Chapter 2

Maia walked through the doors of the orphanage led by a child’s caseworker. It was in an old house and run by a single lady who seemed like she would rather be doing anything else than sit at her desk.

“Are you Maia Ragsdill?” She asked as she pulled out a folder and looked at her over her glasses.

“Yes ma’am,” Maia responded quietly. She may have escaped her father but she will never escape the scars he wrote all over her.

“Okay. You’ll be staying in the room...” she checked the folder and flipped a few pages as Maia’s heart was nearly pounding out of her chest. “Ah, room 2A upstairs with Vanessa, Jasmine, and Nicole. Your stuff is already up there so feel free to look around.” She said, gently waving her off and offering a smile.

Maia looked around the room she was currently in first. It was small, it had a desk, two file cabinets, and two chairs. On the desk sat a small cactus with a little red flower on top and lots of papers and pens. The walls were welcoming and calming sky blue.

Maia looked around at the lady as she slowly reached for the doorknob.

“Go ahead, sweetheart. No one’s gonna hurt you here.” she encouraged, barely looking up from her work.

Slowly, Maia turned the knob and left the room, heading up the stairs. She wanted to see what her room looked like, meet her roommates, and figure out what they meant by ‘her stuff’. She didn’t have anything.

The stairs creaked as she carefully walked up them, constantly looking around and taking everything in. There wasn’t much in the way of decoration, and it all seemed rather simple. Maia liked it that way. On their drive here, she was very overwhelmed by all the bright signs and colors, and sounds.

The bedroom was simple. Two sets of bunk beds were on opposite sides of the room. There was a dresser at the end of each bed and a large window in the middle. Slowly she walked over to the window.

“That bed is yours.” One of the girls informed Maia and pointed to the other top bunk. It had sheets and a big blanket and fluffy-looking pillows.

“My name’s Jasmine. That’s Vanessa and that’s Nicole.” The same girl introduced herself and pointed to each of the other girls. “What’s your name?” She put her journal beside her and looked down at Maia with a smile.

“Maia.” She said simply, looking up at the girl. She had super curly hair and darker skin. Her smile was bright and kind and she wore a purple pullover. She had her coily hair pulled back with a yellow scrunchie.

“Nice to meet you, Maia.” Jasmine smiled as June continued to look around the room. “I know it’s not much but-”

“No, this is perfect. I couldn’t ask for anything more.” Maia interrupted her as she climbed up to her bed, feeling the softness of the blanket and laying down on an actual mattress. It was thin, but it was better than sleeping on the hardwood of the attic.

She was about to doze off, finally feeling what comfort felt like when there was a knock on the door.

“Girls, it’s time for supper.” Maia recognized the voice as the lady she met when she first arrived. She sounded so nice. So kind. Maia was starting to realize that maybe not everyone was like her father; or rather, her father wasn’t like others.

The other two girls immediately left, leaving Jasmine and Maia behind.

“Come on, I’ll show you the dining room,” Jasmine said gently, taking Maia’s hand and walking her to the dining room.

It was simple just like every other room. A large table sat in the middle of the room with 10 chairs around it. Maia noticed four boys sitting on one side and the girls on the other. The woman from earlier sat at the head of the table. There was a large window on the far right wall, letting in lots of natural light.

The sight of the window and large table took Maia’s breath away as Jasmine led her over and they both took a seat.

The plate was already full of food. It had a good portion of mashed potatoes, carrots, and chicken. Maia went to pick up a carrot but Jasmine stopped her.

“We have to wait till after grace. Also, use a fork, not your hand.” She whispered with a smile as Maia nodded she understood. She was starting to like Jasmine, but she pushed the feelings down, afraid to get close to anyone. She was probably only nice to her because she was new, anyway.

“Come on guys, hold hands.” The lady called out and everyone held each other’s hand, Maia hesitating for a good moment to be touched by anyone.

After they had said grace, it was safe for Maia to eat. She picked up her fork and started eating as fast as she could. Everyone watched as she shoved mouthfuls of chicken and potatoes into her mouth, unable to control herself after having little to no food for years.

After they were all done eating, Maia sat there looking around. Now, what was she supposed to do? Get up and walk away?

She slowly stood as everyone hurried around, gathering dishes and cleaning the floors.

“Good job everyone, now go get ready for bed.” The lady chimed in after a few moments of chaos.

“Maia.” She called her over and Maia slowly walked up to her, terrified she did something wrong.

