Page 12 of Deadly Sights

This wasn’t their first time disregarding the rules. What did the orphanage expect when they trained everyone to have stealthy skills? The same ability the authorities at the orphanage taught the girls, the children now enacted as they crept past the guards to enter the boy’s wing.

When they got to the correct door, they slipped through to meet the boy waiting for them.

“Where are we going this time?” he asked.

“Shh.” Hair Beads pushed her finger against his lips and nodded toward the exit.

With great care, the children traversed the halls, avoiding the guards and the cameras taking video. Their first stop upon exiting the dorms, was the maintenance building. At the door, Hair Beads and the boy stared at Afro Puffs who returned their glares before nodding at the other girl.

Hair Beads points at herself, her eyes wide with horror. “Why me? You’re better at picking locks than I am.”

“You answered your own question.” Afro Puffs stepped away to give Hair Beads more room.

While Hair Beads bit her lip and fiddled with the lock, the boy asked Afro Puffs, “Are we going to the same place as last time?”

“No.”

“Then where are?—”

“Why do the older kids call you Next?”

“Yeah, why do they?” Hair Beads paused her activity to pay attention to him.

Afro Puffs glanced at her, then the door, prompting Hair Beads to resume her attempt to break into the maintenance building with a low grunt.

The boy looked down at his shoes while answering, “Since I don’t pick up on the lessons as fast as everyone else, the instructors say I’ll get it next time.” He shrugged and refused to look at the two girls.

“Who needs them? Yes!” Hair Beads opened the door with a victorious smile.

They quickly entered and closed the door. Using the moonlight filtering through the small windows, they found the storage closet with the tools they needed and left as silently as they’d arrived.

In the woods bordering the orphanage, they trekked, stumbling over roots and fallen branches until Afro Puffs raises her fist. “This is a good place. Let’s scrape the leaves first, then dig.”

“Why is this a good place?” Hair Beads asks.

Afro Puffs turns to the boy with a raised brow, prompting him to respond.

“Because the ground here looks level and a passerby will have a sense of security. Before they walk into the trap, they won’t be on their guard for things to trip them up.”

At Afro Puffs’ nod, he beamed.

“And why is building a trap so important to you?” Hair Beads rested the trowel beside her.

“Because I need a safe place for my treasure. When my mom left me here, she gave me my dad’s watch. She told me it was the most important thing to her after me, so I should keep it, but I don’t trust the kids in my dorm. If they find it or learn what it means, they’ll steal and destroy it. That’s what they did to the only picture I had of me and my mom. Now I barely remember what she looks like.”

“Doodoo heads, all of them,” Hair Beads said.

The three dug until Afro Puffs pointed out, “This is deep enough to do major damage. Remember, if you don’t want the person who falls in to walk away, dig deeper. Now for the spikes.”

They foraged for sturdy branches and shaved the tip until it formed a sharp spear. While Afro Puffs explained how to ensure the spikes wouldn’t fall over at the slightest weight but pierce whoever fell into the hole, the other two stared at her in amazement.

Every night, they did this ritual until the boy and Hair Beads could build a successful trap. When they met on another night two weeks later, the boy brought his treasure.

As he placed the watch underground, he beamed up at the girls. “Today, Mr. Hough said my trap was the best out of everybody’s. I still have to work on my stamina, but it was the first time I didn’t see him frown when he reviewed my performance.”

Hair Beads, who sat idly weaving leaves, said, “I think this means you should get a new nickname.” Her mouth twisted in disgust. “I don’t like Next.”

“Me neither,” he said while placing the spikes to protect the tin box containing the watch.

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