Post by Shinku on Nov 30, 2016 18:02:00 GMT -5
The five years old boy was huddling under the blanket and tried to hold back the tears. It had not been a good day for him.
What should have been an enjoyable holiday had been a real disaster instead.
Hours before
Like all the other children in the orphanage, Rince had been infected by the bright anticipation of candy, bedtime stories and the prospect of presents in the morrow. It was yet hours to go until it would turn dark outside, but unlike on normal days the kids weren't hoping to be able to stay up late, but eager to go to bed - the sooner the better!
There was only one logical explanation for this unusual behaviour: Today was Christmas Eve.
The welcome from the matron had been brief, friendly in an aloof sort of way and most of all informative. They had shown him his new room, explained the strict timetable they were keeping as well as the house rules and made sure he had really understood all of those rather than just being pleased with the affirmative nodding one was like to expect from a child of five.
Then they had pushed his allowance of candy into his little hands, which brightened up his mood, and made comments to each other of how sad it was that he had been brought to the home on a festive day like this, which had the reverse effect but couldn't quite dampen the joy of having enough candy to glue his teeth together for the next few hours.
His happiness lasted until they entered the common room where he immediately became so nervous that his cheeks began to take on the colour of his hair - a bright bubblegum pink.
Flustered by the presence of so many other kids, Rince grabbed the edge of his green sweater and twisted the fabric nervously, which crumbled under the pull of his fingers distorting the white rabbit which was knitted into it.
Whoever had knitted his garment, had also included his name, just below the rabbit, but most of his peers probably didn't know how to read yet, so there was no advantage in that and Rince would have to make and effort and introduce himself, whether he liked it or not.
Standing close to the wall with his head ducked deep between his shoulders, Rince watched the other kids closely, waiting for a chance to join them.
For now he ignored the older children and focused on the kids who seemed around his own age instead. There was no lack of them, that much was clear.
The ones that attracted his attention were a boy with short orange hair who was talking to the bigger kids with a winning smile on his face and an air of self-assurance that made the pink-haired boy feel jealous of the easiness in which the small fox conversed with others, a neatly dressed boy who loudly played with an army of plushies and dolls in one of the corners and a golden-haired girl in a frilly dress who was smiling happily as she served some invisible tea to a nutcracker doll.
From those three, the girl seemed the safest option and Rince was starting to head in her direction, when the girl was suddenly joined by a boy in a blue overall who's deep frown could not be hidden by the long bangs of light gray hair. Neither was there any doubt who the boy was scowling at and Rince took it to mean "stay the hell away from us" - a warning that was always better heeded than ignored.
Discouraged, he stopped where he was and gave the blond girl a last sad look.
It was not easy at all to be the new kid...
Pushing in where groups had already formed or trying to make contact to the one kid that for some reason was shunned by the others... none of that seemed a good prospect.
And yet he couldn't just stand around like a stupid wallflower and do nothing, so he took a second look around to see if there was anyone else who might be a potential new friend of his.