“My name’s Mrs. Belvoir. If you ever need anything, you just let me know.” She winked and Maia gave her best happy smile. “Jasmine seems to have taken a liking to you so I’ll let her show you how things work around here. Generally, I let y’all do basically anything you feel like. But there are some rules. Like cleaning up after yourself, not leaving the building except during outside time, and dressing appropriately. But with us supplying you with clothes, you don’t have to worry about the last one.” she chuckled a little bit, sending a wave of warmth over Maia.

Jasmine came over and Maia followed her back up to the room where they both showered, brushed their teeth, and got changed for bed.

The hospital had helped clean her up a bit, but she wasn’t able to take a full shower and her hair was still matted on her head. She also had never really brushed her teeth.

Following Jasmine’s lead, she put the toothpaste on the brush and started rubbing it across her teeth, her gums screaming in protest.

“Is it supposed to hurt?” She asked her friend after they were finished.

“Is what supposed to hurt?”

“What we just did.”

“Brushing our teeth? No, not really. Have you never done it before?” Jasmine was half-joking at the end until she saw Maia’s face. “You haven’t done it before, have you?” Maia shook her head no. “Well here, let me teach you.” Jasmine carefully walked her through how to properly brush her teeth, complete with a rinsing and flossing routine. By the end, Maia’s gums were bleeding and sore, but her mouth felt so clean.

“Now girl, we gotta do something about that hair,” Jasmine said, referring to the large tangle that sat on the back of her head and wrapped around the sides. “I have just the thing. Come here.” Maia followed Jasmine up into her bed, waiting for directions.

“Are you tender-headed?” She asked, busting out the hair brush they had given Maia and her leave-in conditioner.

Maia just blinked at her. This was all new to her. She had been in that attic since she was 4.

“I don’t know.” She confessed.

“I’ll be gentle. Now, face this side.” She sat Maia down and started slowly working on the left side of her head. This was worse than any tangle Jasmine had ever seen, but she was determined to fix it.

After a couple of hours, she had one side untangled.

“There. Now the other side.” Jasmine said cheerfully, shaking up the leave in the conditioner she was using.

“Isn’t it better to go to bed?” Maia asked, not wanting to get in trouble.

“This is more important. Even Mrs. Belvour would agree.” She sighed and began working on Maia’s right side.

It was 5 in the morning when they finally finished.

“Now come look.” A tired but excited Jasmine whispered as they crawled out and to the bathroom, looking in the mirror.

Her hair was soaked with leave-in conditioner and her headache from the pulling and tugging. But it was finally detangled. Her long dirty blond hair hung way past her shoulders and almost to her elbow.

Instantly images started flashing in her mind of her father grabbing her by the hair and pulling her around, or using it to keep her where he wanted her.

“Can we cut it?” Her voice cracked. “Not tonight, of course. We’ve already stayed up way too late. But maybe tomorrow?” She looked at Jasmine. She needed her hair cut. She wanted nothing that would remind her of...him.

“I mean, I’m sure Mrs. Belvour wouldn’t mind.” Jasmine offered. “We can ask her in the morning at breakfast. Now let’s get to bed before we get caught.” Jasmine laughed and the two went and snuggled in their beds just in time for a knock on the door calling for breakfast.

The two sat right back up, smiling at each other. They may have gotten no sleep, but that night would change Maia’s entire perspective of the world. She felt she finally had a friend.

They all got ready and headed down, just in time for the last plate to be sat.

“Good morning everyone.” Mrs. Belvour called out. “I hope everyone slept well.” She looked at Jasmine and Maia as if she knew about their shenanigans, but just gave a smile and a wink and continued with her work.

“Maia, you look great this morning.” Mrs. Belvour chimed in.

“Thank you.” She paused from eating to speak and then went right back to the food.

“Mrs. Belvour, we have a question.” Jasmine perked up, nudging Maia with her arm who instantly became overcome with fear. Her father never let her speak without being spoken to, much less ask any questions.

“What is it, sweetheart?”

“Maia wants her hair cut. Can we do it?”

Maia was shaking by this point, wishing she had never mentioned it. But it would be nice to get rid of the trigger...

“Well sure thing. After breakfast, I can sit her down and trim it up for her. How short do you want it?” She asked Maia who was speechless.

She just motioned to her shoulders with tears threatening to fall.

“I can do that, no problem.” Ms. Belvour gave her a warm smile which eased some of Maia’s tension.