Chapter 7: What Does That Have To Do With Me?

He didn’t always have a family.

He was once an unwanted, forgotten child.

For a while, the orphanage was all he had. All he knew.

Books were his only escape from reality.

And a terrible reality it was.

“What’s the meaning of this Leviticus?” Sister Beatrice yelled as she hit his palms with the same bamboo stick she apparently only ever used on him. Levi never saw her using it anyone else. Not even Zeke, the most annoying rascal Levi had ever met. Though Zeke was Sister Beatrices’ favorite.

“Books like these are forbidden, if the school isn’t supplying it to you, you’re not supposed to be reading it, you should know the rules by now,” another hit, his arms were starting to bleed as the skin tore off. They really hurt now. “Moreover you were accessing the internet! Who gave you the right to do such a thing?! Was it that boy Isen? Tell me their name!” she yelled.

“N-No one!” he cried but it was no use. “I figured out how to do it myself!” that was partly true. He also got help from Jeff the janitor but it’s not like he could rat him out. He would never do that. Jeff was his friend.

“Oh, so you think you’re smart now?” she sneered.

Yes. He wanted to say but fortunately did not.

“A useless child like you could never know how to do such a thing! Stop lying or you’ll be severely punished!” a loud whack to his cheek sent him almost flying across the room. Tears running down his eyes, he touched his cheek that was seething in pain and saw the horrible amount of blood that appeared on his hand from the cut caused by the ring on Sister Beatrice’s finger.

He looked around the room. Everyone was watching yet no one said a thing. Typical. Nothing ever changes.

Even while nearly unconscious Levi could still spot Zeke snickering along with his just as fake and just as ugly friends from the corner of his eye. Okay, they weren’t really that ugly...or ugly at all but that’s not the point. If you’re ugly on the outside, you’re ugly on the inside and that’s a motto Levi lives by.

“For the love of God don’t start crying again!” she rolled her eyes. “When will you grow a pair?” as much as he tried to hold them in the tears just kept on coming. And blood mixed with tears was not the best sight for anyone in his opinion.

“Class, what do we call children who behave like this?” She called on the class.

“Cry-babies,” the children recited like it was a nursery rhyme. Some said it proudly, others said it quietly, like they were ashamed and others didn’t say it at all, knowing something about this situation was very wrong.

“That’s right,” she sneered. “From now on we’ll all call you crybaby Levi.”

“Stop!”

“Crybaby Levi, crybaby Levi, crybaby Levi!”

“Please stop!”

“I-I won’t cry anymore I promise! Please just stop!”

They didn’t. Obviously.

--

“AGH!” he cried as he got slammed into the brick wall.

“What’ve you got here Lev?” Zeke smirked, dangling his bag from his hand and eventually rummaging through it like it was his own.

“Hey! Give that back!”

“Is this that book you were reading? Where did you even get this thing? I can’t even understand what it’s saying,” he looked confused. He also sounds like an idiot because that’s what he is.

‘But to call him an idiot would be an insult to genuinely idiotic people,’ Levi thought. He’s seen cows with much higher thinking capacity. The three little pigs’ storybook had more words than what was in his head!

“What’s this?” he peered at the book more closely, flipping through the pages Levi had highlighted as his favorite parts. “You wrote the author a letter!” he laughed.

“It’s not addressed to you so it’s none of your business!” he glared. “All I want is to get out of here so leave me alone!”

In a flash, Zeke had roughly grabbed his hair, one hand pulling Levi’s head back and the other gripping his chin. “You actually think you’re going to get out of here?” he snarled. “Don’t make me laugh! I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but we’ve been here for years! No one is coming to get us you got that? We’re trapped!”

“Th-that’s not true! Y-You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Oh get it through your thick skull Lev, you’re a weak little redhead who’s never getting out here. The only person who actually has a chance of leaving this place is me!” he snapped.

Why haven’t you left then? “You’re wrong! I-I-”

“And even if you do, then what? Do you think it’s all sunshine and daises out there? You think a fragile geek like you will be welcomed with open arms?” he ruffled Levi’s dark red bangs a little too roughly. Placing a hand onto Levi’s neck he growled, “I don't know if you've noticed but no one wants you, Levi.”

The teary boy smacked his hand away, grabbing his bag and struggling to push back the bile coming up in his throat, he ran but not before hearing the loud taunts of Zeke.

“That right, run away!” he sneered. “That’s all you’re good for anyway.”

He thought he had it worse than it could possibly get. Little did he know, the walls of that orphanage offered him the only little safety he had. No one could have predicted what hell he’d have to go through once he was outside.

----------------------------------------------

Levi

I’m uncomfortable.

Glancing at this office makes me uncomfortable.

Being in this office makes me uncomfortable.

When you enter the office you’ll notice a dark walnut bookcase lining the entire left-hand wall. There is a leather sofa with a fur rug over the back and a live love laugh blanket that made me want to gag draped over the arm. A very messy brown wooden desk was placed in the center in front of a wall widely decorated with frames that had bible scriptures. The far wall had a large fireplace and mantle dominating the center, with bookshelves filled with a variety of bibles and others of the sort lining it on either side. On the mantle, there were two antique clocks and a painting of Jesus. The whitewashed one.

