The Adventures of Lillian Spring

       "Get up! Rise and shine!" The orphanage teacher's commanding voice reverberated through the dormitory, rousing the children from their slumber. Every child promptly rose from their bed, except for one - Lillian. "Lillian Spring! Get up this instant," the teacher's voice boomed with authority, demanding Lillian's attention.

       "It's way too early," Lillian murmured, her tone filled with tiredness. The teacher stomps over, every step echoing in the dormitory. The teacher grabs Lillian's arm, bringing her close.

       "Lillian Rose Spring, don't make me look stupid in front of everyone. You will get a beating for this." The teacher whispers into  Lillian's face, her tone aggressive. She whips Lillian up and lets go of her arm. Lillian crashes into the floor, her arm partly red. Lillian grabs her arm frantically, getting up wobbly. Her knees were red, with small cuts from the wooden floor. Lillian is too afraid to speak and walks over to her closet.

      After getting dressed, her teacher grabs her arm and throws her into the wood floor. Lillian covered her face and body as best as she could while a wooden stick hit her repeatedly. She looks up at the teacher, a mistake. The stick hits her across the face. Her nose was bleeding, and her mouth

       "P-please stop!" Lillian pleaded, tears falling on her face.

   "You're lucky, Lillian." The teacher's voice echoed throughout the hallway. Lillian got up and ran off into the cafeteria.

     "Lilly! Over here!" Emily shouts, her voice barely noticeable over all the noise. Lillian runs over to her best friend, Emily. "Are you okay, I heard you got a...beating," Emily whispers.

    "Yeah, are you okay?" David asks, his tone worried. Lillian couldn't hide I slightly smile, her cheeks slightly red.

     "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking you guys." Lillian murmured, her cheeks still red.

      "Hey, I heard that there's a monster in the forest. I bet 5 dollars that Emily won't go in there." David says while laughing slightly.

        "Try me, I'll only do it if Lilly comes too," Emily says, teasing David.

    "Okay, that works," David says confidently. Emily grabs Lillian's arm, pulling her up. Lillian pulls away, yelling.

        "That hurts!" Emily looks shocked, a pulls up your sleeve. Under your sleeve are handmarks, bruises, and five five-finger-shaped bruises from when your teacher grabbed Lillian. "Stop!" Lillian shouts her voice echoing throughout the cafeteria. She pulls away, pulling her sleeve down. She realizes all the children are looking at her. "Stop it! Why do you guys always look at me like that?!" Lillian screams at all the kids, her voice filled with anger and sadness. She runs out of the door, tears streaming down her face. Emily stands there, shocked

       "What? What did I do? I just want her to be safe." Emily's voice trailed off as her tears came flooding into her eyes.  David gets up and runs up to Emily, hugging her.

      "You did nothing, she just recovering from her beating," David says empathetically. Emily cried into his arms while all the students stared.

    Later, in the dormitory, Lillian is sitting on her bed. Lillian is clutching her hair while Emily walks in and sits on her bed.

  "You know, we still want to be your friends. No matter what you say, it doesn't matter." Emily says, looking at Lillian's tears. Lillian looks up at Emily.

     "Really? I don't deserve you guys." Lillian's voice shook slightly. Her grip on her hair loosened. Emily offers a hand for her to grab.

       "Let's go uncover more about that rumor," Emily asserts, a confident smirk on her lips. Lillian eagerly grabs her hand, and they swiftly depart from the dormitory.

        They bump into a girl, named Cindy.        "Watch where you're going, weirdos!" Cindy shouts, her voice echoing throughout the hallway.

         "Whatever," Lillian murmured, rolling her eyes.

        "What did you say to me?" Cindy says, looking at Lillian with a stabbing look. Cindy pushes both of them to the ground. "I said what did you say to me!" Cindy shouts, landing a kick to Lillian's gut.

          "I said whatever," Lillian said sternly, standing up wobbly. She stands up, giving Cindy a sinister smirk. She lunges at Cindy, tackling her to the ground, and landing multiple punches to her face.

          "Get off of me!" Cindy yells, grabbing Lillian, and throwing her off of her. Lillian flies off of her, hitting the wall. She falls limply to the ground, and Emily runs over to her. Cindy slowly gets up, rubbing her bleeding mouth and nose.

          "She's knocked out," Emily whispers, shaking Lillian. "You fat pig!" Emily yells at Cindy, emotions taking over her actions.

           "What? You stood there, watching your friend get thrown, and you dare to call me a fat pig?" Cindy says, attacking Emily's emotions. Emily stays silent, as Cindy walks away. Emily gets up and walks away from Lillian to grab her water.

        "Screw the rumor." She murmured as she returned from her trip. She splashes water on Lillian's face, jolting her up.

          "Are you okay?" Lillian asks, a few minutes later. Emily nods, grabbing Lillian's hand. "It's time for bed, let's figure out the rumor later," Lillian says, smiling. Emily gets up with Lillian and walks to the dormitory, hand in hand.