It's a cold winter evening everyone is going about their business moving up and down the street.
Ding ding ding
The dinner bell is ringing it's time for everyone to come downstairs for dinner.
Little children between the ages of three to twelve are rushing down the stairs to the dinning table to get their share of food. All the children present are seated then they all sit down to eat the food in front of them.
MUSIC RECOMMENDATION; Ludwig van Beethoven Moonlight sonata
All the seats are occupied except for two. Amanda and Matthew are spending their dinner time in the closet for improper behavior when a visitor came to try to adopt one of the children.
They sat beside each other enjoying each other's warmth in the cold weather. Listening to the classical music playing from the office below them. The office that belonged to Mother.
Mother was the head of the orphanage where Amanda Mary Quin and Matthew Stone where being kept. She was forced to move to an orphanage after a certain incident that occurred in her hometown.
"I'm cold" thought Stone.
He looked at Amanda who was leaning against his shoulder shivering.
The room where the closet was didn't have a fire place or any way to keep them warm.
This was a common method for punishing offenders in St. Stella's orphanage home. Children dying or losing consciousness were a common occurrence so the children tried to avoid it as much as possible.
The newest arrival Amanda had tried to escape and earned her this punishment several times before but this time she and Stone were here for a different reason.
Someone had come in wanting to adopt one of the children and caught sight of the beautiful Amanda. This visitor was a frequenter as he would adopt children regularly. No one knew what happened to the children he took with him but all that was known that after they were taken they were never heard from again. It was believed among the children that the man took so much better care of them that they forgot about life in the orphanage and sometimes they would send letters before stopping completely. Everyone thought he was a rich man who liked children. This was common knowledge among the orphans so everyone wanted to catch their eye.
The visitor moved round the halls where the children were lined up after their morning classes. He looked at each of their fa es taking note of all their features he stopped and looked at a girl with cherry red hair.
When she realized the visitor was looking at her she gave him the brightest smile she could muster and the visitor returned it with another smile or at least it seemed like it.
The frequent visitor always wore a large hat that covered most of their face. It made it difficult to determine whether the visitor was male or female.
It covered their face so their expressions were usually hard to read as well so no one was sure what exactly they were thinking.
They continued to move around before coming to stop in front of Amanda and looking at her. They stared at her for a few seconds before Stone came to stand in front of her.
Both Stone and Amanda had come to distrust this strange visitor and refused to get on their good side to avoid getting taken.
Stone stood in front of Amanda as he glared at the visitor. The visitor lightly chuckled before walking away from them and looking at another child.
This child was Hakeem. He was the only black child among all the orphans. He was covered in scrapes and bruises because the other children would often bully him for it. The visitor walked over and pointed at him. The visitor almost never spoke. The only time they were ever caught speaking was when they were talking to Mother and even then no one was able to make out their voice.
The visitor knelt down and picked up the little boy that was only around five years old and walked over to one of the attendants at the orphanage.
Meanwhile the cherry red haired girl was glaring at Amanda who was still being shielded by Stone. The boy she was in love with.
The visitor looked back once again at the pair and smiled before turning around with Hakeem on their shoulder as they walked past the entrance. They all began to disperse looking somewhat dejected that they weren't chosen to be adopted.
Wendy, the cherry haired girl began to walk over to where Stone and Amanda were standing. Stone was hugging Amanda with her head in his chest.
He released her from his embrace when he heard Wendy call him.
"Hey Matthew". Stone turned around to look at her. It was no secret that Wendy was infatuated with Stone but he couldn't care less about her.
"Why don't we take a walk through the hall I want to tell you something" Wendy said sporting her flirtiest smile.
"No" came Stone's nonchalant reply.
He took hold of Amanda's hand and began to walk off. Wendy just stared at their backs feeling the embarrassment sink deeper into her skin.
Stone walked Amanda all the way to an empty classroom and sighed before saying
"I thought I told you to stay back and hide in the bathroom" his voice was calm but angry.
"What would you have done if they insisted on taking you with them?"
"I was worried about Oliver" Amanda said in a small voice.
Oliver was a young handicapped boy that lived in the orphanage. He was the son of one attendants. He began living there after his mother passed away from overworking herself.
He was the one that brought them together and first suggested that they become friends.
"Let's be friends" those words still evoked emotions in both of them. It gave them a bittersweet feeling.
Like a nostalgic melody.
"Oliver was in his room like I told him to be. You knew that so why were you outside today?"
Asked Stone his voice getting louder this time.
Amanda looked down before answering
"I was worried about you"
Stone was taken aback by that statement. Sure they were friends but it was a friendship of convenience to them. Unknown to them it had blossomed into much more than that.
Stone stared at her for a few more seconds before sighing once again.
"I'm going to check on Oliver. Stay here while I go get him"
He turned around and left the classroom.
At that moment Amanda heard footsteps coming back into the room. Wendy entered the room with two other girls behind her.
They stared at Amanda cockyly. One of them turned around and locked the door and faced the other two and Wendy again. Looking at her with hateful eyes.