Rosalie wanted to stay in the car and wait till I was done but changed her mind to wait outside the office when she saw my panicked face. I fiddled with my watch nervously and visibly flinched when I heard the office door open. That made me wish she went in with me as well. A fairly tall middle-aged lady wearing the ugliest outfit- I mean a black top, a purple skirt down to her feet, a long blue coat, and leather ankle brown boots.

Yeah, I don't think I emphasized this enough. Take Angelina Jolie and make her hair way less perfect, take off the make-up and add some wrinkle lines. Ok, a bunch of wrinkle lines. Make the bone structure not quite so perfect (meaning not perfect at all), and take only a few inches off her height.

Moral of the story she doesn’t look like Angelina Jolie at all.

She was just a hag. An old evil senile hag who can’t seem to calm her hair down so instead straightens and doesn’t even do it correctly which makes it look like a mess and it’s clearly going to fall off from heat damage but then again that’s not my problem. You can also tell she constantly dyes it to maintain her non-existent youth and it’s clearly not fooling me.

I looked over the gold shiny name plaque titled Agatha Von Dueh and nearly snorted. I guess Beatrice wasn’t an ugly enough name huh. No offense to anyone named Agatha or Beatrice any name would be ugly on her. She strode towards her desk and sat down, opening a case, taking out a pair of glasses, and putting them on. After shuffling a bunch of papers, she finally looked up at me and I froze.

Crybaby.

Useless.

Good for nothing.

WEAK.

“Leviticus-”

“Levi,” I frowned. “Just Levi.”

She stared me down. “Right.” placing her hands together she smiled but it wasn’t a genuine smile and she knew it. “How did you find me, Levi?”

“It wasn’t that hard. I just followed the familiar stench of disgust and abhorrence and it led me right here.”

That is what I wanted to say.

Instead, I said, “You can find anything on the internet if you put your mind to it.”

She chuckled (gross). “True.” I hope your bibles eat you. “Does anyone else know I’m here?” As in who am I with.

“Just a friend,” I replied. If I can call her that.

She stared at me for a few extremely uncomfortable seconds. “I’m actually glad you’re here.” she finally said.

Huh?

Que?

Czego?

“What? Why?” my eyes narrowed.

She sighed. “These past couple of years have made me...rethink my choices,” she looked up at me. “I’ve changed Levi. I’ve found God.”

“Really? Where is he?” I raised an eyebrow.

“In my heart,” she replied. Um...ok? What does that have to do with me?

She held a cross to her heart. “He made me open my eyes. I treated you so horribly Levi I’m so disgusted with myself, I c-can’t believe I did that,” OMG she’s crying.

I’m...confused.

I cleared my throat. “Uh, cool. Do you happen to have any records of my biological parents?” her face grew blank like I just asked her to twerk in church. “Oh, that’s it? That’s all you wanted from me?” She expects me to coddle her with open arms and accept her apology and I'll do the exact opposite.

“So do you have the records or not?” I raised an eyebrow.

She laughed. “Goodness no, my only job in the orphanage was to discipline, and that...did not..end well,” she gave me a once over. “I think you know who does though. And where he is.”

“Felix,” I swallowed and she nodded. It wasn’t a question. “I wonder how he’s doing.” she sighed dreamingly. Gross.

For reference, she was pretty much in love with him.

“He’s in prison,” I glared. “For child labor and abuse.” and you should too but yet here you are.

She frowned. “Oh...right."

“Would you like to know where Felix is?” she looked at me in pity which I hated. A lot.

“No, I have an FBI agent for that.” She stared at me weirdly but I couldn’t be bothered to elaborate. “There is something you can have to know before I leave.”

She sat up excitedly. “Really?”

“Yeah,” I grinned, grabbing my bag and standing up. “I’ll need you to write this down too.”

“Oh ok!” she picked up a notepad and placed a pen on a blank sheet.

“I need you to write down that I haven’t forgiven you, I will never forgive you nor will I congratulate you for finally realizing that you were a terrible human being and decided to act decent so you can suck those tears back into your eyes. Thanks,” I got up and left.

I didn't know what I was going to expect or feel when I left that office but it certainly wasn't this. I'm not sure how I feel. Steven Universe rewatch it is.

I need a new comfort show to watch religiously.

I strode over to see Rosalie adjusting a rose (haha) on her head whilst scowling at what seemed to be a five-year-old. They both glanced my way and the girl ran away but not before winking at her which made Rose scowl even more. Rosalie stood straight. “You’re done?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Do you wanna know what happened?” I dragged her all the way here and even though she said she didn’t mind I still feel bad.

“Do you want me to know?” she asked.

“Not really,” I scratched my head. Why did I even ask that then?

“Then you don’t have to tell me. Where do you wanna go now?”

I thought about it. “Let’s figure that out on the way.” And that was that.

Till we got to school the next day that is.

---------------------------------------------------------------------