Chapter 12: Morning

  “Shade?”

  A small voice sounded from the outside of Shade’s room, waking him. As he sat up from his bed, he could hear small footsteps from outside his door.

  With a smile Shade got out of his bed, put on his new white shirt, black suit pants, and silver belt. He walked up slowly to his door, not making a sound.

  He opened the door slowly while keeping his body hidden behind the door. He heard a cluster of worried voices coming from the hall.

  Small footsteps walked slowly into Shade’s room followed by more small footsteps. Shade looked to his side and saw 5 children below the age of 10 walking into the middle of his room.

  “BOO!”

  Shade let out a loud sound which made the children jump up in fright. They looked at the direction of the door where they saw Shade with a large smile on his face as he laughed softly when he saw their reaction.

  “Shade!”

  Forgetting their fears, the children screamed out the young man’s name in unison and ran up to hug him. Shade hugged them back. The kids started asking questions one after another and Shade answered them all in succession.

  “Shade where have you been?”

  “Working.”

  Alice was the first one to ask a question. Her black hair glistened in the morning sunlight.

  “Where are you working?”

  “At a private detective agency.”

  Rick was the second one to ask a question. This kid had freckles and red hair.

  “Does that mean that you are a Detective!”

  “Yes, interesting, right?”

  “Yes!”

  The third kid to ask a question was interested in becoming a police officer. He had blond hair and was named Will.

  “Detective? Does the stars help you solve mysteries?”

  “I have just started working! Maybe the stars will help me some time in the future.”

  A brown haired kid named Karl was the fourth kid. He had an interest in astronomy and had read some books where a detective uses astronomy to solve a case.

  The sound of someone coughing could be heard when the last kid tried to speak. Mina has always been weak since she came to the orphanage, everyone was worried if she would survive her early childhood, but she managed to live until the age of 8. Though that didn’t ease the former orphanage residents’ worry.

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  “Did you have fun?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  Mina was the most wholesome kid in the orphanage, she always worried for others even though she herself was in quite a pitiful state.

  After another round of questions, the six of them headed down for breakfast. Sundays were a day that every resident of the orphanage didn’t have to work or go to school.

  They mostly spent their days doing chores around the house, buying groceries, or simply spending time together.

  Ryan, he was a newly promoted journalist from Aurel Weekly and Axel, a baker from around the corner, were sitting at the kitchen table discussing something with a genial mood.

  Evangeline, Sebastian, and Vanessa were in the kitchen and preparing food. Ryan and Axel turned to look at the ones entering the kitchen. Their gazes landed on Shade.

  “Shade! What kind of work did you get! 5 pounds as a salary right from the start, what did you do?”

  Ryan was the first to speak. Axel nodded with a fervent gaze. Will was the one to answer back.

  “He’s a detective!”

  “He is?”

  Catelyn stepped into the kitchen area and looked at Shade with a surprised expression.

  “He can’t even find his own socks! How could HE be a detective?”

  “Rude much?”

  “What was that?”

  Catelyn and Shade started bickering like how they did when they were younger. Shade’s thoughts started to wander… Did she wake up on the wrong side today? Maybe we should move her bed to be next to the other wall.

  “Catelyn calm down. As long as it isn’t something dangerous it is a good thing that Shade brings home 5 pounds each week!”

  Axel tried to mediate and calm Catelyn. Shade felt cold sweat run down his back as he tried to keep a poker face… It is dangerous though.

  After seeing Catelyn sit down while pouting, the rest of the residents all sat down to eat their breakfast.

  The residents haven’t had both eggs and sausages to breakfast in a long time. They mostly ate bread that Axel brought home after work.

  The bread he would bring home would mostly be leftover bread or dough that didn’t get sold.

  While eating, different conversations were held by the residents. The one Shade thought was the most interesting was the conversation between Evangeline, Catelyn, and Vanessa.

  “So, a man my age started flirting with you at the bar?”

  Catelyn’s words were the one that caught Shade’s attention… Someone flirted with Evangeline at the bar? Why do I have a bad feeling?

  “Yes, I think he was flirting… maybe.”

  Vanessa was usually not that interested in love stories at school, but when it came to one of the other residents of the former orphanage, she was probably the most interested person there was. She was the one to ask the next question.

  “Was he handsome?”

  Evangeline thought for a moment and before speaking pursed her lips as if she was too embarrassed to say. Catelyn noticed her reaction and was the first one to point it out.

  “Too embarrassed to say? Was he that good looking?”

  “Well, yes... And he did give me a rather substantial tip.”

  Tipping was unusual but not unheard of, an example was that most young men would tip the bar staff they had their eyes on. Catelyn and Vanessa looked at each other and then asked in unison.

  “How much?”

  “1 pound.”

  Ryan had heard their conversation and decided to say how much Evangeline had gotten as a tip. As the oldest resident, he was the first one to handle the expenditures of the orphanage after buying the building from the city and was informed of all incomes and expenses within the house.

  Catelyn and Vanessa looked at Ryan with a stumped face. They turned their heads towards Evangeline and their expression turned into one that could only be described as mischievous.

  After much teasing, Evangeline finally said that she didn’t want to talk about the young man that was at the bar yesterday anymore.

  Shade did his best to hide his face behind a newspaper. His red cheeks wouldn’t elude anyone’s gaze… Shit! Shit! Shit!

  Numerous thoughts started popping up in his mind, including ones that complimented Evangeline to the level of a goddess of beauty. He remembered Olivia’s comment about flirting… I didn’t mean to!

  …

  Sitting on an unknown planets moon, the reminiscing man thought to himself while touching his glabella… While we aren’t related by blood, knowing that I flirted with my own sister still makes my head spin.