"Lake of Mysteries" Chapter 1

The early sunrise painted the sky light shades of blue and white, the light staining the bricks of the old orphanage on Johnson Street. A loud bell rang inside as if it were a school, and the children inside scrambled to get ready to do thier chores. One girl pulled the covers up over her head, covering her ears with her thin pillow. A small, tattered string bracelet with letter beads on her wrist told her name. "Lexie". The bell stopped ringing, and another girl, Gracie, raced over and shoved Lexie out of bed with hard hands. "Get up, Lexie!" Gracie growled, eyes flicking to the small arch doorway of the girls' dormatory. Lexie groaned and heaved herself up, trudging over to the door and walking through without bothering to put any fresh clothes on. She heard the constant thump of Gracie's feet behind her, but ignored it as she entered the abnormally small dining room. Children were seated around the small square tables that were scattered about the room, some of the taller kids with their knees up to their chins as they tried to get comfortable in the tiny plastic seat which were meant for toddlers. Slowly, Lexie sat down at an empty table. Gracie sat beside her, looking anxious. Suddenly, a dark shape entered the room. All of the children(except for Lexie, who was asleep with her head on the table)looked up immedeatly and interlocked their fingers politely. "Good morning, Mrs. Fingleburger." The children said together loudly. The dark shape seemed to float as it went over to the table that Lexie and Gracie were sitting at. Gracie froze. The shape, a woman, had a ruler tight in her grip. She slammed it down on the table, and Lexie woke with a jolt.