliated in front of every orphan in the building. He quickly attempted to cover the stains with a few napkins from the table, but he couldn't complete the embarrassing task in time. Every kid saw his wet residue and began to guffaw at the 11-year old. Everyone except for Andre.
Breakfast elapsed, and the lieutenant approached the two young boys and asked, "Are ya done with ya food? Would ya mind answering for us here today young fellas?" Dak almost instantly began to breathe heavily, meanwhile Andre gave off a stare in the distance. "Uhhhh" Dak answered. "It's ok if ya need a breather, we're not dogging ya now, ya understand?" Dak rose from the kid-filled table and rushed into the hallway. The heavily vehement feelings he was experiencing last night began to overflow his mental and physical well-being, causing him to have severe panic attacks. Deep, sharp breaths were being absorbed by him, as he would lie on the cold wooden floors, being consumed by the thoughts. "Life" echoed like a shockwave through his entire body.
He sat there, feeling despaired, like his soul is being extracted directly from him, a feeling he's never experienced in his short life. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by the other orphans, the blonde haired lady, and Lieutenant Walker. Surprisingly, Andre was not in Dak's sight, which caused him to visually search for him, while still being mentally paralyzed. "Where is he. What is this.", he repeated, glancing back and forth at everyone standing before him. Lieutenant Walker grasped and held onto him, continuously asking him what's wrong, but Dak couldn't hear nor decipher what was coming from his mouth. In a matter of seconds, he was lifted from the floor by the Walker, and immediately rushed to the nearest children's center. All he could view was the cracked ground, and the back of Walker's brown dress shoes, as he ran full speed with him on his broad shoulders. "God, this could be it for me."