Moving Out

My last week in Roseville flew by quickly and in a hectic manner. Throughout the week, I got busy in packing my belongings, sorting out my school transfer, and saying my goodbyes.

Today was my last day at both work and school. I wasn't particularly close to anyone in school, so I didn't feel sad as I cleared my locker and walked out. However, that wasn't the case at the diner. Samantha broke down in tears and so did I.

Samantha was happy for me when I told her I was relocating to Moonlit Valley. However, she was dejected to part ways with me. I was also sad to be leaving such a wonderful colleague behind, someone who helped me through thick and thin.

The saga of sadness continued after I returned to the orphanage. Ms. Pride, the employees at the orphanage, and fellow residents threw me a small farewell party.

After eating, chatting, and crying in Ms. Pride's arms, I came to my room to spend the last night on my old bed.

These past few days, I have been sleeping well. I don't know if it was because I was exhausted from packing or because my life was finally back on track, but I was glad I was getting sleep instead of being haunted by my own thoughts.

I set the alarm on my phone for 6 AM and placed the phone on the bedside table. Caleb said that he would be here at 8 AM tomorrow, he is too eager to see me again. I'm not gonna lie, I'm excited to see him too.

With a smile on my face, I closed my eyes, wishing that tomorrow morning would arrive soon.

Just when I was about to drift into my dreamland, I heard the door clicking open and closing again. I didn't pay mind to it thinking it was Miranda who came to sleep after another late night study, but she woke me up again.

"Valerie, are you asleep?"

"I was about to…" I opened my eyes and looked at her. "Why? Is there anything that you need?"

"Umm…" She sat down on her bed and looked at me. Wait, why is she looking sad? "I wanted to say goodbye to you."

"Oh." I smiled, confused because she wasn't the type of person to be sentimental. "Yeah, I'm going to move out tomorrow morning. I hope you have a bright future ahead, Miranda."

"I wish you the same." She pulled out a wrapped box from her drawer and then placed it on the table beside my phone. "It's the photo that we all took in front of our orphanage last year. I thought it would be a nice parting gift for you."

"That's… really sweet of you." I smiled again, this time genuinely. My eyes suddenly swelled with tears, touched by her kind gesture. "Thank you so much, Miranda. I will treasure it." I sat up on the bed and asked her while pointing at the gift, "Can I open it?"

"Of course."

I opened the gift and looked at the photo frame. I felt bittersweet as I stared at all the smiling faces in the photo, our orphanage fully visible in the background. "We all look so happy here."

"Mm… We do."

I looked at Miranda with gratitude. "Thank you again." I was going to take a piece of the orphanage with me, the place I've called home for the last 12 years.

I tossed and turned for the whole night, unable to fall asleep because I was too excited like a kid eager to go out on the first school trip. Well, this was a hundred times more exciting than the school trip. My whole life was about to change for the better.

I must have fallen asleep in the morning when it was almost time for me to wake up, so when the alarm rang, I found it extremely difficult to open my eyes. After turning off the alarm, I closed my eyes for a second. I thought it had only been a second, but when I checked my phone again, it was already 7:30 AM.

Shit!

I quickly jumped out of my bed and freshened up. I didn't care about eating breakfast because I was already too late. Caleb would arrive here at any minute, and I was still in my pajamas. I quickly changed into a loose shirt and a pair of jeans. And just when I sat down to apply some light makeup, I got a call from Caleb.

"Good morning, Valerie! Where are you? I'm in front of your orphanage."

"I will be right there. Give me a minute."

I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My dark circles hadn't faded away at all. As if it wasn't enough to make me feel less confident, a few pimples had popped around my nose and forehead. Ugh! I wish I could have applied some concealer, but oh well…

I stuffed my makeup items in my handbag and scanned the room to see if I had missed packing anything. Everything was in order, so I grabbed my phone and ran downstairs to welcome Caleb.

When I went outside, I found Caleb talking and laughing with Ms. Pride. I'm amazed at how some people find it so easy to talk with new people.

"Valerie! Hey!" He waved his hand at me when our eyes met.

"Hey!" I went and stood in front of them.

Ms. Pride looked at me and said while smiling ear to ear, "You got really lucky, didn't you, Vallie? You found such a handsome mate."

I smiled shyly and nodded. "I told you so."

Ms. Pride happily patted my shoulder. "Alright, I won't hover around. You two do your thing. If you need any help, you know where to find me."

After Ms. Pride left, Caleb asked me to show my room to the movers he had brought along. As they began loading the moving van, I showed around the orphanage to Caleb. There was nothing much to see except the photos in the living area.

"You were so cute since childhood." Caleb took out his phone and took pictures of my photos that were hanging on the wall. And he kept exclaiming every time he found me in those photos. "Oh, look here! Your hair was so short like that of boys! Aww… You've won so many prizes here. It looks like you were having a hard time carrying them."

I kept staring at my mate with a wide smile on my face. I felt seen and appreciated as I watched him getting excited over little things about me.

After going through all the photos on the wall, Caleb stood behind me and wrapped me in a hug. He then asked in a teasing whisper, "So, you told Ms. Pride that I'm handsome, huh? You think I'm handsome?"

"You know you're handsome…"

"I know that." He turned me around to make me face him. "But I'm asking your opinion. Do you find me handsome or not?" He leaned forward and brought his face right in front of me.

He knows how to make me feel giddy, doesn't he? "Do you even need to ask that? Of course, I find you handsome."

He suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked at me with concern. "Have you been stressing lately? Your skin looked clear the last time I saw you."

Er… my skin looked clear because of the makeup. "Oh, umm… I guess I was a little stressed." I turned my head away to avoid his gaze because now that he mentioned it, I felt conscious about my dark circles and pimples.

"Everything will be in order soon. Don't stress too much." He caressed my hair to comfort me.

The movers loaded the van in no time because I didn't have many belongings to begin with. All I had was a few boxes of clothes, bags, shoes, and books.

"I'll go and check if I'm missing anything." I went to my room and grabbed my handbag from the bed. Everything else had already been moved to the van. Miranda had already gone to attend the school. So, I locked the door and went to find Ms. Pride.

"I'm leaving now, Ms. Pride. Here's the key to the room." I handed the key to her and hugged her one last time. "Take care of your health, okay? Julia and I will write to you."

She lovingly caressed my head and gave me a sad smile. "Okay. You take care of your health too. And eat in time. Don't skip any meals." I will miss her dearly, the person who cares for me the most.

Caleb also came and stood by my side, and bid goodbye to Ms. Pride. "We will get going then. Thank you for taking care of my mate until now. I will forever be indebted to you."

"Oh, there's nothing to be indebted about. I did what I had to do. I leave her in your care now." She looked at me through her tears and held my hands. "May the Moon Goddess bless you both."