A Busy Day At The Orphanage

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Job Sign-Up: Page 14, Post Number 336

-Talonia, 8:05 A.M.-

Dressed in her old casual outfit of long-sleeved gray t-shirt and knee-length pleated white skirt with brown boots, Lucia was standing in front of the orphanage, which was named the Talonia Orphanage For Girls. Her roommate Francine had managed to get her a trial helper position at the orphanage, which as the name implied was exclusively for girls. It was a large two-story building made out of brick with two large wings jutting out to the left and right and the structure was well-maintained. The windows were immaculately polished and there was not a single sign of wear or tear on the bricks.

Lucia walked up the brick steps to the front door, then opened the metal door and entered the building.

-Inside the orphanage, 8:07 A.M.-

Lucia walked into the foyer and almost immediately heard the sound of laughing coming from somewhere within the building. The blonde looked at the tile flooring and it was white marble tile that had seen some wear and tear but was as clean as it could be. The walls were coated with clean beige wallpaper and oil paintings of important people throughout the orphanage's history could be seen on the walls. Lucia looked ahead and saw a young woman shorter than her with long brown hair approach her.

"Ah, you must be Miss Winchester! The director told us to expect your arrival!" The young woman greeted Lucia warmly.

"Yes. I'm Lucia Winchester." Lucia introduced herself to the young woman. The blonde looked closer and noticed that the other person was dressed in a casual outfit of a pink long-sleeved shirt and black skirt with pink accents and yellow stripes, which was an odd look for a skirt. She wore a red hairband in her hair and finishing the outfit was a pair of brown dress shoes.

"I'm Janice Thornton. Nice to meet you, Lucia!" The brunette introduced herself. She then turned towards the hallway behind her, where a cluster of young girls who looked to be of elementary school age with varying hair colors were rushing down the hallway to the left as another staff member walked briskly after them and reminded them not to run in the halls.

"Would you like for me to give you a tour of the building before you start helping out?" Janice made an offer that the blonde could not refuse.

"Certainly." Lucia accepted the offer.

"Great! Follow me and don't be slow!" She said before turning on her heels and heading down the hallway. Lucia began walking briskly and soon caught up with the brunette, who was not stopping for anything or anyone. It seemed like the tour she had been offered was going to be a whirlwind tour.

Janice Thornton:

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-After the tour, 9:13 A.M.-

Janice had kept her word and given Lucia a tour of the orphanage that had lasted a little over an hour. Now the pair were standing in a large playroom with multiple windows that had white drapes on both sides and soft pink wallpaper plus soft beige carpet, hard plastic chairs and a wide assortment of toys such as teddy bears, wooden blocks with the letters of the alphabet printed in different colors on the sides, plush cats and dogs, jump ropes, and more contained in wooden boxes in each corner of the room. In the back of the room was a tall wall-to-wall bookshelf containing colorful books that were aimed at younger children such as storybooks and simple fact books on subjects such as colors, animals, and shapes.

The room door opened behind them and in poured a group of young girls who were all wearing blue blazers and knee-length white skirts with brown loafers that were neat and clean. Lucia saw flashes of black, blonde, brown, red, and even orange hair. The group circled Janice and herself and looked up at the two young women. Half of them were focused on Janice and the other half were looking squarely at Lucia.

"Hello everyone! Today you're going to meet our new volunteer, Miss Lucia Winchester! She's here to help us today, so be on your best behavior!" Janice informed the children that they had were going to meet a new face. When that was said all eyes turned to the blonde mage, who calmly looked back at them. All of them looked to be between six and ten years old, which meant that they would not require the level of care that younger children would. However, Lucia would still have to watch over them carefully to make sure that everyone was looked after.

"Hello Miss Winchester!" A chorus of voices greeted her in unison. The blonde smiled back at them. She had not seen this many children in one place since she had cared for her younger siblings a lifetime ago.

"All right children, run along and play. Remember what I said the other day... be nice to each other!" Janice bade them before the children scattered throughout the room to do as they were told. Most of them hurried over to the toy bins to claim a toy, but a few of them walked over to the bookshelf and picked a book they wanted to read before walking over to one of the chairs and taking a seat in it. Lucia looked around the room and noticed that everyone had selected a toy or a book and had formed groups of as many as six and as few as two.

"The children are well-behaved, Miss Winchester. Once they're allowed to play they tend to not require very much supervision. The two of us should be able to look after them with no trouble whatsoever." Janice assured Lucia that this group was easy to care for. The blonde had not cared for young children in quite some time, so getting a chance to dust off old skills was a welcome one. She would need them because her day had just begun and she would likely help care for many more children before the day was over. In the meantime Lucia carefully watched her charges as they went about their business like she was not even in the room.

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