A New Journey

Lory’s POV

Even though the night was restless, I had no difficulty waking up in the morning. The excitement within me is strong. I can even feel my whole body tingling. I am certain that it is because of the big change starting today. I have a plan and I know what I need to do. I know that by tonight, I will already be in my new life. Today, I will make breakfast for others for the last time and take care of things for them.

I jumped out of bed. I listened; the house is quiet; everyone is still sleeping in their rooms. I wonder if the walls of this house have always been so thin that I can hear their sniffling and calm breathing—excluding Jacky's snoring, of course. Perhaps I've never noticed it before, or maybe I've never been this excited.

I gather my clean clothes and head to the bathroom, where I can now calmly take care of my tasks. I'm not looking forward to the cold bathroom air that usually wakes my body up when I take my clothes off and get into the shower. I had already turned on the water early, because our water supply is poor, and it takes a long time for hot water to come. The water is ready, and I remove my clothes, but the chill of the cold air doesn't come. Nice, the steam has already unexpectedly warmed the room. I luxuriate under the warm water. All my senses are sharper today. I am sure that my shampoo and conditioner have never smelled as good as they do now. Everything seems somehow better, more fragrant, softer, and more pleasant.

After drying off, I get dressed and apply cream to my face. I look at myself in the mirror, and somehow a new me is staring back. For a moment, it seems as though my brown eyes have orange rings around the iris, but then it fades, and my eyes look normal.

I gather my things from the bathroom, or rather all the items I want to take with me, and carefully pack them into my bag. I thoroughly check my room to ensure I haven’t left anything behind that I might need. All my belongings fit into my school bag and sports bag. That's actually good because it means I won't have to explain to others why I'm taking so much stuff to school. I take my bags downstairs and see that I still have plenty of time before the others wake up.

I calmly prepare breakfast and wake Robin up. I spent a lot of time with him. He had drawn a card for me to wish me a happy birthday. He was excited too, wondering what my 18th birthday would be like. We played and discussed what our adult lives might be like. It was somewhat sad that I couldn't take him with me, but I didn't have a stable life yet, and maybe someday, when possible, I can invite him to join me once he's an adult. As I expected, the other residents of our house didn't care at all that it was my birthday. Robin reminded them, but it didn't change anything. Nancy just smirked and said, “Happy birthday then.” I don't even know if Nancy remembers that I’m turning 18 now; she hasn't paid attention to it. According to the law, she should receive compensation from the state for raising me until I finish school and live with her.

We but Robins school things togheter and went to school. Before leaving home, I placed a letter under Robin's pillow, promising to stay in touch and keep an eye on how his life goes.

Upon arriving at school, I emptied my locker of all my personal belongings that I wanted to take with me and went to my classes. I knew that if I didn't attend classes, the school would call Nancy, and I didn't want that. Luckily, there were only a few classes today.

After classes, I headed to the office. I knew that to get all my documents, I had to have my school textbooks with me. I placed all my textbooks on the secretary's desk and stated, "I would like to withdraw my papers from this school."

The secretary, a small woman in her 60s with gray hair, took off her glasses and looked at me in astonishment. "Excuse me? How old are you? Why aren't your parents with you?"

"I turned 18 today and can decide for myself what I want to do. I don't have parents, and my foster parent's opinion doesn't concern me. Where is the form I need to fill out?" I remained firm in my decision.

"I think we should talk to the principal," she said, and she took the phone to ask Mrs. Ferris to speak with me.

"Please go to the principal's office. In the meantime, I'll check to see if all the textbooks are here," she informed me, gesturing toward the principal's office.

Since I had anticipated this situation, I wasn't scared. I just had to stand my ground.

"Hello, Mrs. Ferris. I turned 18 today and have the right to decide where and what I want to do next. I want to transfer schools, and for that, I need to withdraw my papers from your school. Where is the form I need to sign?" I was confident as I moved to sit in the armchair opposite the principal's desk.

"Hello, Loreen. This is news to me that you want to change schools. Are you sure about this? I assume you've already discussed this with your guardian?"

“Of course, Nancy and I have talked. She can't always manage me, and she found me a school with a dormitory and strict rules.”

Since Nancy never came to school but occasionally sent letters with me, I had a letter from Nancy prepared for the school, and I handed it to the principal. It wasn't strictly necessary because, according to the law, they couldn't say no to me, but I didn't want to get into an argument with the principal and Nancy if they wanted to try to convince me otherwise.

"Alright," said Mrs. Ferris, somewhat doubtfully, after reading the letter, but she took a paper from the desk and handed it to me.

I looked at it, and indeed it was the form to withdraw my papers from the school. My heart was pounding inside; I was so happy, but I had to force myself to stay calm and show that I wasn't actually too excited about going to a school with a strict regime.

The form was filled out and submitted to Dr. Ferris. The principal looked at her computer and typed something. Fifteen minutes later, I received my report cards and withdrawal papers from the school. Since I had everything I needed, I quickened my pace and stepped out of the school's main doors with a great feeling of relief. The air was fresher than ever before.