16th January 2010
I have been waking up at 6 AM for over six years now…ever since I found zemph. After about 20 minutes of hard core cycling I reached our spot and as usual he was late, so I waited. Just then as I presumed, I saw Mr. creepy old man, aka the “the watchman”, staring at me again. Why was he always staring? It was actually more of a sympathetic look. And just as I turned around, There zempth was, Panting like a dog. Poor guy always gets late because he can never hear his alarm clock. He’s deaf and dumb you see.
We gave each other a rib cracking hug as we sat on our favourite bench aka bench and zemph and I started doing what we did best. Draw. We had decided a long time ago, that he wanted to be different from all the other handicapped kids, so instead of using sign language, we drew. The first thing zemph would do after hugging me was attack the paper with the million stories he had, However, we only met early morning or after dinner. Zemph was quite an outcast here in the orphanage, and for some strange reason if I was even seen speaking to him, people would look at me like I was retarded. All this made Zemph very uncomfortable, so we preferred to meet when no one was around. This is how I’ve spent most of my time here. With my best friend.
17th January 2010
11:00 PM
Today was a terrible day; I was caught by Sister Clooney (aka the head nun, aka head of the penguins), on my way back from bench and was banished to my room until further notice. She asked me what I was doing out at this hour. My best option was not to lie, so I told her I was with Zemph. At this her nostrils started flaring a bit too much. I was accused of “thinking her a fool” followed by words like “lying” and “rubbish” under her breath. I was confused and when I asked her how she could not know zemph, he had been here most of his life! I was sent back to my room with no reply. I don’t get these people.
18th January 2010
9:00 PM
Today I woke up still feeling strange, I updated zemph with last night’s happenings but he didn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that Clooney acted like she didn’t know him. Actually he seemed rather calm. He claimed he was a quiet kid and that many probably didn’t know him. Something wasn’t right. Then he drew a picture…him, me and bench. Now that was just perfect. We sat and watched in silence as the sun disappeared behind the hills of Preston.
19th January 2010
9:00 PM
The afternoons at the orphanage were relatively quieter as most people were indoors during these hours. Zemph and I were having a great time lazing around, squiggling on each other’s arms when suddenly we heard the sound of death. The “bad boys” had arrived. They took one look at us and started howling with laughter. I tried to be brave and told them to leave zemph the hell alone and that bullying someone just because they are not “normal” is sick. I couldn’t even complete my sentence before everyone burst into peals of laughter once again and started talking about how I was a retarded child and that was why no home ever wanted me. This really pissed me off and I went for them. Of course I got beaten up brutally but was saved by Clooney. I told her about how they were bullying zemph. She just stood there and stared for what felt like several painful minutes and then suddenly changed the topic to some medical examination I needed to undergo tomorrow, at this point I began to wonder if ol’ Clooney was going Looney…Ha-ha. When I turned to share the joke with zemph… he wasn’t there.
20th January 2010
9:00 PM
Today I was taken to the doctor. They did some strange tests and stuck some gooey things on my head… I was then asked to leave the room and later I was told not to ask questions. Zemph didn’t show up today either. I am not in a very good mood.
21ST January 2010
5:30 PM
After the show down at our last meeting, zemph and I decided it was safer to go back to our original timings. This time I carried three stacks of paper and an extra box of crayons with me, I had a lot of venting to do. While we sat at bench waiting for dawn, I told Zemph about yesterday’s happenings. He didn’t react for awhile but eventually pick up some paper,” if we ever get separated, remember that I will always love you “it said. Why would we be separated? Just then sister Clooney and a couple of other penguins walked into the garden. This time I knew I was screwed…but instead, they started making conversation with me. They even asked me what my “new friend’s” name was. He has been in this bloody orphanage all his life. What is wrong with everyone? Shortly after that I was taken for another check up. Zemph didn’t show up that night.
24th January 2010
10:00 PM
Today is my third day of waiting… I waited till the evening, but still had no luck. I had decided I was going to sit at bench all night if that’s what it took, just then I caught Mr. creepy’s eye, I tried to ignore him as I felt my eyes burn with the embarrassment of being stood up three days in a row now. I finally decided to ask him if he had seen zemph. He said nothing for a long time, finally breaking the silence with something I already knew.” You were best friends” he said. “Are" I corrected; he just smiled at me but said nothing more. I couldn’t take it anymore. I burst into Clooney’s office asking her where zemph was…she gave me the same bloody silence, as if she was contemplating something. She finally spoke letting me know that zemph had finally found a home and that he was not coming back, I could feel the bile rising in my throat. As I walked out of her office, she enquired about when I saw him last. I couldn’t answer, so I just stood. Then she told me that if I ever saw him again I must come and tell her. I threw up.
08.00 AM
I sat till 7:00 in the morning today and eventually he did showed up. But he looked distant, felt strange, and this time he didn’t draw.
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