Orphans discussion

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Nathan sat on the grass, and leaned against a tree. He turned and realized he was sitting on poisonous oak. Not caring, he stared at the sky and composed poetry to himself. After reciting some Sylvia Plath that he had memorized for inspiration, he wrote a few lines in his head, storing them away for later.

Amelia looked down to see a boy below her. Did he know he was sitting on a poisonous oak tree? “Have fun with that rash” she said quietly, not expecting him to answer. He had said some poetry, but she didn’t really care. With a roll of her eyes, she put her face back into her book.

Nathan searched around himself. He could swear he'd heard someone say 'have fun with that rash' but he didn't see anyone. He didn't really care either way, but he preferred to know when people were watching him. In case there was someone there, he commented, "like I care. Maybe it'll be mistaken as some contagious virus and I'll be kicked out of here. That'd be nice," he said with a faraway look in his eyes.

“They’ll never let us go, I’ve tried escaping, I’ve tried catching the plague, but nothing works. Yet.” She said sadly, not even noticing she was talking. He couldn’t see her unless he looked directly up, for She we hidden by quite a few branches.

He still couldn't find the girl speaking. Presumably she was somewhere above him, from the area her voice came from. "The plague?" He said. "I've never tried that. Usually I just threaten to punch people if they don't let me out...and then I do, and they pass out...It's not the best method." He rubbed his hand against he poison oak. "At least this way I'll miss a few days of school," he muttered.

((I’ll be back in the morning))

((Okay, bye!))

“The plague nearly worked” she said sadly “I’ve already gotten suspended for a few days, so I’m good”she said, watching him rub his hand against the poison oak. “And you’re right” she continued. “That’s an awful way to do it, you have to put more effort into it” she huffed with a roll of her bright blue eyes.

"Fine, fine," he muttered. He picked a leaf and started rubbing it all over his face. "This should keep me out of school for at least three days."

“I want to be kept out of school forever. Maybe if I just stayed here, nobody would ever fin done” she said wishfully.

He nodded, although he wasn't sure whether she could see from wherever she was. "I can relate," he said quietly.

She looked down to get a better view of the boy. He was about her age, and seemed quiet. “Have we met before?” She asked

"No, I don't think so, but then again, I can't exactly see your face and I'm not going to try to guess whether I recognize your voice." He said.

Amelia jumped down from the tree, landing silently next to him. “I’m don’t think we’ve met before......I’m Amelia” she said quietly

"Okay. I'm Nathan." He said, still rubbing his hands with poison oak. "I would shake hands with you, but I'm not sure whether you want to suffer at the hands of this poison oak."

“I’m immune, so it doesn’t matter” she said with a sigh, holding out her hand. “But I wish I wasn’t, everyone’s afraid of poison oak” she yawned.

"Hmm...." Nathan thought for a moment. "Have you ever tried swallowing it? Oh wait...it may be poisonous, I suppose that's not a good idea unless you want to die."

“I’m not ready to die yet.” She said “First, I get out of here, then I can die, but not until I get out” Amelia said sadly

"I can relate." Nathan said, nodding his agreement. "There's nothing for me here."

“Same. No friends, no family, no hope. I left all of that back where I came from” she said, leaning back against the tree.

Nathan nodded. "I would say the same, but I've never had friends or family. I'm not sure if they're alive or know I exist. I was homeless."

“Same. I lived on the streets with my gang. They were kinda my family, so I guess thats what I’m referring too” she answered quietly

"That sounds nice..." He said. "I mostly survived on rats, begging, and stealing."

“Stealing, now that’s my kind of talk” she said with a grin.

"Yes.." He said, reminiscing. "Though I rarely got anything good, there was this one time I got a fresh baked pot pie...It was delicious, filled my stomach for a couple days while I stole and threatened and begged."

“Ohh I remember those days, when there was good food on the streets” she said, remembering. “But now, it’s all garbage” Amelia admitted, scrunching her face up.

"By now, there's barely anything edible left because of the stupid water poisoning." He muttered.

“Yeah. And everyone’s gone which makes it worse” she added, annoyed.

He nodded, then rubbed his face against the poison oak again. "Do you know if there's any fire ants around? That should get me out of school for a bit..."

“No, no animals at all here. It’s weird” she shudders. Unnatural. Strange. She hated it, all of it.

He sighed. "I would have liked some fire ants....Maybe I'll ask a dog owner to let their dog bite me...hopefully it'll get infected.."

“Yeah. That would be a good idea. I haven’t seen too many dog owners though” she sighed.

"I guess I'll just ask around," he said sadly.

“Yeah, good luck with that” She told Nathan with a sigh

He closed his eyes for a second. The sun was too bright, and it burned his eyes. Sighing, he stretched his shoulders.

“Have you ever tried to escape, Nathan?” She asked him curiously, tilting her head to the side both to escape the sun and to look at him.

"Yes, multiple times." He said. He counted off on his fingers. "Four...five...six...Probably seven or eight times."

“I’ve only tried two or three times” she said, impressed. “You must have gotten far...”