+Chapter Five

The next few weeks were very similar and went by quickly, the same thing over and over again like a routine cleaning, eating, working, and sleeping. Now it was already early winter and they were running out of food. The orphans knew each time the loading trucks came to restock the stores and they knew which ones came first. All three of them tiptoed out of the shed and swiftly but quietly ran through the alley hiding behind bushes watching the workers unload the truck. “They all go in at the same time when they all go in with the boxes we’ll go” said Haidyn. The twins nodded. The two workers known as Bob and Pat took in two boxes at a time into the Broad Street Corner Store the smallest, Kean jumped up into the loading truck as her sisters lined up beside each other behind the truck. First Kean threw two heavier boxes to Haidyn then some lighter ones to Yena she also picked up two boxes and jumped out of the truck and they all ran off one after the other with great stealth into the alley then down to the shed without being noticed and sat the boxes down in the corner then ran back outside.




The girls ran the opposite way of the Broad Street Corner Store and turned on Cranso Way where an SVC store was loading up canned foods and boxed items. They discussed their plan. “I’ll get two boxes of cans, Yena get two boxes, Kean you get two crates.” They nodded in agreement. The loaders known as Joe and Chuck took in two crates and right as they went in the door the orphans went into action. Haidyn tossed two crates to Kean then two boxes to Yena she took two boxes of cans and ran off into the shadows followed by her sisters. They walked down to their shed and put down the boxes then went off to make their last stop.



The girls quietly ran down the alley then turned down another after that they turned on Jerweigners Drive. As a freezer truck pulled up, the girls hid behind some pine hedges watching the loaders Al and Dan bring in big boxes of frozen items into the store. They only needed one person for this one and because the opening at the back of the truck was so small, only Kean could fit through it. She knew what to do. Kean swiftly ran to the truck and climbed in, the ice immediately made her twitch as she grabbed three small buckets of ice cream, each one a pint. She quickly hopped out and ran back to her sisters, giving each of them a bucket then they ran back to the shed.



“That was hard but it was fun too,” said Yena almost out of breath from running “I love when we run out of food ‘cause we get to do this.”



“I…I guess it is uh…a little fun,” added Kean as she looked down and played with her fingers.



“Me too,” said Haidyn as she took down her lengthy coffee brown hair from the ponytail it was in. As her hair dropped it touched the middle of her back and she brushed her long bangs over to the side with her finger and she sat down with her back against the wall.



Kean also took the small ponytail out from the bottom of her hair and sat down on her knees in a corner near Haidyn and took the top off of the bucket of ice cream.



Yena sat down too and looked up at her twin sister then her older sister with her blank pale blue eyes as she passed out plastic spoons to her younger sisters. She looked over to the side, at the mirror, and fixed her crooked headband behind her light brown bangs. She sighed and said to herself “I wish I had long hair” then she got angry and started tugging her hair screaming “Common! Grow hair grow!”



“ Yena calm down!” said Haidyn as she went over and put her hands on Yena’s shoulders.



Kean didn’t know what to do so she came over and hugged her twin sister though not saying a word and Yena slowly calmed down then Kean stepped back and Yena looked herself in the mirror again. She had a usually blank expression on her face, pale blue eyes with large pupils, short light brown hair, and tan skin. She looked down for a minute then turned around and said “I’m sorry” They said they forgave her and they all hugged and then sat down to eat their now soft ice cream. Yena didn’t feel like eating the rest so she through it out the door. Soon after, some rats came and started eating the ice cream. Yena gasped then ran out the door and when she came back in, she had a small rat cradled in her arms. Haidyn and Kean stared at Yena sort of feeling sorry, but disgusted at the same time. “Isn’t he cute,” she said. Haidyn gagged and Kean looked away.



“Um…Yena don’t you think…or well isn’t you know…uh…a little unsanitary?” said Kean



“Santa what?” said Yena with a confused look on her face.



“That’s so nasty Yena!” yelled Haidyn “Its…its…it’s a rat…you're holding a rat! Just…just put it back outside where it belongs, okay!”



Yena frowned then opened the door and the rat squealed as she threw it out the door then closed it. A little later she took out her old wooden xylophone and started playing a song. It was out of key and on the wrong notes but she put forth the effort to try and play “Mary had a little lamb” but it sounded more like the theme song to mission impossible fused with amazing grace. Even though she couldn’t play well she still liked music. Her sisters always complemented her playing which gave her confidence to try harder to get the songs right. She got bored quickly and fell asleep on the floor.



As Haidyn finished her ice cream while talking to Kean she threw the bucket away then picked up Yena and put her on the foam bed, tucked her in and kissed her on the forehead. Kean threw her empty bucket away also the braided her hair and went to bed. Haidyn cleaned up everything and took off her necklace and set it in the corner by a box then stayed up an extra hour sitting on the foam bed beside them watching her sisters sleep as her light green eyes slowly closed and she fell asleep.