The Villages

Ragged shoes continued down the long path. Hidden within the forest of Mary Magdalene's Home for Young Misfits stood a massive structure.

"Here we are." Mrs. Cream led them towards the gate where a lone woman in eggplant purple stood waiting.

"Say hello to Ms. Apple, girls. She'll be showing you to your dorms and Introducing you to your new buddies.

The girls simply stared.

"Welcome to Druscilla's Village for Little Lost Girls." The woman smiled in amusement.

Their expressions were always the same, lost and confused.

The campus of Mary Magdalene's Home for Misfits was so massive, it always took girls by surprise. But there was only one girl who stood unimpressed, she scoped the building, her face hidden behind her chanelle glasses but her nose was wrinkled.

"You must be Amy Claire." Mrs. Apple spoke.

The child met her gaze finally.

"..." But she said nothing.

Amy Claire Ee. Unlike the rest of the orphans who had been entered in the system since incredibly young, she was a bit of an exception.

"Please follow me, your new neighbors are very eager to meet you."

"Neighbors?"

"In Druscilla's Village the dorms are separated into blocks, something we refer to as villages. You'll find that this place is very different from what you're used to, but don't worry your new neighbors will guide you. Periwinkle yours is the closest so I'll be dropping you off first."

A tomboy with pastel blue hair flinched at suddenly being mentioned. She slowly nodded.

"...o-okay."

Her block was indeed the closest, upon entering Mrs. Apple took a sharp right and the village was the second door to the right.

"This is Lily Village. This year many have graduated leaving a few openings, but since we have a lot of new girls this year many rooms have filled up." Ms. Apple explained before knocking on the door. "Giiiiirls~ Your new neighbor has arrived!"

The door creaked open revealing a stairwell but no one came out.

"..."

Periwinkle looked to Ms.Apple who made no comment and smiled.

"Enjoy your stay at Lily Village, Periwinkle."

-

Next they went upstairs.

"Mona you belong to the Village of Silver Lining. Look, you can see your block up here." She gestured to the window where a couple of girls were out, one reading, another watering plants. "It's the smallest block on the upper floor, you're quite lucky to get in."

The area was completely open, an indoor terrace? The block was designed to look like a tiny community. But most importantly there were people this time, before the girls nearly thought the building might be occupied by ghosts.

"Is there some kind of criteria into which girl goes where?" A brunette readjusted her glasses to ask.

"Yes, girls with similar hobbies and interests are placed within the same blocks, it creates less drama that way. Of course once the villages have less openings, we have to compromise. If you don't like your block you can request for a change but I'm afraid this year you'll have to bear with it."

Ms. Apple moved on. "The school was renovated a couple of years back thanks to the achievements of all the villagers you'll find the upper floor is… different compared to the bottom floors. Ah' these are the sauna and shower rooms."

"!"

"A sauna?!"

It was something they always saw on the tv and internet but never in person.

The girls craned their necks to get a good look but the glass doors were misty.

"I'm afraid it's preoccupied at the moment. Come along now it,d be rude to interrupt. Everyone shares the same bathroom facilities with other villages, but your village has its own bathrooms, so you've been saved from memorizing it."

They entered a lounge area where finally a bunch of different girls could be seen conversing and hanging out together and finally the girl's taught nerves relaxed.

A couple of eyes stuck to them as they entered.

"Hello Ms. Apple!"

"Hello!"

Two quickly intercepted her with glittering eyes.

"Hello girls."

"Are these the new girls?"

"Yes, but none of them are here to join you. Your new neighbor hasn't arrived yet."

Their smiles faded.

"What- still? It's been weeks now!"

"I know." Ms. Apple sighed her smile waning.

"She was registered first so why isn't she here yet?"

"That's a question I can't answer. She's from a foreign country, and the laws binding her are quite strict…to top it off it seemed like she was in the process of getting returned to her biological home…"

"So she's not coming?"

"That's up to her. Even if she doesn't you'll get a new friend soon, there are many applicants this year so much I'm afraid not all of them will be able to reside here."

The girls looked relieved and backed off.

One of the new orphans, a bespectacled girl with a puff billowing out from the top of her head asked. "They really look forward to someone new coming that much?"

"There are a lot of older girls in their village who will be graduating next year. The girls simply don't want to be lonely."

"But how will they be alone if it's the two of them?"

"There's comfort in community, two people alone can't make up for a mass absence."

"Oh…" The girl perhaps recalling her own situation had nothing else to say.

"Here we are,"

Before Ms. Apple could even knock on the door, it opened at once and a short blonde girl with caramel skin and green eyes popped out.

"Hullo! Hi! Hi! Hi! You're Cleo Mona right?"

"Ah-uh, y-yes."

"Suuuuper! Come on in!"

The poor child was dragged in at once.

Ms. Apple smiled and turned to the remaining two.

"Alright, let's go."

Question signs hung over their heads.

"Amy Claire, you're dorm is downstairs but it's to the far west."

"O-oh."

She felt slightly disappointed. The upper floors were lively and warm, and even though she had glimpsed the bottom floors for only a minute they felt incredibly… quiet.